Leighton Art Centre Summer Camps – for kids aged 6 to 14 – offer a hands-on connection to art, nature, and Alberta’s heritage. Each week campers will be inspired to create in a wide variety of art forms while exploring the natural Alberta Foothills setting through nature hikes, outdoor games, and activities. And the centre’s education team has put together all new themes for this year’s camps!

The Leighton Art Centre – Historic Home, Museum, Art Gallery, and Education Centre featuring a one-room schoolhouse studio – is set on 80 acres of breathtaking rural scenery just 15 minutes from south Calgary. Since the 1970s, the Centre has existed to connect individuals from all walks of life with art, history and landscape. As a vibrant and open space for creativity, the Centre provides its visitors – including over 8,000 students each year – with the inspiration to explore, appreciate, and create.

Kids who love to explore – in art, in nature and in their own imaginations – will love Leighton Art Centre Summer Camps. After sorting campers into smaller age groupings for the week, the centre’s skilled instructors present daily activities that encourage creativity, exploration, learning, and friendship; mediums include painting, drawing, weaving, sculpting and more!

Leighton Art Centre Summer Camp (Family Fun Calgary)

Choose from 4 different – and equally fantastic – camps:

Green Is Our Favourite Colour (Weeks 1 & 6):

Empower your child with a better understanding of environmental issues with this eco-friendly themed camp. Reduce, reuse, and recycle is the name of the game, as campers learn about the importance of sustainability and how to apply these principles to their artwork by repurposing materials and reducing waste.

Back to the Basics (Weeks 2 & 5):

Travel back in time as we return to the roots of the Leighton Art Centre and have fun with fibre art. Campers will have an opportunity to try different textile techniques such as weaving, tie-dye, batik, and needle felting, while learning about our talented founder, Barbara Leighton. Children will also be educated about the origins of different fabric materials and how they are processed to become products we use.

Rocks, Crystals & Stones, Oh My!! (Weeks 3 & 7)

Rock your child’s world with this unique summer camp experience. Campers will learn about the different scientific categories, processes, and uses of rocks, crystals, and other magnificent stone formations. They will be encouraged to explore these materials firsthand by making paint, witnessing chemical reactions, and creating rock-inspired art.

A Bird’s Eye View (Weeks 4 & 8)

Help your child’s knowledge take flight as they learn all about the local birds. This summer camp focuses on understanding and appreciating the life cycles, behaviour, and beauty of our native feathered friends. Campers can observe them in their natural habitat via the birding routes/houses on the Leighton Art Centre property. In addition, they will make crafts dedicated to these amazing animals by getting creative with feathers, twigs, and clay.

Leighton Art Centre Summer Camp (Family Fun Calgary)

Every camp includes a nature component, organized games, supervised free time to play or work on art projects and a guided visit to the Leighton Art Centre Museum and Gallery. Campers will make lots of projects – including a customized t-shirt – that they then get to take home to display proudly.

On the Friday afternoon of each camp week, there’s an Open House and Art Show! Family and friends can drop in between 3:00 and 3:30 pm that day to check out the campers’ creations and share in their own child’s learning and discoveries. The Art Show is not mandatory and staff understand if you are unable to attend. The bus will run as usual and staff will provide your child with alternate activities for the afternoon, along with some special attention.

The Leighton Art Centre offers a FREE supervised summer camp bus service from Calgary, with pick-ups and drop-offs in 4 locations. You’ll find the bus schedule online and also in the 2023 Summer Camp Info Pack.

One week of camp at Leighton Art Centre is a great deal at $299/child*, including all art supplies, completed projects to take home and a t-shirt to customize and wear as a lasting reminder of an amazing week. A 10% discount is available to members of Leighton Art Centre. Members need to email the Leighton Art Centre before registering to receive a promo code for 10% off during online registration.

* or $249/child for Week 6, which is held Tuesday – Friday due to a statutory holiday Monday. Camp prices include registration, GST and service fee.

Have questions? They’re likely answered in the 2023 Summer Camp Info Pack or FAQs. If not – shoot the Leighton Art Centre an email.

Register online soon for the best selection of Leighton Art Centre camps … and then tell all your kids’ friends about how unique and affordable they are!

Creative expression + adventures in nature = a perfect summer week!

Leighton Art Centre Summer Camp:

When: Weekly, July 3 – August 25, 2023
Time: 9:30 – 3:30 pm
Where: Leighton Art Centre
Address: 282027 144 Street West, Foothills, AB
Website: www.leightoncentre.org
Facebook: leightonartcentre
Instagram: leightonartcentre