Apple Camp – Everything You Want To Know About Apple’s Free Camp For Kids

Learn about Apple Camp 2022 – a free summer workshop for kids at local Apple stores.

Apple Camp is a free camp that Apple stores provide to help acclimate your kids to a variety of it’s products. We all want our sanity during the summer months and between child care, camps and what have you – things can get pricey quick.

JUST ADDED: New for Apple Camp 2022 – just released details of what Apple stores have in plan for the summer 2022 camp season.

What is Apple Camp for Kids

Thankfully one week of the summer we were able to enjoy a FREE activity for our son. If you are an Apple fan, you won’t want to miss learning about Apple camp!

Check out our list of 75 Summer Bucket List Ideas for Kids

Apple Camp is a free camp put on in the summer months by various Apple stores. There are usually a few options on topics to choose from. The camps are available for ages 8-12 years old and last 90 minutes, 3 times during the week.  BONUS! The kids are given a free Apple shirt!

Free Camp for Kids at the Apple Store

Our last Apple Camp was a few years ago due to the pandemic. We have spent 2 summers dragging kids to the Apple Store. Our first experience, our then 11-year-old son learned about Sphero and all that this little toy could do.

The next summer, we had 2 eligible Apple Campers! Our one son learned about Garage Band and iMovie. He was sent home with a video and also a free pair of headphones (we will take the headphones!)

Our younger son did the Sphero camp that our oldest had already done. It was a great introduction to robotics and a good way to baby step into coding. He went, he learned and now he won’t stop playing with his Sphero collection!

The Apple Genius taught him a whole new array of tricks and gave him some tips for maximizing his play with the device.

Now he is obsessed. He has hooked the Sphero app up on his sister and brother’s devices and showed them how to play. We have these robotic devices flying thru our house like it’s nobodies business!

Apple Camp 2022

This just in, Apple Camp 2022 information is now available and registration is LIVE. That’s right parents, but things have changed up for the 2022 Apple camping season. Here is what you need to know before you register and when to register.

Art Lab: Comic Book Adventure with Your Family

In the Dallas area, the Apple Camp available for my kids is Art Lab: Comic Book Adventure with Your Family. Here is more about he program.

Attention, all families: your mission is to protect Earth. You’ll imagine a story about how to keep the planet safe, then head out of the Apple Store to take photos and add drawings and stickers to your comic book on iPad. Recommended for kids ages 8–12 and their parents or guardians, who must be present during the session. Kids will get a Camp T-shirt and certificate. Devices will be provided.

Apple.com

What You Need to Know

Here are the things that you need to know about Apple Camp 2022.

Register Early – As mentioned below, registration fills up quick. Only a limited number of 2022 Apple Camping classes will be held at select Apple stores. Register Here!

Only 1 Theme – That’s right, when you sign up for summer 2022, it is only 1 theme, Art Lab. In years past, we had multiple options to choose from.

Ages 8-12 – The Apple Summer program for this year is for ages 8-12.

Parents Must be Present – This is not a drop off camp. A parent or guardian will need to be present the entire time your child is in camp. In past years there was an Apple Genius offering a parent’s camp at the same time. I am not seeing any information on if this is still a thing.

2 Hours – The Apple Art Lab Camp class will last for 2 hours.

In 2017, Apple is offering 3 different camps. This is when we originally shared about this exciting free summer camp from Apple. Will Apple Camp 2022 happen? It appear so! In 2021, Apple held a limited number of camps for kids.

Weekends – Another switch for the 2022 summer is that the days given are on a weekend. This is at least the case for the DFW area – not sure if weekends are nationwide. While this doesn’t help with keeping the kids busy (cue 75 fun summer ideas for kids) during the week, it does make it easier for working parents to attend.

Make sure to check out our summer memes for a good LOL at juggling kids and work during the summer months.

Register Early

Something to note, you will want to register early for Apple Camp 2022. The best way to do this is to sign up on Apple’s website for updates.

Camp Courses

While it’s been a few years since we have been able to attend due to C0v!d – here are the options that we were given to choose from. Note, not all Apple store locations host Apple Camp. In order for us to attend a camp near us that had availability – we had to choose a camp that wasn’t my son’s top pick.

Creating Characters and Composing Music

Kids ages 8-12 will create their own stories through drawings and sounds. Campers will start their session by sketching characters and scenes with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, then they’ll explore the basics for composing a track using GarageBand. They’ll bring their story to life by adding vocals and finishing touches.

Stories in Motion with iMovie

Future filmmakers ages 8-12 will explore the creative process of turning their ideas into real movies. In this three-day session, Campers will learn how to brainstorm and storyboard. Then they’ll get hands-on with movie-making techniques like learning camera angles and editing with iMovie. On the final day, they’ll present their masterpieces.

Coding Games and Programming Robots

In this three-day session for kids ages 8-12, we’ll introduce programming through interactive play. Kids will learn visual-based coding by solving puzzles with Tynker. Then they’ll learn how to program Sphero robots, and even create fun stories starring Sphero as the main character.

One caveat I should note – while Apple Camp is free, parents must stay in the Apple store while camp is in session. So no leaving. This is such a smart move on Apple’s part. I mean, come on – leaving me in the Apple store for 15 minutes is dangerous, let alone 90 minutes on 3 different days.

On the first day I made the mistake of bringing our 2 younger sons with us. It was hell. I don’t recommend bringing small children for your sanity and their’s.

Parent Camp

Something new this year, for 2 of the sessions they offered a “parent camp” while the kids were in camp. An Apple Genius walks the parents thru what the kids are learning. He or she also talks about setting up iTunes for family sharing, setting perimeters on your Mac and more.

I was able to attend on the second day of camp and the Genius was super helpful in answering my questions and suggesting various apps and configurations that would help with certain issues.

Sign Up Early!

If you are wanting to sign your child up for Apple Camp, SIGN UP EARLY! Every spring, I sign up on apple.com to receive a notification when camp registration opens. Last year we went on an epic road trip that spanned the course of the whole vacation. This year, we vacationed early and was able to get our son in no issue.

If the camp is full at your local store, I suggest giving the store a call and seeing if there by chance any openings or perhaps a wait list. OR wait, have you heard of Kids Hour?

Kids Hour

One thing I learned about at Parent Camp was another free opportunity for kids at Apple. Various Apple stores offer Kids Hour. This is an hour where an Apple Genius teaches your child on subject. This varies by stores and appears to be offered once a week, but looks like this could vary as well.

The closest Apple Store near me this week offers Garage Band Kids Hour and Making Movies Together Kids Hour. Again, you will need to stay in the Apple store, but this gives your kids a chance to learn and BONUS – IT IS FREE AND YEAR ROUND! So if you missed out on this year’s camp, at least give the Kids Hour a try!

The best place to find information on Apple’s Kids Hour is https://www.apple.com/today/program/kids-hour-sessions/