An inventive and creative summer camp option. Perfect for kids who like to build, tinker, and…read morecreate. There is outdoor time, and an option to add-in lunch and before/after care. The staff is great - well trained and nearly all of them are educators during the school year. There are camp songs and silly fun, and it's a great option!

I can only really relay what my child told me and make some assumptions but seemed like the camp…read morewas overall 'average' but if it were up to my kid, she would give this camp a 0 because they didn't let the kids play in the playground all week. I assume it was due to a shortage on staffing but not sure I'm sympathetic given the cost of this camp. Mind you she was 8, not 3 year old. Her friends who also went had a similar experience and this year said 'absolutely no Galileo'. Unclear if this is the norm or just a one time thing with summer of 2025 or that week but figured I let the community aware.

Talk about igniting my child's desire to learn, explore, and grow in STEM! You absolutely see what…read moreyou are paying for each day when your child comes home full of new ideas and doesn't stop talking about them until you put her to bed. We have been going to KSL on and off for about two years and this summer we enrolled our daughter in a 3 week camp. Each week a new topic was covered: dinosaurs v. animals, engineering, and astronauts/space. I can attest that each day was packed with experiments and builds that made science accessible. 1. Teachers and staff are kind, attentive, and educated. KSL is creative about learning and definitely provides a hands on experience. The teachers & staff show patience with the children and a passion for what they are exploring/teaching each day. This is definitely a differentiator from other camps we've attended/researched. Every person I encountered at KSL knew my child by name and was by my standards professional & helpful. 2. The quality of the subject matter & builds is unlike any other place we've taken our daughter. It feels like the curriculum is designed to allow kids to ask questions and learn through hands on projects, reading, and experiments - (these are the things your child will not stop talking about for days...) 3. The materials used in these projects is so inventive. This year my daughter built a Mars Rover model that is truly better than anything I could have constructed... and she's 5! Each day I was impressed with the magnitude of engineering and creativity used in the projects that came home... yes there's still goo and snake venom but the fact that my daughter could talk about what snake venom does to blood blew me away... she took an understanding away from the cool experiments - it's wasn't just about making something slimy or gooey. 4. Location: KSL has parking in the Whole Foods North Ave. parking garage. This is an awesome thing for anyone toting around a second child (like me.) It's truly an easy in and out and their building is very secure. I never left my daughter feeling concerned or worried about her safety. Honestly, if you child has any spark for creativity (which I think they all do) try out a Saturday drop-in class. I think they sell packs so that you don't have to commit to being there every weekend if your schedule is nuts. It's an experience you won't find anywhere else. Last, but not least, here's the true testament to how great this place is: We commuted from Jefferson Park (Foster Ave.) to KSL on I-90 during rush hour for 3 weeks... yeah, it's that good.

Mr Shegan is AWESOME! His way of handling stressed parent minutes before the big show, his way of…read moreengaging kids VIRTUALLY during the shows, my kid and her friends had a great time celebrating my daughter's birthday virtually. Mr Shegan called the day before to walk me through what would happened, so I appreciated the walk-through and gave me a level of comfort despite the backoffice chaos i experienced the last couple weeks. What's really dampening the supposingly-stress-free experience is the back-office arrangement. Some of the highlights below - So the zoom info was given to me when I booked the party back in May. I called a few times to confirm the zoom info a couple weeks prior to the party to make sure what I had on the invite was still correct. What really caused me a bit anxiety is that when they did "confirm" the zoom info with me over on email, the info sent over contains a couple other kids names and one of their party information. Granted nothing really personal was shared, but this made me wonder how they handles guest information in general. The day of the party, apparently, the guests and I were in a different zoom room from Mr Shegan's, the "registration" page we were sent to had a different party date/time options to pick from, which confused a lot of us. Many parents were texting me just few mins before the party while I was confused myself, and not sure what happened since it was slightly different from what Mr Shegan told me the day before. I think there's a change of personnel post-sales coz I couldn't reach the person who I contacted during the sales to confirm all the logistics. Everytime I contacted KSL, I reached the voicemail, emails were unanswered. Granted they did call you back rather quickly. But that's kinda annoying and added extra layer of stress to a planner like me. And suburb buyers be aware - if you want virtual party, kits pick up time is 9-4 in LP. During sales time, the lady told me that they could arrange weekend pickup given I live in the burbs and DO work regular 9-5. But obviously, this didn't happen. We had to make an arrangement for a quick trip to the city. All in all, the experience was 5+ star DURING the party time, but it was less than desired during the planning phase post-sales. Mr Shegan is def. the saving grace.

I wish that there were more stars to give this review. This has been my most difficult review to…read morewrite. I'm just caught up in my emotions and can't find enough gracious words to put into writing. OTSC has touched my heart in so many ways. I have met the most polite and kind hearted kids to be around. Off The Street Club is a boys and girls club that provides a safe haven for kids who are living in the most dangerous neighborhoods. The boy's and girl's club provide many different programs for kids to enjoy while providing a safety net surrounding them. Including a mentorship program, sports and other athletic activities, music, art, woodshop theater and a computer center for afterschool to finish up school work. OTSC even has a program doing the summer camp Mathieuv where kids can go and enjoy being kids. Lots of fun and laughter. I'm just grateful and honored to give my time by volunteering here at OTSC. The smiles on these kids faces is priceless. For each warm hug and beautiful smile that I see on these kids faces makes my day. Great place to volunteer, well mannered kids and the atmosphere is always full of warm hugs and love.

From about 1975 thru 1981 I attended the Off The Street Club (OTSC). I was also a student at St…read more Mel Grammar School which was located about four blocks away. The OTSC was situated between my home and St Mel. My siblings and I would walk there most days right after school. I participated in the Jessie Owens track & field events and later joined the Chicago Zephyrs track club through the OTSC. My siblings and I also regularly attended a sleep away summer camp via OTSC. The neighborhood was though when I was growing up. I don't think we thought of it that way at the time. For a while there was a kid a few years older who would try to rob me of any money I might have who must have lived near the club. But once we were in the club we were safe. By traveling in groups of three or more we felt safer. The OTSC was a great place to play. There was a supervisor named Bo Rogers who I admired. Bo was an outstanding basketball player. He was 6 feet 7 inches tall and clearly had played high level competitive basketball for many years. He ran the gym, organized tourneys, it was great. On Saturdays we would roller skate in the gym. I became a pretty good skater. There was an administrator named Ms Holmes who was a real sweet heart and beautiful too. She would be tough if the situation required but mostly she was nice. She seemed to keep the whole operation in check. About 12 years ago, upon returning to Chicagoland area from NYC, somehow I walked into the OTSC briefly and saw Ms. Holmes. She was busy as always so we didn't say much. I kinda regret that now. I recently learned there's an annual fund raiser, most recently it was at the Art Institute of Chicago, named the Flyer Fly Ball. I will plan to attend the next one. There was an extended period when the OTSC was the funniest part of my life! I loved meeting the other kids, competing and just playing in a supervised and safe setting. Every child should have that place. I've done a lot since my time at OTSC. It's great to see that the OTSC is still doing well and meeting a tremendous need for the community! My very best to the people who have helped to make it so, Paul Burton, JD, MBA Chief Executive Officer ResQ Pharma, Inc.

I rented the Troop House and Rustic Lodge for a winter weekend at camp with my Girl Scout Service…read moreUnit. It was great for our group of 40 girls and volunteers. The buildings were clean and comfortable. We used the Troop House kitchen to make food for our group and also used the fire ring there too. We went on a beautiful winter hike along the trails and the girls sledded down the hill in front of troop house all weekend. Definitely a great Girl Scout campground to have in our council that isn't too far from Chicago.

The Cub & Boy Scouts were invited to stay at Camp Palos this year. The typical Cub & Boy scout…read morecamp is being renovated this year, Camp Sullivan. Camp Palos is excellent! Very clean, plenty of scenic hiking, lots of room for the kids to run around.

This is our 6 th summer at Apachi Northside. It is fun, well run, spirited camp, with a plethora of…read moreactivity offerings. From dance, to sports, to crafts, to swim, our child has been exposed to so many great activities. While expensive, it's a great value . Swim program is top notch, and activities are professionally run, varied and excellent. Older kids get a choice of activities and go on field trips. Beth, the director, is great. She hires an enthusiastic, bright, diverse and fun staff year after year. Apachi counselors seem to work hard and seem invested in ensuring the campers have a great time. My daughter has made awesome friendships and looks forward to returning and seeing her camp friends year after year We have loved this camp!

this is one of the worst summer camps to send your kids to. my daughter was exposed to not only to…read moretoxic campers. but extremely inappropriate topics. the older kids at this camp would come up to her and say extremely inappropriate things. and when she tried to speak up about them the counselors didn't give a care. I am never going here again.

I reserved a session as a surprise birthday gift for my daughter. She wanted to do something…read moredifferent and I thought this would be an excellent idea. Unfortunately, my family was late for our reservation but the manager was nice enough to help us. (He just rescheduled our session to the next available time.) Jam was my family's instructor and he was amazing. My family had an absolute wonderful time! It was so much fun that I would highly recommend iFLY for the entire family.

My wife had a wonderful time here. They provide training, and they properly prepare you for the…read moreride. For $20 extra you can fly even higher. Very safe. Staff really cares about you

My daughter is asking to return for the third year. We do the extended day camp. She is eleven,…read moreand her experience during the school year was on a park district team, so this increased level of challenge, playing with girls who are more skilled than her, and the independence of going to the dining hall, being grouped with girls she did not know, the bus trip to a WNBA game, etc., was great for developing resilience.

I've attended this camp three times (2 sessions in a row this year) and have had a blast! "Spider",…read morethe coach is very educated. You have lots of independence which I like. It's lots of basketball, you play for 8-9 hours a day. Although it's hard, there is lots of free time for resting/eating. The food is great and the independence is so fun! I highly recommend sending your kids to this c

We went to the NJWC Trick or Treat event at Safety Town over the weekend and it was a total waste…read moreof $16. There were a bunch of local businesses handing out lame candy to the kids while trying to sell their goods/services to the parents. It would have been much better if there was a police car or firetruck onsite for the kids to see. One volunteer did a presentation on how to stay safe during Halloween which was supposed to be geared towards kids but unfortunately wasn't age appropriate and most kids were checked out after the first 3 minutes. After 15 minutes of hearing about 20 different sales pitches we left. I should have just purchased $16 worth of candy at Walgreens rather than waste my time here.

Built in the mid-nineties, Safety Town is the perfect miniature version of "Any Town USA". With…read moretiny streets dotted with traffic signs, businesses and homes, replicating a grown-up world, teens, firemen, and policeman volunteer their time to teach small children how to be safe in a fun and welcoming environment. While there are many programs that are offered throughout the year, my experience is with Safety Town Summer Camp. $55 fee for one week of daily 90 minute sessions. Each day is devoted to single topics such as water safety, traffic safety, electricity etc... This popular program is only offered to prospective kindergarteners and first graders. Kids are placed in groups of 6. If you know the parents of your child's friends, you can coordinate which group to place them in, ensuring they will be with familiar faces. It fills up very quickly so you must sign up as soon as they open online registration in early April. For only $55, you gift yourself a week of daily 90 min increments when you don't have to entertain your little one and yet they're learning valuable things and having fun. --a win for everybody.