11 New Summer Camps for NYC Kids in 2019

Seasoned New York City parents know that summer camp search season starts when snow is on the ground and summer seems like a distant memory. Still, every year, I tend to put off summer planning until the February mid-winter school break shocks me into action.

Fortunately, the NYC area and surrounding suburbs offer tons of summer camp choices, from cooking to coding, from science to sports, and everything in between. And because NYC is always changing, there are always new camps opening. We've found a number of new summer camps for 2019, including some new locations for old favorites. Summer break will be here before you know it!

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Starting this summer, Upper East Side dance institution The Ballet Club offers new one-week intensive camps.

The Ballet Club – Upper East Side
328 East 61st Street, between First and Second Avenues
Multiple one-week sessions starting in July
Ages 3 1/2 to 17
Starting this summer, Upper East Side dance institution The Ballet Club offers new one-week intensive camps for students ages 8-17 that can be customized to each dancers' needs, in private, semi-private, and group settings, with instruction in technique as well as choreography, ballet history, and modern dance. Not a semi-pro ballet dancer yet? The Ballet Club also offers summer dance, theater, art, and movement camps for kids at every level from beginner to advanced. Their half-day Mini Movement camps are a fun introduction to dance for preschoolers, while their summer program with Little Picassos offers a combo of arts and movement, from yoga to creative dance to ballet.

RELATED: Free and Cheap Summer Camp Programs for NYC Kids

Brooklyn's wildly popular screen-free kids' gaming HQ, Brooklyn Game Lab, expands across the river to a new Tribeca location in 2019.

Brooklyn Game Lab – Tribeca
119 Chambers Street
Multiple one-day and one-week sessions starting in June
Ages 6 to 13
Brooklyn's wildly popular screen-free kids' gaming HQ expands across the river to a new Tribeca location in 2019. At Brooklyn Game Lab, kids engage in creative, strategic board games, role-playing games, and chess, coming up with new rules and characters and learning the principles of game design. Summer camp programming mixes indoor and outdoor play, with one-day and full-week options available as well as extended hours.

Court 16 – Long Island City, Queens
1306 Queens Plaza South
Multiple one-week sessions starting in June
Ages 4 to 10
One of our favorite new family-friendly openings in NYC last year, the LIC location of Court 16 has 9 indoor tennis courts that are designed to be kid-friendly, in smaller, more age-appropriate sizes. This summer, certified instructors lead tennis-pros-in-training in tennis fundamentals, as well as craft projects and engaging lessons to build a deeper appreciation for the sport. Themed summer camp weeks include Tennis Traditions, Greatest Players, Doubles, and more, at both the Queens courts and their sister location in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

Curious Jane – Upper West Side
3 West 95th Street at Central Park West
Multiple one-week sessions starting in July
Girls entering grades K-6
Justly-beloved all-girl creativity camp Curious Jane is opening a new location on the Upper West Side for summer 2019, with sessions in Spy Science, Kitchen Chemistry, and fun art and design projects. The camp has also added new offerings to their list of engaging camp themes, including an Ooey Gooey Science camp where girls get to do science experiments where things go plop, glop, fizz, and bubble. Curious Jane camps are offered in seven locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The Dynamite Shop – Park Slope, Brooklyn
487 Seventh Avenue
Multiple one-week sessions starting in June
Ages 8 and up
During the school year, The Dynamite Shop offers after-school classes and one-day camps for young aspiring chefs, with a cafe up front serving coffee, baked goods, and snacks. During the summer, the focus shifts to week-long sessions where campers develop a pop-up restaurant with guidance from professional chefs, taking field trips to food markets around the city, learning cooking fundamentals, and tackling diverse recipes.

RELATED: Search Camps by Location, Age, and Specialty in Our NYC Directory

Kids can create personal pieces for themselves or to give to others at the Jewelry Camp in Chelsea. 

Jewelry Camp – Chelsea
The Haymarket Building, 135 W. 29th Street, Suite 304
Multiple one-week sessions, dates to be announced
Grades 3 through 5
Working with experienced designers, kids can create personal pieces for themselves or to give to others, in immersive jewelry arts classes that explore a range of materials and techniques.

Now in a new, larger location for 2019, The League of Young Inventors offers weekly themed summer sessions in hands-on exploration.

League of Young Inventors – Park Slope, Brooklyn
347 Seventh Avenue
Multiple one-week sessions starting in June
Grades K through 6
Now in a new, larger location for 2019, this creativity camp offers weekly themed summer sessions in hands-on exploration, cool engineering projects, and real world problem-solving. Camps in toy building, the physics of water, spy science, music, and even urban planning empower kids to invent, create, and explore.

New this year at New Country Day Camp are debut programs in sustainable cooking and gardening, music, and engineering.

New Country Day Camp – East Village, Staten Island
344 E. 14th Street, Manhattan and Henry Kaufman Campgrounds, Staten Island
Multiple two-week sessions starting in June
Grades K through 8
New this year at the popular summer camp run by the 14th Street Y are debut programs in sustainable cooking and gardening, music, and engineering, as well as upgrades to their Open Tent Program serving kids with autism, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities, and sensory and language delays. Kids are transported via buses (with A/C!) from pickup locations in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to the camp's shady, lush grounds on Staten Island for a wide range of activities plus swimming twice a day.

NORY – Downtown Brooklyn
9 Hanover Place
Multiple one-week sessions starting in June
Ages 3-12
With a new location for summer 2019 in Brooklyn's Science, Language & Arts School, NORY combines STEM-focused projects and learning with daily activities like soccer and swimming. Lunch is provided free, and group sizes are kept small. Weekly themes include robotics, game design, magic, sports, and helping others.

The Queens Museum Big Time Summer Art Things for kids will return in 2019 with sessions focusing on art-making and art appreciation.

Queens Museum Big Time Summer Art Thing for Kids – Corona, Queens
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Multiple two-week sessions starting in July
Ages 7-11
This innovative arts-focused camp, "part creative laboratory, part arts gym," launched at the Queens Museum last summer, and will return in 2019 with sessions focusing on art-making and art appreciation, from painting to printmaking to puppetry. Campers also explore cultural and outdoors institutions around Queens including the zoo, botanic garden, and of course, the museum itself.

Young Moguls DJ Camp – Union Square
14 West 17th Street
Multiple one-week sessions starting in July
Ages 8-12
Founded by a NYC mom with a background in digital music, this brand-new camp lets kids take control of music technology to become active creators. Kids learn DJ fundamentals, including mixing, beats, and creating sets, with small groups working together to create new tracks. And of course, there's a dance party every day!

Unless noted, photos courtesy of the camps