10 Local Ways For Kids To Spend Spring Break

Noblesville Schools’ two-week spring break begins on Monday.

For some, vacation plans have long been made to head out of town. For others, it’s a “staycation” at home, finding things to do here locally.

When my now junior daughter was elementary age, camps where participants can learn something new were always high among the choices.

Purdue Extension of Hamilton County’s former one-day “I Can Do It Camp” was my daughter’s favorite spring-break camp when she was in fourth grade. It was where she learned to knit, how to plant gardening seeds and how to make vegetable soup, all in a day.

1. We’ve also enjoyed City of Noblesville camps. The Noblesville Parks Department offers full-day camps for ages 6-11, featuring games, crafts and other activities, plus field trips. Participants can choose 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday camps, including field trips, at Forest Park Lodge basement, March 27-April 6. Field trip dates: March 27, Bowl 32; March 29, Kiln Creations (full with an active wait list); March 31, Emagine Noblesville; April 3, Anderson Roll Arena (full with active wait list); April 5, Wright’s Gymnastics (full with active wait list). Non-field trip days are $26 residents, $31 nonresidents. Field trip days, $40 residents, $45 nonresidents. Aftercare, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is $5 per day. Campers should wear gym shoes and pack their lunch, two snacks and a water bottle. Register at 317-776–6350 or visit www.noblesvilleparks.org. Registration is also open for parks summer camps for ages 3-15.

2. The Boys & Girls of Noblesville, of which we are big supporters, will have two different spring break opportunities. Camp Crosser for ages 6-13 will feature archery, arts and crafts, group games, STEM activities, fort building, nature education and campfire cooking, during a full-day weeklong camp, the week of March 27-31 and April 3-7, for $115 per week. Camp Crosser is a high-energy, outdoor program designed to provide kids with adventurous and educational experiences. Campers meet at the Club in Noblesville each morning and are bused to the 20-acre Camp Crosser a few miles north of Noblesville along the banks of the White River. Campers should bring a sack lunch, water bottle, warm clothes, sunscreen and a change of clothes and shoes. Register at 317-773-4372 or visit https://bgcni.org/.

3. Noblesville Township Trustee Office is covering the cost of Spring Break Pottery Camps at Noblesville Schools, with instructors Noblesville art teacher Darlene Patterson and Noblesville High School ceramics instructor John Smith. Patterson will teach hand-building clay class (full with a waiting list) for grades 3-8 at Promise Road Elementary, and Smith will teach a wheel-throwing pottery class for grades 9-12 at NHS. Visit nickelplatearts.org. Email [email protected].

4. My Art in downtown Noblesville, offers half days of art camps, 9 a.m. to noon, open to ages 5 and older. Spring on the Farm at camp is April 4, Mushroom & More art camp is April 5, Fluttering Around art camp is April 6, at the Noblesville location on 10th Street. Cost is $45 per camp and includes all art supplies. Visit www.myartindy.com

5. Conner Prairie in Fishers reopens for the 2023 outdoor season on March 28 with spring cleaning in Prairietown and Civil War Journey, plus the 1836 Balloon will be open, weather dependent. Visit connerprairie.org.

6. Hamilton County Parks offers free spring break programs, weekdays April 3-6: Silly Safari, April 3; Surprise Guest, April 4; Hoosier Owls, April 5; Indiana Wild: Animals in your Backyard, April 6, all at 11 a.m. at Cool Creek Nature Center in Westfield. Visit  MyHamiltonCountyParks.com.

7. Ages 6-14 can enjoy painting, drawing and sculpting at a Spring Break Art Camp April 3-7, 12:30-4:30 p.m., at Fishers Parks, in partnership with Indianapolis Art Center, for $209 per person, led by a professional teaching artist. Register at https://playfishers.com/

8. Boys and girls pre-k to third grade and Grades 4-8 can enjoy spring break volleyball camps April 4-6 at the Monan Volleyball Center (new home of The Academy) at Grand Park in Westfield with all skill levels invited.

9. Take a class at Caravan Classes or the Nickel Plate Arts campus in Noblesville.

10. Bowl, play golf, do laser tag, ax throwing and arcades at Bowl 32 in Noblesville, or enjoy bowling and arcades at Pinheads in Fishers. Both have great restaurants. Or find some good books, CDs or DVDs and discover other activities at your local library.

-Save the date: Indiana Pacers and Fever Jr. Hoops Summer Basketball Camps  will be offered 9 a.m. -2:30 p.m. June 26-30 at the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville and include camp T-shirt, Pacers swag and a free ticket to a 2023-24 Pacers home game, for $225, with 10 percent early bird discount if registered by March 31, at camps.tnbapacers.com

Heads up for 2024: Deadline has already passed for Purdue Extension’s three spring break camps for grades 3-6, Miniature Gardens Day Camp and Style Your Bedroom Day Camp, both on April 4-5, and Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse on April 6, at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville. Be sure to check on Purdue Extensions camps in February or early March in 2024.

–Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact Betsy Reason at [email protected].