How Houston Elementary Students Can Maximize Summer Break
While summer vacation is a great time for your child to relax, recharge, and spend time with friends, it’s also a critical period academically. Summer slide affects students across the board and can compound over time, leaving students further behind with each passing year. We encourage you to keep your child engaged — socially, academically, and physically. Luckily, there is no shortage of Houston summer activities for your child to maximize summer break!
With that in mind, we’ve broken down all the possibilities into several categories, making sure to cover a variety of interests and hobbies across the board.
Types of Summer Opportunities for Elementary Students
Summer Camps
Summer camps are a great way for your student to learn a new skill and meet new friends from all around the city. These opportunities can be STEM-focused, outdoorsy in nature, and expose your child to brand-new skills, like Artificial Intelligence or fashion design. (As a quick note, the camps listed down below that are hosted at Rice have no affiliation with the university.)
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Summer Camp
Description
Age Range
Weekly Cost
Link
1
ashley
02/17/2025 01:21 PM
shellzj
02/19/2025 06:26 PM
iD Tech Summer Camps at Rice
STEM-focused camps with associated outdoor activities. Camps include coding, digital art, and Roblox.
7-12
From $1179
2
ashley
02/17/2025 03:00 PM
shellzj
02/19/2025 06:26 PM
Tech Revolution STEM Summer Camps at Rice
Tech-focused camps featuring robotics, game design, Minecraft, Youtube content creation, among others.
6-14
From $749
4
ashley
02/17/2025 03:10 PM
alexjohn
02/23/2026 03:23 PM
Houston Arboretum & Nature Center Camps
Features indoor and outdoor activities that explore the natural world in a 155-acre nature sanctuary.
4-12
From $255 (members) or $310 (nonmembers)
5
ashley
02/17/2025 03:18 PM
alexjohn
02/23/2026 03:24 PM
The Health Museum's Discovery Camps
Includes STEM activities like dissecting real animal organs, performing simulated surgeries, and behind-the-scenes exploration of museum exhibits.
5-13
From $325 (members) or $350 (nonmembers)
6
ashley
02/18/2025 04:01 PM
ashley
02/18/2025 04:01 PM
Elite University Summer Camps
A Texas-based summer program with camps specializing in nature, sports, visual and culinary arts, and STEM.
5-11
From $425
7
ashley
02/19/2025 11:27 AM
ashley
02/19/2025 11:27 AM
Kidventure's Passport to Adventure
Features several locations in Houston as well as Plano, Austin, and Dallas. Facilitated with an emphasis on building character, fitness, and confidence.
3-14
From $340
8
ashley
02/19/2025 11:36 AM
alexjohn
02/23/2026 03:31 PM
UH STEM Center's Summer Camps
Camps for elementary students include Mars Rover Explorers (in which kids work on building a mock-up Mars Rover) and iTech-STEM (where students are introduced to a variety of topics, including coding, 3D modeling, and video production).
9-12
$375
9
ashley
02/19/2025 03:02 PM
ashley
02/19/2025 03:02 PM
Club SciKidz
A STEM-focused camp providing program activities in a range of disciplines, including veterinary medicine, robotics, space exploration, and engineering.
4-13
From $375
Tours and Other Excursions
Houston boasts some of the best museums, tours, and galleries in the nation! These are a great opportunity for your child to learn something new, engage in one of their hobbies, or even take advantage of one of the city’s “free days” during the week.
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Tours & Excursions
Description
Age Range
Cost
Link
1
ashley
02/17/2025 03:26 PM
ashley
02/17/2025 03:51 PM
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Includes 16 permanent exhibitions, 6 special exhibitions, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and the Burke Baker Planetarium.
All
From $16 (nonmembers), free Tuesdays 5-8 PM
2
ashley
02/17/2025 03:32 PM
ashley
02/17/2025 03:32 PM
Houston Children's Museum
An interactive museum designed to engage children in hands-on learning through play. Created with a focus on science, technology, literacy, culture, and the arts.
1-14
From $20, free Thursdays 5-8 PM
3
ashley
02/17/2025 03:48 PM
ashley
02/17/2025 03:51 PM
NASA: Space Center Houston
Features a variety of itineraries, including full-day, half-day, and 2-hour plans. Includes various tours, training modules, and galleries.
All
From $24.95
4
ashley
02/17/2025 03:51 PM
ashley
02/17/2025 03:51 PM
Houston Zoo
Houses over 6,000 animals from around the world. Features the Galapagos Islands Exhibit as well as opportunities to watch animal feedings and keeper talks.
All
From $23.95
5
ashley
02/17/2025 03:57 PM
ashley
02/17/2025 03:57 PM
Buffalo Bayou Boat Tours
Featuring nature-focused tours, guided history tours, or even private celebrations.
4+
From $12
Volunteering
It’s never too early to show your child how to socially engage and give back to their community. There is a myriad of volunteer opportunities here in the city, and your child can participate starting as soon as the age of eight (with parental supervision, of course).
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Location
Description
Age
Parental Accompaniment Requirement
Link
1
ashley
02/17/2025 04:03 PM
ashley
02/19/2025 02:35 PM
Houston Food Bank
Volunteers can help sort, process, and pack food. In total, the Houston Food Bank feeds over a million people each year across Southeast Texas.
6+
Under 16 years old
2
ashley
02/17/2025 04:14 PM
ashley
02/19/2025 02:36 PM
Books Between Kids
A book distribution organization. Volunteers can help with counting, categorizing, and boxing up books.
8+
Under 14 years old
3
ashley
02/17/2025 04:18 PM
ashley
02/19/2025 02:36 PM
SPCA
One of Houston's animal shelters, the SPCA houses hundreds of animals each day in need of adoption. Volunteers aged 10-11 can help with daily non-animal handling tasks, while those 12 and up are eligible for dog handling.
10+
Under 15 years old
4
ashley
02/17/2025 04:22 PM
ashley
02/19/2025 02:36 PM
Kids' Meals Houston
Facilitates food delivery to preschool-aged children around the Houston area. Volunteers can assist with packing as well as bag decorating.
8+
Under 18 years old
DIY Activities
Anything and everything can be spun into a fun outing or activity! For our craftier parents, feel free to be creative with coming up with family games or events, potentially including scavenger hunts, making birdhouses, or even facilitating your own science experiments. These days, kids are busier than ever with extracurriculars, sports, and events, but it’s important to remember that impromptu projects at home can be a learning experience too.
Need Elementary Subject Support? We Can Help!
Our Elementary Learning Program (ELP) provides the structured support your grade 1-5 child needs to advance their core skills in reading, writing, and math. ELP students typically meet for an hour each time, with 30 minutes dedicated to reading and writing. Our program helps your student with a fully personalized approach, and our elementary tutors are experienced with young kids, ensuring that they build rapport and long-lasting relationships with your child.
To get the ball rolling, give us a call at (713) 838-7774 or fill out our tutoring request form.
Alex John is an Assistant Manager and Lead Tutor with General Academic. He graduated from Rice University in 2019 with a B.A. in Economics. Before joining General Academic's team in 2024, Alex was a Math teacher with YES Prep in Houston. Before moving to the management team, he led ISEE, SAT, and ACT courses for General Academic.
