Spend your summer looking, learning, and creating at Cranbrook Art Museum!

• Hands-on, minds-on making in an open-ended, fun environment
  • Our camps introduce a variety of materials and concepts—evoking curiosity and honing critical thinking—while encouraging individual creativity and self-expression. We’re all about process, not product. Learn more about why from US News.

• Look at artwork in the museum
  • Create Campers spend lots of time each week in the museum vaults and galleries; looking and learning about contemporary art. Each project is inspired by artworks they can see and interact within the museum. We use these as a jumping-off point to create and design!

• Learn from Artists
  • Our Teaching Artists are experienced artists, designers, and educators! Teaching Artists connect concepts behind artwork in the museum, with age-appropriate projects and techniques. Create Camps teach kids how to observe, interpret, and tap into their creativity!

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Create Camps for Summer 2027 open to the public on November 30, 2026. ArtMembers (Companion+ level and above) get early access one week in advance; join today! If you are interested in receiving future communications about Create Camps, please sign up for camp-related emails here.

CREATE CAMPS SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

Cranbrook Art Museum’s Create Camps introduce a mix of materials and concepts that evoke curiosity while encouraging creativity and self-expression! Our teaching artists are experienced artists, designers, and educators who connect processes behind artwork in the museum with new projects each summer.  

• Create Camps welcome kids entering grades 1-7 in Fall 2027.  
• Camps are split by grade: 1-2, 3-4, 5-7 are each in their own classroom space.  
• In-person camps at Cranbrook Art Museum: 9am–3pm daily, Monday-Friday.  
• Every Friday, students prepare an exhibition of their work in the museum galleries for friends and family to enjoy starting at 2:30pm. 

LUNCH IS NOT PROVIDED AT THE CRANBROOK ART MUSEUM CAMPS. Lunch and snacks must be brought from home. All food must be sesame- and nut-free! 

BUS TRANSPORTATION IS NOT AVAILABLE. 

EXTENDED CARE: Extended morning care and afternoon care are held at the Cranbrook Institute of Science. Students will walk with staff to and from the Cranbrook Institute of Science, which is about a 5-minute walk from the Cranbrook Art Museum. Pre-registration is required. 

2027 CAMP OFFERINGS

Brochure with calendar of offerings available here

Interactive Art

Design playful objects, games, and toys with an artistic flare! Explore ways in which to engineer art that moves and is inspired by Cranbrook’s world-class design innovations. Projects will introduce our young designers to new materials and fabrication techniques. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available. 

1-2 grades: June 14-18 / 3-7 grades: June 28-July 2 

Drawing and Painting

Study the work of the artists old and new in the museum’s vast collection to create your own drawing and painting masterpieces. Campers will work with a mix of mediums, traditional and experimental techniques, and develop art that reflects each unique artist. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available.  

1-2 grades: June 21-35 / 3-7 grades: June 14-18  

Wearable Art

Campers will design and create one-of-a-kind wearable art using materials like metal, beads, wire, clay, and fabric. Each project encourages campers’ creativity and personal expression while drawing inspiration from expert designers in the museum’s collection. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available.

1-2 grades: June 28-July 2 / 3-7 grades: June 21-25 

Medieval Fairytale

Dive into a fantastical world where fairies fly free, kings and queens rule the castle, and frogs break their curse. Fairytale projects include story illustration, mixed media sculpture, portrait painting, and more! Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available. 

1-2 grades: July 12-16 / 3-7 grades: July 19-23

Printmaking

Campers will experiment with a variety of techniques including screen printing, gel plate printing, and other less conventional methods to create unique works of art. Each day offers a new way to experiment with color and design while learning printmaking methods from observing the work of Pop Art pioneers Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein in our collection. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available. 

1-2 grades: July 19-23 / 3-7 grades: July 12-16 

Fiber Arts

Get tangled up in creative textile and weaving projects using some non-traditional materials and techniques. Our young makers will build their patterning, materiality, and design skills inspired by the work of Cranbrook’s Studio Loja Saarinen which began fiber arts production in the 1920s. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available. 

1-2 grades: July 26-30 / 3-7 grades: August 2-6 

Sculpture

Inspired by the work of great sculptors on Cranbrook’s campus, campers will play with the balance of functional object and sculptural art form in their work. Through a variety of materials campers will build amazing three-dimensional creations with just their imagination and their own hands. Create Camps develop all new projects each year; this location does not have lunch or transportation available. 

1-2 grades: August 2-6 / 3-7 grades: July 26-30 

PRICING

Create Camps: $475 per week – includes all material costs. (We are a material-heavy camp!)

DISCOUNTS

• Become an ArtMember today and save on Create Camps! Not a member? Join today!
  • ArtMembers with a Companion+ membership or higher are eligible for discounts and early registration. 
  • Save $35 on each week of Create Camps ($440 per week)

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

A non-refundable enrollment deposit is required at the time of registration (SSP Camps: $50/session; CIS & CAM Camps: $100/session). The remaining camp fees are due as follows:

•  50% of the total fees due by April 1, 2027.
• 100% of the total fees due by June 1, 2027.

Late payments may result in registrations being canceled. If you choose a Scheduled Payment option at registration, payments will be scheduled to ensure the required amounts are met by the deadlines.

CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY

All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing via email to Joanna Anderson, Curator of Education (janderson@cranbrook.edu), and are subject to the cancellation policy below.

• Cancellation should not be assumed until confirmed by Cranbrook Art Museum. 
• The enrollment deposit of $100 is non-refundable.
• Written cancellations received before April 1, 2027, will be eligible for a full refund less the enrollment deposit and any payment processing fees.
• Written cancellations received between April 1 and May 31, 2027, will be eligible for a 50% refund of total tuition less the enrollment deposit and any payment processing fees.
• Cancellations received June 1, 2027, or later are not eligible for a refund.

FINANCIAL AID

CAM is committed to keeping camp accessible and affordable for all families. Need-based aid is offered by the museum for individual camp participants. Please contact Crystal Palmer at cpalmer@cranbrook.edu for more information.

Donate now to help extend our scholarship program.

Questions? Contact Crystal Palmer, Associate Curator of Education at cpalmer@cranbrook.edu.