Summer Camp 2026 - World Week

World Week at EAPS Summer Camp took our campers around the globe as we explored art, traditions, music, and creative techniques inspired by cultures from around the world.

Our first stop was Japan, where we painted ceramic Maneki-neko, or lucky cats. Campers learned about the history and cultural significance of these iconic figures, what their different colors can symbolize, and even practiced writing the Japanese kanji character for “luck.” Each camper then designed a lucky cat with their own colors, patterns, and special blessings in mind.

Next, we traveled to Venice, Italy, to learn about the history and tradition of Venetian masquerade masks. Using clay slabs, campers handbuilt their own masks before transforming them with paint, gems, feathers, and plenty of elaborate

With World Cup excitement still in the air, we explored how sports can connect cultures around the globe! Campers designed their own soccer jerseys, with some drawing inspiration from international teams representing their own heritage and others inventing completely original designs. We continued by creating miniature soccer fields while experimenting with color theory, mixing different amounts of blue and yellow to create our own shades of green. Campers designed miniature players on popsicle sticks, sculpted “FIFA-regulation” soccer balls from Model Magic, and finished it all off with our own tabletop soccer games!

Then we took to the skies for a hot air balloon adventure! Campers painted imaginative backgrounds ranging from colorful sunrises and sunsets to nighttime skies and outer space. They designed baskets and vibrant patterned balloons, layering all of their elements together to create beautiful mixed-media collages.

Our next stop was China, where campers explored traditional Chinese brush painting and calligraphy. Working on scrolls, they practiced controlling water and brushstrokes to create simple, expressive bamboo paintings, learning how just a few carefully placed marks can create an entire composition.

For our final journey, we traveled to South America to explore Indigenous art traditions and the connection between art, music, rhythm, and storytelling. We learned about rainsticks and how traditional instruments can be created using materials found in the natural environment. Campers then constructed their own rainsticks using rice, beans, beads, rope, and upcycled materials before decorating them with colorful patterns inspired by the art we explored.

From ceramics and sculpture to painting, collage, music, sports, and calligraphy, World Week was an incredible adventure! We loved watching our little travelers explore the world through creativity and can’t wait to see where our next camp adventure takes us.