Build a Summer Education for Rising 1st-8th Graders

BASE Camp Registration Opens February 1, 2026 at 2pm

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Summer BASE Camp 2026 Details

BASE Camp 2026 will be better than ever! Next summer we will continue to provide some of our popular camps, updated versions of our favorite offerings, and as always new innovative camps – bringing STEAM concepts to life in exciting and memorable ways.

BASE Camp 2026 Important Dates

Scholarship Application

Opens January 12, 2026

Click here for more information.

Block Scheduling Registration

January 30, 2026 12pm

With Block Scheduling, you will be able to book all six weeks of BASE Camp with one click.

General Registration

February 1, 2026 2pm

BASE Camp will be better than ever this coming year!

BASE Camp 2026 Dates

June 15th – July 24th

Pre-Week: June 8-12
Week 1: June 15-18 (no camp 6/19)
Week 2: June 22-26
Week 3: June 29 – July 2 ( no camp 7/3)
Week 4: July 6-10
Week 5: July 13-17
Week 6: July 20-24

BASE Camp Schedule 2026

Coming in January 2026.

Registration

General Registration Opens on February 1, 2026 at 2pm.

BASE Camp Descriptions

Coming in January 2026.

1st-2nd 5th-6th
3rd-4th 7th-8th

FAQs

Get answers to your most important questions concerning BASE Camp.

Get Answers

Gift Card Options

Login or create an Amilia account below for full access to view and purchase gift cards for this year’s upcoming OPEF BASE Camp.

Purchase Gift Cards

BASE Camp Handbook

A list of the basic information from who to contact to what to bring to camp.

View Handbook

Learn more about our partnership with D97 during the summer using the link below!

Portrait of a Graduate

A Sample of Our OPEF BASE Camps

Science of Sweets

Science of Sweets takes a close look at the delicious science of sugar. Campers examine how temperature influences crystal formation and see first hand how science works to create different textures in sucrose. Density, saturation, and dynamic equilibrium are just a few terms that are explored.

Biking Adventures

During biking adventure, campers learn and practice bike maintenance and biking safety as they ride to destinations such as Thatcher Woods, local cafes and recreation areas. This camp provides opportunities for our campers to become more comfortable on their bike as well as learn more about places that they can bike to in our community.

Experimentation Station

Experimentation Station is all about hands-on experiments with things gooey, strange, stinky, colorful, eruptive, surprising, and always fun! Campers hypothesize about the science behind the reactions they see.

Shoe Drip & Apparel Art

During Shoe Drip/Apparel Art, Campers embellish and customize their own gear. Using paints, bling and other materials, campers design their own unique pair of footwear and other apparel that they then take home.

Earth Ambassadors

Our Earth Ambassadors camp is all about the science of sustainability — from climate change to biodiversity to alternative energy — to help our campers become more informed citizens and effective activists. Campers engage in hands-on projects, guided discussion and immersive field trips.

Cardboard City

During Cardboard City, campers design and construct a small-scale city with upcycled cardboard. Campers learn about the structural properties of different types of cardboard. All design, engineering, and construction is camper-led.

“My kids love OPEF’s BASE Camp. They have done the coolest things every summer with amazing teachers and staff. I can’t say enough about how lucky we are to have this program here in Oak Park”

— Oak Park Parent of Three

OPEF Is Excited to Offer Gift Cards for Camp!

Scholarships for Families in Need

OPEF is also committed to ensuring that family income does not inhibit a child from attending camp. We have a very generous scholarship program to meet the needs of families.

Scholarship Information