2025 Summer Learning Week

In celebration of National Summer Learning Week (July 14-18), we’re highlighting a few of the many programs across Alaska that are helping kids stay engaged and connected all summer long. Summer learning programs play an integral role in supporting Alaska’s children and youth, providing space for them to grow, play, and develop new friendships. Summer learning also happens in all kinds of setting – from libraries and farms to tidepools and forest trails! Across the state, young people are engaging in vibrant, enriching learning experiences!

Summer Discovery

Anchorage Public Library’s Summer Discovery program invites youth, families, and community members of all ages to explore the joy of reading and learning all summer long. Running from May 17th to July 31st, 2025, this free initiative is designed to support kids in grades 2–8 stay curious, connected, and creatively engaged outside the school year.

Like many summer reading programs across the country, Summer Discovery helps young people keep their minds active over the summer months—because we know that skills that aren’t used can fade. That doesn’t mean summer can’t be relaxing! In fact, Summer Discovery encourages reading for fun, exploring new interests, and trying hands-on learning activities at your own pace.

Participants can stop by any Anchorage Public Library location to sign up and pick up a reading log, which tracks 7.5 hours of reading and 15 learning activities. The activities are open-ended and self-directed, allowing kids to explore what excites them most—from attending a library event, to making art, to diving into a nonfiction book about whales or robots. Logs can be completed gradually over the two-and-a-half-month program.

Each week in June and July, the library also hosts free programs for youth and families—and attending counts toward completing your log! Events include fun activities like drawing comics, shows from Magician Robbie, and meet-and-greets with goats!

Whether you’re reading under the midnight sun or exploring new ideas at your neighborhood branch, the Anchorage Public Library is here to support your summer of discovery.

For more information on Summer Discovery, explore their website: https://www.anchoragelibrary.org/services/services-for/kids/summer-discovery/

Calypso’s Farm Camps

At Calypso’s Farm Camps, children from across Alaska dive into a summer full of hands-on discovery and nature connection. These multi-day camps are designed to give kids a genuine experience of life on the farm, blending play and exploration in a place-based learning environment.

Open to children ages 5 to 15, including special Pre-K Days for ages 2-5, Farm Camps offer something for every curious learner. In 2024, over 1,500 youth participated in Calypso’s education programs!

Campers spend their days exploring the farm and nearby boreal forest, tending garden beds, crafting with wool, and meeting the farm animals. They also get to cook fresh vegetables and snack their way through the fields, a delicious way to learn about where food comes from.

Although based in Fairbanks, Calypso Farms proudly hosts an Indigenous-led Farmer Training Program each summer, welcoming participants from rural Alaskan villages. Parents attending the training are invited to bring their children to Farm Camp, making this an enriching experience for entire families and fostering connections across the state.

With its strong roots in place-based learning and a commitment to making farm life accessible to all, Calypso’s Farm Camps offer a unique way for youth to grow all summer long.

For more information on Calypso’s Farm Camps, explore their website: https://calypsofarm.org/farm-camps/

Headwaters to Ocean

Set in the beautiful Copper River Delta, Headwaters to Ocean (H2O) Summer Camps invites campers to develop their understanding of the world around them through curiosity, positive outdoor experiences, leadership development, and ecosystem stewardship. Over the course of one summer, H2O Camps offer seven different programs for learners of all ages and interests.

H2O Day camps are offered to campers aged 9-11. Camp is four days long, and each day of camp has a different theme based on a distinct, local ecosystem: Oceans, Wetlands, Rainforests, and Glaciers. The day’s activities center around the ecological theme, and due to Cordova’s unique location, campers can visit each of the ecosystems for a full day of immersive, hands-on exploration and learning experiences. Every day of camp incorporates thematic science lessons, educational games, and art activities.

H2O Mini-Camps are designed to introduce younger or newer campers, age 7-9, to the summer camp experience through shorter, thematic two-day programs. This year, H2O is offering Camouflage Camp and Young Engineers mini camps.

H2O Overnight Camps are for campers aged 11-13 and follow a similar layout to day camps, but campers have an opportunity to learn about restoration, ecosystems, and their personal values by working and recreating among the incredible natural assets of the Copper River Delta alongside U.S. Forest Service personnel.

H2O Intensives are for campers, aged 9-18, who are ready to take a deep dive into an area of study while at camp. For example, Girls Exploring Marine Science campers will investigate the tide pools, dissect fish, capture and identify plankton, and learn about our local marine ecosystems and the animals that live there.  Campers will meet with expert biologists, oceanographers, and marine ecologists to deepen our understanding of the marine world.

Each camp day is filled with unforgettable moments. One fourteen-year-old camper shared after working with U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologists on a nesting project for dusky Canada geese, “I am everyday appreciating the work these people do. I wrote in my waterproof notebook career options. I love this experience, and I can definitely see myself doing these activities as a job.”

For more information on Headwaters to Ocean Summer Camps, explore their website: https://pwssc.org/education/camps/headwaters-to-ocean-day-camps/

Sun Rise Camp

For one special week, Sun Rise Camp for Children of Incarcerated Parents brings together youth from across Alaska to share a camp experience filled with positivity and support. Held this year from July 27 to August 1, 2025, at Camp Gorsuch in Chugiak, this unique program serves children ages 9–14 who have a parent currently or previously incarcerated.

Now in its second year, Sun Rise Camp is a trauma-informed, healing-centered space where children are supported by trained staff and surrounded by peers who share similar life experiences. The camp was intentionally designed to help young people feel safe, express themselves, discover their strengths, and begin to build the tools they need to thrive.

Campers participate in a wide range of engaging and meaningful activities—from hip hop dancing and songwriting, to puppet-making, pottery, and even a special “Digging Dirt” therapy session, where campers use gardening and hands-on work as a path to self-expression and emotional processing. One of the most powerful parts of camp is the opportunity for children to compose original songs. Every activity is chosen to support the camp’s themes of healing, communication, and self-discovery.

For many campers, this week becomes much more than just a summer getaway—it’s a rare and powerful chance to be seen, heard, and supported.

For more information on Sun Rise Camp, reach out to SRC’s director, Shirley Staten: keystolifealaska@gmail.com