This was our first time at a Camp Galileo and there were some good things and some not so good…read morethings. First, the camp is extremely well organized. You get detailed emails on exactly what your camper needs, drop offs and pickups are organized well, the atmosphere is cheerful, and there's an actual curriculum. Sometimes it feels like summer camps are just extended play sessions or babysitting centers, but there's some actual learning going on here, which I appreciated. But, keep in mind this camp is big. It's a full on school sized camp, and your camper can get lost. My little one was surrounded at recess by a bunch of older boys who were throwing balls at his head. They wouldn't let him leave, and while he had his hands up to try to protect himself, he eventually got hit, hard, by one boy who came along and said I'll get him. I feel like in a smaller camp this kind of bullying would have been noticed, but counselors didn't see until he had already been hurt. It sounds like he missed out on a greater part of the day since he was sitting in the office crying and with an eye pack over his eye. I'm disappointed that this was not reported to me the camp itself. He had a hit to his head and no one called me. At the very least I should have been told at checkout. I only learned of it once my little one developed a black eye and complained of headaches. The whole story only came out at the doctor's office. The camp needs to strive to have better communication with the parents.

Like one of the other reviewers, we had a bad experience at this camp. One of our younger children…read morewas threatened with physical harm at the camp from the older campers here. When we brought this up to the staff they were unsurprised and knew exactly who the culprits were. Apparently this is a recurring problem in the camp. I would have expected the camp to either remove or keep a better eye on the kids who were known to cause trouble. I would say this camp fails at keeping the kids safe.

If you're looking for a fun camp to fill a week (or a few weeks) of summer Galileo may be the…read moreanswer. My middle son filled his last 2 summers with many different camp options now that he's over traditional day camp. He did 2 weeks of Galileo at the Avoca location last summer and enjoyed it so much that I signed him up for another week this summer. This time we chose the Sacred Heart campus in Winnetka since it's the closest one to our house. The best part about the location was that he was able to bike to and from camp with his friend! There are different "science/stem" types of themes every week. Last year he did a week where they made custom water blasters and another week where they did remote controlled bots. He enjoyed both camps, which were challenging and fun. While the majority of the day is spent inside (which is kind of a nice break from all his outdoor sports camps) they do get outside daily and even do a water play day. This year the theme was to make a custom go cart and i think this was his favorite one yet. The finished product was so cool and we've been admiring it our garage every since he brought it home. I don't think I would sign up for more than 1-2 weeks since I prefer my kids to be outside for the majority of the summer, but definitely a fun and creative way to fill a summer!

As an employee at Camp Galileo, seeing children be challenged and succeed at using their incredible…read morecreativity and their imaginations, watching their determination to problem, solve and work with their peers to overcome obstacles. seeing all the age groups create such amazing projects and have so much fun. Seeing the children with new friends and old friends bonding and being so proud of what they dream of and what they create is a joy for a team leader. I would recommend any parent send their children to this camp. We care so much about the campers and the families and at the Winnetka campus we are 100% wanting to create the best summer possible for these campers, these incredible campers.

Wonderful staff who instills in preschool what learning should be...inquisitive and FUN. My…read moredaughter loved her few mornings a week she went in. She got to make friends, go outside daily, make crafts, learn about the world around her, celebrate birthdays. When I would pick her up, she would sing songs, about what they were learning, over and over again. This place is incredible for kids. So loving.

When moving to the North Shore I had my work cut out for me to find a preschool that was both…read moreplay-based and offered full-time care. Banner was the answer. From the moment we visited the school, I knew it was the right place for our daughter to begin her preschool experience. "Warmth" is how I'd describe the environment at Banner both in appearance and culture. The classrooms are inviting, cozy, and creative. This is a school run by teachers who love what they do and create a warm, positive environment for children to learn, develop and thrive. Our daughter wakes up excited to go to Banner every day which is the best testimonial a parent could offer.

I am very impressed with my daughter's ballet class with Mrs. Lehman. Mrs. Lehman is a classic,…read moregraceful, elegant dancer. She sets high expectations for her dancers (even the tiny ones), which I love. This isn't like the class my daughter took elsewhere where they ran around, dressed up and pretend to princess-fairy-ballerinas. This is real ballet - learning poise, grace and the proper French terms. Mrs. Lehman is so loving with the girls, my daughter adored her right away. The prices are very reasonable. I love how much she is learning and that she is having a great time doing it.

From the owner: The role of the arts in our lives is a MOST important one…read more All things come and go: governments, fashions, all living things; but ideas and their expression remain. Performing Art is special because it is living and active expression. We learn by practice and, in the arts, we practice and grow, we can achieve a sense of our being and have the ability to express our spirit/soul. We each develop differently. We like to see our students as individual flowers: each beautiful, but "blossoming" in his/her own time. In our current society, our imaginations are often not used as they once were, and, sometimes, an individual and his/her achievements can get ""lost"". That is only one of the many reasons it's so very important to give this opportunity to your children, as well as to yourself. For proper development of mind and body there is nothing better for anyone than dance. It teaches so many skills that, literally, volumes have been written about it. It improves all mind/body functions, builds confidence and self-esteem, all the while teaching the disciplines we need all through life. Other than love, there is no greater gift you can give to your children than to allow DANCE, MUSIC, and THEATRE to become integral parts of their lives. Thank you for giving them that opportunity to grow so specially with us.

This is a wonderful summer camp for kids who are super active and love doing different things every…read moreday. They take the kids on tons of different field trips, and when they stay on-site they bring in fun activities and entertainment. My kids loved the add-on activities, which include horseback riding, rock climbing, and cooking classes. I like that you can see the entire summer's schedule, day-by-day, before you enroll, too. As a parent I really appreciate how accessible and responsive the owners Brooke and James are. They replied to every question and concern quickly, and they were very helpful and professional with each interaction. I can tell these are parents who truly care that every camper and parent has a great experience with them. Oasis is a great option for families who need flexibility--there are large windows for drop-off and pickup, and you can even enroll your child one day or one week at a time. I've never found another day camp with this kind of flexibility and I really appreciate it as a working parent.

As a parent I was very attracted to this camp by the array of activities, particularly the twice a…read moreweek swimming and weekly field trips to local kids arcades and fairs. But my child did not enjoy the long bus rides to the various destinations. Many of the places they went were an hour or more away (Rockford water parks, Brookfield zoo). Apparently the camp did not have kids doing group bus activities (telling stories etc) on the long drives. When we saw how much time they were spending sitting on buses without bus activities, we were surprised. We don't recall our camp field trips this way--bus rides were chances for counselors and campers to invent wacky songs or play group games...but it seems this wasn't the case here. Our child also said that the counselors weren't as attentive as counselors at other camps. When we fetched our child at 3:30 or 3:45 each day we also found that counselors were completely unengaged--texting or dozing on the gym floor. Kids were running around unsupervised. We assumed the extra expense of this camp (which costs more than other day camps) was because kids could stay the full day...but when we saw that after 3:30 the camp becomes a free-for-all with unplugged counselors, we made an effort to get off work early to pick our son up at 3:30. The camp should insist that the counselors remain engaged and actually supervise children in the 3:30-closing period. Many of the activities were great on paper but didn't quite materialize. Cooking class with real ovens didn't happen, No real arts activities, at least not during the weeks our child was there. Theme weeks the weeks my son was there theme day and a half--a trip and a related optional dress up day. Also, the theme did not seem to bring other learning or creative opportunities....which is fine, since camp should be mainly about having fun...but if your kid is expecting a full week of Harry Potter extravaganzas, he'll be disappointed. I'd like to believe that a lot of the problems with the camp this summer had to do with the fact that one of the camp directors/owners was pregnant and recently had her baby (I don't think I ever saw her at the site, and I don't think I ever met the other director, either...save for at the open house day in the spring). Perhaps they were more hands off than normal because of the baby. I do think an effort should be made to find more engaged counselors for next year. Of all the male counselors I've met at various camps, for some reason this lot looked the most bored...and kids pick up on that. At least our child did. I don't want to be completely negative here. The camp did some nice things I have not seen done elsewhere--posting photos online each week of the kids at the pools, trying to offer a variety of fun activities. If better, more engaged counselors were found and encouraged to remain attentive all day, and if the long bus rides were minimized and activities for those rides created, the camp could be as good as it soujnds like it should be.

My kids have been taking tennis lessons here with Coach Becky for about a year. And they love her!…read moreIn fact, when I mentioned to my 5 year old son today that I canceled tennis lessons later this week he started crying. Clearly a fan! And then there's my 7 year old daughter who refuses to do any sports, but she happily heads to tennis with Becky each week. She even told me last week that Becky definitely deserves 5 stars on Yelp, which is probably the reason I'm finally getting around to writing this review! Becky is fun and patient with the kids. She does 30 minutes with the my son and his friends, followed up with 30 minutes with my daughter and her friends. It's a fast lesson, but she gets a lot of tennis in during a short time It's impressive to see how the kids have progressed over the year. They are actually hitting the ball over the net now...and had a consistent rally the past few weeks. While Becky was on maternity leave months ago we signed the kids up for tennis at AC Nielsen and I find this to be a much better experience. The facility itself is nice- mostly lots of indoor tennis courts, but also a few outdoor ones as well, which we haven't been so lucky to see this cold spring. There's a small waiting room, but the kids not playing tennis usually just run around the other side of the court while Becky teaches. There's plenty of parking right outside and it's conveniently (or maybe not conveniently) across the street from Target. We've only had private lessons with Becky here, but I've heard good things about their basketball and tennis camps so may sign my son up for one of those in the future. And I may even brush the dust off my tennis racquet and take an adult lesson at some point too.

From the owner: We are a family owned and operated indoor tennis club with 8 indoor and 2 outdoor courts. We…read moreprovide private lessons and group classes for adults and juniors in both tennis, basketball and fitness. Tennis and Fitness are for all ages while basketball classes are offered for kids 7-13 years old. Our goal is to provide an enthusiastic, positive environment in which our students can learn, improve and have fun as they do it.

The North Shore Art League's current exhibition, "Summer Open," has been extended through August…read more24, 2026, making it the perfect destination for an inspiring summer outing. With the exhibition now spanning nearly the entire season, there's still plenty of time to experience this wonderful showcase of local artistic talent. Admission is free, and the gallery is open to the public every day from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, even when the office is closed. Since 1924, the North Shore Art League has remained dedicated to its stated mission of "enriching the human spirit through art education and exhibitions". We found that the art gallery space of the North Shore Art League was bright, airy, and pleasant, with the exhibition thoughtfully and professionally curated. All the staff whom we had encountered were friendly and welcoming. If you are in the area, I highly recommend you stopping by the Northshore Art League, on the second floor of the Winnetka Community House, to see "Summer Open". Part of the exhibited art work were even for sale. There is a great variety of beautiful 2D art to choose from. A portion of all sales supports the North Shore Art League, a not-for-profit, 501©(3) organization.

My mother-in-law is on the board, so I'm a little biased, but we sent my daughter to art camp this…read moreweek and she's having an absolute blast! I'm so relieved because we pulled her from an Oak Park-area ceramics camp that just wasn't her thing. Great job of engaging the kids!