Summer Camps
Registration OPENS:
PORTLAND CAMPS:
- Tuesday February 11 @ 10:00 PM
ALL OTHER CAMPS:
- Wednesday February 12 @ 10:00 AM
Our camps can sell out fast so we recommend having a look at the ticketing and registration process before registration opens.
Camps Dates
Camps will be posted here in January.
What Happens When You Put Tools in the Hands of Girls?
Girls 8 - 15 years old attended camp for one week, Monday - Friday, from 8:30am - 4:30pm. Included in their days, and their camp fees, are both breakfast and lunch. Campers attend two workshops in the morning, as well as in the afternoon. Interspersed throughout the day are icebreakers and team bonding games, so girls can get to know each other, and build together better.
Campers are split into crews of 10. Each crew is led by two instructors at any given time, and girls are given their own safety glasses and ear protection to take home.
NOTE: Summer Works Intern Program is on hold until 2025. Please email us if you are 16-24 and interested in interning at summer camp. If girls are 16 - 24, we encourage them to apply to become Girls Build™ interns through WorkSystems SummerWorks program.
LOCATIONS
All camps are held outside. Specific location details will be given to registered campers closer to camp dates.
Note: Portland camps are not held at our Warehouse.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE
Campers cannot miss the first day of camp because it's the day we do all the safety and tool training, but also they will start projects that they will then build on and use the rest of the week. We have so much packed into camp, that they won't be able to catch up on those projects. Unfortunately, with the tools we're using and the level of safety we need, it's not something they can prepare for at home.
Return Campers
If your camper has attended camp before, please be sure to check the Returner’s box when filling out the registration form. We try to put returners in the same group and give them projects that build on their previous experience.
Workshops
Over the course of each week, girls attend four 80-minute workshops per day. Sometimes they build one project in those 80 minutes, like the sheet metal lamp pictured here, and some projects they work on everyday, like the clock, learning the value of planning and patience with a new skill and project.
In this photo, campers show off the sheet metal lamps they bent, punched and riveted, and an example of the clocks they made from hardwoods, inlaid with plugs, sanded, waxed and oiled.
One Big Project
Each week participants build, in addition to smaller projects, one big project together, in groups of 10. In 2019, girls built: three playhouses which were donated to location on-profits, two picnic tables, a chicken coop and one play structure airplane, all donated to local non-profits including Head Start.
In this photo, a camper is cutting out the window openings with a sawzall.
Guest Instructors
Here at Girls Build™, we have amazing staff instructors whose expertise runs the gamut, from professional tradeswomen, to professional educators. Nevertheless, we like to bring in professionals from other trades as well, and this year we had visiting electricians, roofers, solar installers, sheet metal workers, water maintenance workers, tree trimmers, and more!