# Fort Worth Summer Camps: The Complete Guide

> Every major summer camp in Fort Worth & Tarrant County — real 2026 prices, ages, hours, and the registration timeline cheat sheet (spoiler: the good ones open in January).
> Source: https://ftwmoms.com/guides/summer-camps · Updated: 2026-07-20

<div class="tldr">
<strong>TL;DR:</strong> The best Fort Worth camps open registration in <strong>January</strong> and sell out in days (Museum School's 2027 dates are already set: Jan 12/26, Feb 9). Cheapest full-day: <strong>city community-center camps + YMCA</strong> (scholarships & CCMS accepted). Best animal access: <strong>the Zoo</strong> ($320–355/wk). Best built-in extended care: <strong>Camp Carter</strong> (7 a.m.–6 p.m. included). Free weeks exist: <strong>VBS season</strong> (June–early July).
</div>

## Camps at a glance (2026 rates)

| Camp | Ages | ~$/week | Hours | Extended care | Still running in August? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth Zoo | 4–18 | $320–355 | 9–3 | — | thru Aug 7 |
| Museum School (FWMSH) | 4+ | check site | M–Th 9–1:55 | — | no |
| YMCA / Camp Carter | 5–17 | portal (aid + CCMS ok) | 7–6 |  included | thru Aug 7 |
| The Modern art camp | 4–18 | $275–380 | 10–2 | — | teens Aug 3–7 |
| Botanic Garden S.E.E.D. | 4–11 | check site | full day | 1 extra hr | sold out |
| City Parks & Rec | 5–12 | cheapest in county | full day | varies | check |
| Casa Mañana | 4–18 | $350–$1,750/session | varies | — | no |
| Code Ninjas | 5–14 | $250 half / $450 full | 9–3:30 | $20/hr, 8–6 | thru Jul 31+ |
| ASI Gymnastics (Keller) | 3–14 | by day/half-day | 8–1 / 1–6 | — |  latest of anyone |
| Nike Soccer (Upper 90) | 5–16 | from $360 | 9–4 | — |  from Jul 27 |
| VBS (churches) | 4–11 | free–$40 | 9–noon | — | mostly done |

*Researched and verified July 20, 2026. Summer 2026 is in its final weeks — camps still running late-summer sessions are flagged. Prices are 2026 rates and typically rise slightly year to year. Anything we couldn't verify on an official source says "check site" — we don't guess.*

**The one thing to know:** the best Fort Worth camps open registration in **January and February** and sell out in days. Scroll to the [Registration Timeline Cheat Sheet](#registration-timeline-cheat-sheet-plan-for-summer-2027) and put the dates on your calendar now.

## Fort Worth Zoo Summer Camps

- **Ages:** 4–10 for the flagship Summer Zoo Camp; separate Middle School Camp (grades 6–8) and High School Camp (grades 9–12), plus an Overnight Camp option.
- **Cost:** $355/week full-day (9 a.m.–3 p.m.), $320/week half-day (9 a.m.–noon). High school single-day sessions $175; overnight camp $150. Zoo members get 10% off plus pre-sale registration access.
- **Location:** Fort Worth Zoo, 1989 Colonial Parkway, Fort Worth 76110.
- **2026 dates:** Week-long sessions June 1 through August 7 — one of the few big camps still running into early August, though popular weeks sell out.
- **What makes it special:** Daily hikes through the zoo, Safari Splash water play, giraffe feedings, and live animal presentations — no other Tarrant County camp matches the animal access. Age bands are split so a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old aren't doing the same crafts.
- **Registration timing:** Schedule publishes in January; member pre-sale before public registration. The zoo moved to a new registration system in 2026 — create your family profile *before* registration morning.
- **Before/after care:** Not advertised — plan for the 3 p.m. pickup.
- [fortworthzoo.org/summer-zoo-camp](https://www.fortworthzoo.org/summer-zoo-camp)

## Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Museum School™)

- **Programs:** Museum School™ summer classes — the 74-year-old institution generations of Fort Worth kids have gone through — plus STEM Squad (rising 1st–4th) and the **free** Girls in STEM Summer Innovation Lab (5th–8th grade girls, funded by Project Scientist).
- **Ages:** Museum School starts at 4–5 (must be toilet-trained).
- **Hours:** Mon–Thu, 9 a.m.–1:55 p.m. — four-day weeks and an early pickup, so working parents need a plan.
- **Cost:** Posted on the museum's Summer Tuition chart — check site. Girls in STEM is free.
- **Location:** 1600 Gendy Street (Cultural District).
- **What makes it special:** This is *the* camp where spots vanish within days. The free Girls in STEM lab is a genuinely rare no-cost STEM week for middle-school girls.
- **Registration timing (2027 dates already published):** **Jan 12, 2027** returning families  **Jan 26** members  **Feb 9** general public. Membership effectively buys you two weeks of priority.
- Contact: 817-255-9521, museumschool@fwmsh.org · [fwmuseum.org/learn/summer-programs](https://www.fwmuseum.org/learn/summer-programs/)

## YMCA Fort Worth — Adventure Day Camps & Camp Carter

- **Ages:** ~5–17 depending on program.
- **Locations:** Branches across Tarrant County (Downtown, Bedford, Benbrook, Eastside, Northpark, Northwest, Ryan Family, McDonald, Keller, Azle, Eagle Mountain and more) plus **Camp Carter** — 360+ acres on the Trinity River, 15 minutes from downtown.
- **Cost:** Pricing lives in the registration portal and varies by branch/membership — check site. **Financial assistance and CCMS child-care subsidies are accepted at most summer programs.**
- **Hours (Camp Carter):** Drop-off 7:00–8:45 a.m., pickup 4:00–6:00 p.m. — real extended care built in, with morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack included.
- **2026 dates:** 11 weeks, May 26–August 7 — one of the longest seasons in the county.
- **What makes it special:** Camp Carter is the closest thing to sleepaway camp in day-camp form — archery, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, ropes courses. Branch camps are the workhorse full-day option at the most accessible price point in town.
- [ymcafw.org/camp/day](https://ymcafw.org/camp/day/) · [Camp Carter](https://ymcafw.org/camp-carter/traditional/)

## Art Camps: The Modern & the Kimbell

**Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth** (3200 Darnell St) — the traditional paid art camp:
- Art Camp ages 4–13 (tight bands: 5–7, 8–10, 11–13), ~$275 member / $330 nonmember per week, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., lunch provided. Art Study for ages 14–18, $325/$380, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Scholarships available.
- Campers work **in the galleries with the actual collection**, taught by two professional artists, ending with a real exhibition of the kids' work.
- 2026 registration opened to the public March 27 — expect the same late-March pattern for 2027.
- [themodern.org](https://www.themodern.org/summer-2026-summer-art-camp-and-art-study)

**Kimbell Art Museum** — the free option:
- Kimbell Kids Drop-In Studios: free, ages 12 & under with an adult, selected Saturdays 1–1:45 p.m.
- Teen Summer Studio: free workshops with professional artists (application + work samples, opens in spring).
- The free Family Festival is the signature summer event.
- If a full-price art camp isn't in the budget: Kimbell's free Saturdays + the Modern's scholarship line is the play.
- [kimbellart.org/participate/kids-and-families](https://kimbellart.org/participate/kids-and-families)

## Fort Worth Botanic Garden — S.E.E.D. Camp

- **Ages:** Pre-K through middle school in tight bands — Bugs Among Us (4–5), Botanists in Training (6–7), Nature Innovators (8–11).
- **Location:** BRIT building, 1700 University Drive.
- **What makes it special:** Real botanists and research scientists in the building; kids use actual science tools in a 120-acre garden.
- **Reality check:** most or all 2026 sessions sold out by late spring. Registration opens winter/early spring with member priority — treat it like Museum School and register in January–February.
- **Extended care:** one extra hour (3:30–4:30 p.m.) on full-day weeks.
- edu-programs@fwbg.org · [fwbg.org camps](https://fwbg.org/learn/children-family-programs/camps/)

## City of Fort Worth Parks & Rec — Camp Fort Worth & Mobile Rec

- **Ages:** 5–12 at city community centers.
- **Cost:** Historically the cheapest full-day option in Tarrant County — verify current fees at 817-392-5700.
- **Activities (2026):** sports, STEM, arts, fishing, boating and water safety, **swimming lessons**, drama, robotics, and an end-of-summer talent show.
- **Why it matters:** price and neighborhood access. For families who can't swing $300+/week, this is the backbone — and the water-safety component is a real differentiator.
- [fortworthtexas.gov camps](https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/parks/services/camp)

## Sports Camps

**TCU Athletics** — kids train in TCU facilities, run per-sport by the coaching staffs: youth football (rising K–5), Jamie Dixon basketball camps, flag football (grades 1–8), tennis, track, baseball. Registration opens sport-by-sport in late winter; marquee youth weeks fill by May. [TCU summer camps index](https://admissions.tcu.edu/info-for/summer-camps.php)

**ASI Gymnastics (Keller)** — ages 3–14, AM (8–1) and PM (1–6) sessions, book by the half-day, day, or week; **walk-ins welcome** ($5 same-day fee). Follows the school calendar, so it runs later into August than almost anyone — the answer for the dead weeks before school starts. [asigymnastics.com/asi-camps](https://asigymnastics.com/asi-camps/)

**Soccer** — Challenger Soccer Camp at Game On Fort Worth (ages 5–14, 9–4); **Nike Soccer Camp at Upper 90 Arlington: sessions from July 27, 2026, from $360 — one of the few camps still open this late**; FC Dallas Camps in Frisco offer sibling/member/group discounts.

## Theatre: Casa Mañana & Artes de la Rosa

**Casa Mañana** (Cultural District) — the region's flagship kids' theatre:
- **Camp Casa Jr.** (4–8): half-day weeks, $350 + $25 fee.
- **Camp Casa** (grades 3–8): the big one — a 3-week production camp ending in fully staged public performances (2026: *Matilda Jr.*). $1,750 + $25.
- **High School** (9–12): 2-week production (2026: *Grease*), $1,250 + $25.
- Payment plans available. Handbook publishes in **December**; the cast-based camps cap enrollment. Most expensive camp on this list — still fills.
- [casamanana.org/camps](https://casamanana.org/camps/)

**Artes de la Rosa** (Rose Marine Theater, Northside) — the city's home for bilingual/Latino-centered performing arts: summer camp for grades 3–12 mixing theatre, art, and technology at a far lower price point than Casa. 817-624-8333 · [artesdelarosa.org](https://artesdelarosa.org/artes-academy/)

## STEM & Coding

- **Code Ninjas (Fort Worth/Keller):** ages ~5–14; $250/week half-day, $450 stacked full-day; **before/after care 8 a.m.–6 p.m. at $20/hr**. Roblox, Minecraft modding, robotics, YouTube creation, AI. [codeninjas.com](https://www.codeninjas.com/tx-fort-worth-keller/camps)
- **iCode (Southlake):** ages 5–17, 6:1 ratio, Friday showcase where kids present their projects. Free trial camps. [icodeschool.com/southlake](https://icodeschool.com/southlake108/camps/)
- **Snapology (Benbrook/Grapevine):** LEGO robotics, stop-motion animation, Minecraft-build themes; half-day to extended-day at host sites including Fort Worth Academy. [snapology.com](https://www.snapology.com/texas-benbrook/camps/)

## The VBS Hack (Free–$40 Weeks)

Vacation Bible School is Fort Worth's great free-to-cheap camp hack: hundreds of churches run one-week programs (usually 9–noon), most free or $25–$40, ages ~4 through 5th grade. No central registry — each church announces April–May.

- **Fort Worth Moms' annual VBS roundup** is the closest thing to a master list.
- The **Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth** keeps a parish VBS list: [fwdioc.org/vacation-bible-school](https://fwdioc.org/vacation-bible-school)
- Strategy: search "[church name] VBS" starting in April and register early — big-church programs (music productions, water days, snacks) fill in days. The season clusters in June–early July.

## Special Needs & Inclusion Camps

- **Camp Fire First Texas — Camp El Tesoro** (Granbury, ~45 min): the region's established camp (ages 6–16, 223 acres on the Brazos) with a dedicated Inclusion Program for campers with mild intellectual/developmental disabilities, plus the nationally known **El Tesoro de la Vida grief camp**. [campfirefw.org](https://www.campfirefw.org/camps/overnight-camps/inclusion-program/)
- **Camp Summit** (Paradise, TX): barrier-free residential camp on 460 acres serving campers with disabilities of all types. [campsummittx.org](https://www.campsummittx.org/)
- **Charis Hills** (Sunset, TX): Christian overnight camp for kids 7–18 with high-functioning autism, ADHD, and learning differences. [charishills.org](https://charishills.org/)
- Ask any program directly about 1:1 support before assuming — YMCA financial-assistance camps and the free Girls in STEM lab have inclusion practices too.

## Price Tiers at a Glance

| Tier | Weekly cost | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Free–$100 | VBS weeks, Kimbell free studios, Girls in STEM (free), City community-center camps |
| Mid | $200–$400 | Code Ninjas, Zoo ($320–355), the Modern ($275–380), Nike Soccer, Museum School, YMCA (+ scholarships/CCMS) |
| Premium | $350–$600+/wk equiv. | Casa Mañana production camps ($1,250–$1,750 per session) |

**Best built-in extended care:** YMCA/Camp Carter (7 a.m.–6 p.m. included). **Paid add-on:** Code Ninjas. **None:** Zoo, museums — plan around 2–3 p.m. pickups.

## Registration Timeline Cheat Sheet (Plan for Summer 2027)

- **December:** Casa Mañana publishes its handbook and show titles. Decide on the big theatre camp now.
- **Early–mid January:** Museum School opens to returning families (**Jan 12, 2027**) — the single most time-sensitive registration in Fort Worth. Zoo schedule publishes; member pre-sale begins.
- **Late January:** Museum School members (**Jan 26**). Zoo public registration underway. Membership pays for itself in access.
- **February:** Museum School general public (**Feb 9**) — leftovers only. Botanic Garden S.E.E.D. opens with member priority.
- **March:** The Modern opens late March. TCU camps post sport-by-sport. YMCA branch registration opens.
- **April:** Casa Mañana & Camp Carter refund deadlines. Churches start announcing VBS — build your free weeks.
- **May:** Last call for June sessions. Flexible camps (ASI, Code Ninjas, Snapology, city programs) still have room.
- **Late July–early August (the gap weeks):** the short list still running: the Zoo (through Aug 7), Camp Carter (through Aug 7), the Modern's teen Art Study, Nike Soccer Upper 90, ASI Gymnastics, YMCA branches. If you'll need August coverage, book these in spring.

*Sources: official sites of every camp listed (fortworthzoo.org, fwmuseum.org, ymcafw.org, themodern.org, kimbellart.org, fwbg.org, fortworthtexas.gov, casamanana.org, artesdelarosa.org, admissions.tcu.edu, asigymnastics.com, codeninjas.com, icodeschool.com, snapology.com, campfirefw.org, campsummittx.org, charishills.org, fwdioc.org). Verify current-year details before registering.*