Parents and caretakers,
We know this isn’t the easiest time for you. You’re juggling work, life, kids and the state of the world today. The struggle is real. Honestly, there’s an 11-year-old child, asking for my help, as I type this. That’s why we’re hosting Camp YouTube: a digital learning experience to help parents recreate the fun of summer camp at home.
With Google searches for “virtual summer camps” spiking over the past few weeks, we want to help parents structure this new normal. Starting today, Camp YouTube will spotlight content on the Learn@Home site and YouTube Kids across beloved summer camp themes, such as arts, adventure, sports, STEM, and more. We’ll have over 1,200 videos programmed during this two-week period with content refreshed every weekday through Sunday, July 5.
We’ve made sure there’s something for everyone.
FOR THE ADVENTURE LOVER
If you’re looking to bring the outside in, we’ll have an adventure camp that will help you explore the world around you and appreciate nature. Teenagers can enjoy wildlife, unscripted and unedited, with Explore.org; learn how to examine the outdoors the way scientists do when they’re doing fieldwork with The Brain Scoop or discover dinosaur fossils and organisms from all over the planet with the American Museum of Natural History.
We’ll also have a dedicated section for families with kids under 13 across each camp theme, where parents and kids can watch summer camp-themed videos on YouTube Kids that encourage creativity, curiosity, playfulness and offline activities. For adventure camp, families can discover how to make a tide pool aquarium in their backyard with Brave Wilderness, learn how to best prep for a hike with PLUM LANDING or find their animal soulmates from Dodo Kids.
FOR THE ARTS LOVER
For those looking to be creative, we’ll have an arts camp focused on self-expression and talent-building. With arts camp, the teenagers in your household will be able to cover everything from art history, dance and music; to acting, songwriting and drawing, including a creative-writing workshop from TED-Ed.
And for those under the age of 13, families can tune in to YouTube Kids to express their creativity with Art for Kids Hub, make art with household items while learning art history with the ArtistYear or practice ballet for beginners with NANI NANI KIDS. If music is your passion, you and your kids can learn dance moves together with KIDZ BOP.
FOR THE SPORTS LOVER
There will also be a number of videos focused on sports and wellness from soccer, football and baseball to yoga, meditation and stretching. With the help of the WNBA and NBA community, the Jr. NBA has developed two youth basketball development camps, one for kids ages 13 and younger that features beginner basketball exercises and drills, and one for teenagers that features intermediate and advanced training.
FOR THE STEM LOVER
We’ll also have a STEM camp for those interested in science, space, coding and more. For teenagers, STEM camp will have a number of science facts and experiments, and cover everything from coding to chemistry. You can learn about space exploration from National Geographic, earth science from AsapSCIENCE or computer programming from Jabrils.
Families with little ones can also join in on the fun and get their feet wet with STEM through YouTube Kids, too. They can learn coding with Goldieblox, or complete fun and weird science activities with PBS KIDS.
We know this summer may be a bit different for a lot of us. However, with the help of creators on YouTube, we hope you and your families can experience the magic of camp from home!
Malik Ducard, VP of Content Partnerships, Learning, Social Impact, Family, Health, Film & TV