100 More Summer Camp Themes

A reader asked me for more camp themes. At first, I thought, “Isn’t 100 enough? That should take a camp through many summers.” Later I decided that even though there are 100 themes, a lot of them might not appeal to some people. Creating a list of 100 more summer camp themes was surprisingly difficult. While there are plenty of day or meal themes like backwards day or pajama breakfast, I wanted the list to have themes that can be used all week long.

1. Pioneer and Settlers
2. Vehicle Adventures – Golf carts to construction equipment, kids love vehicles.
3. Mysteries and Riddles
4. Fairyland
5. Fairies and Gnomes – Like Fairyland but with mischievous Gnomes.
6. Earth, Wind and Fire
7. Shipwrecked
8. Nature Unleashed
9. Roman Empire – No fights to the death, please.
10. Footloose
11. Masters – Who are the masters of your activities? This would be a great theme to have campers focus on one activity and master it.
12. Davinci – Creating, experimenting, painting, codes, etc. are all directions you can go with this theme.
13. Top Shots – Archery, BB Guns, .22s, hatchets, blow darts, sling shots, etc. Who are the camps Top Shots?
14. Color Me Crazy
15. The Academy
16. Randomness – Make sure you add in some random dancing.
17. Highlanders – A kid-friendly version of the Highland Games would be a great event to hold for this theme.
18. Regions (forest, desert, mountains and sea)
19. Express Yourself
20. Recharge/Relax
21. Rock Me Amadeus
22. Technological Wonders
23. Empowerment
24. The Oriental Express
25. Sherwood Forest
26. The Heart of Africa
27. Summer Camp Mash-Up – Mash-up two camp activities into one. Do this with all your activities. Have you ever shot a bow and arrow from a horse or kayak?
28. Cranium
29. Camp Throwdown – Staff challenge campers at what they do best.
30. Road Rules – Here’s a travel camp theme where campers compete in teams at various locations.
31. Beyond Camp – Camp filled with off-site excursions.
32. Spirit Week – Complete with spirit fingers
33. Variety Pack
34. Walk on the Wild Side
35. Water World
36. Girl Power
37. Care Bears
38. Beauties and Beasts
39. Cloud 9 – Who doesn’t like being pampered?
40. Fable
41. Four Seasons (Fall Harvest, Winter Wonderland, Spring Rejuvenation, Endless Summer)
42. Trading Spaces
43. Myth Busters
44. Project Funway – Either you’re in or you’re out.
45. Wonder Emporium
46. Triple Threat – Acting, singing and dancing – or is it archery, climbing and horseback?
47. Passport to Fun – Campers must get their passports stamped at each activity.
48. Hunters and Gatherers – Full of treasure (hunter) and scavenger (gatherer) hunts.
49. Maker Camp (Campers make things, from music to teddy bears and more)
50. Card Game Chaos (Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc.)

51. Beyond the Board Games (Life size board games)
52. Back to the Drawing Board
53. If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen (Cooking camp)
54. Heads Up (Kites, high ropes, and anything else that is up in the air)
55. Kit and Caboodle
56. Birds of a Feather (Campers with similar interests explore their passions)
57. Flintstones vs Jetsons (Prehistoric vs. Future)
58. Wheels Go Round (Bikes, skateboards, and anything else that has wheels)
59. Boxes, Boxes, Boxes (Box forts, cardboard boats, etc)
60. Robo Days (All about robots)
61. Greener on the Other Side
62. The 7 Kingdoms (Campers are divided into teams and create their own Empires)
63. Settlers of Camp (Based on the game Settlers of Catan)
64. Retro (Music, activities and more from the past)
65. More Than Meets the Eye (Transformers – campers transform one thing into another using supplies you provide)
66. Wheel of Themes (A spin of the prize wheel decides what the next day’s theme will be)
67. Risky Business (Activities that have an element of perceived risk are highlighted)
68. There Can Be Only One (Each camper chooses an activity and does it all week long)
69. Pathfinders (Campers choose a path of activities like sports, acting, cooking, etc.)
70. Campers vs Counselors
71. The Game of Life (For older campers to learn skills that will be important in life)
72. Lone Wolf Week (a week of campers who don’t know anyone else – lots of friendship making)
73. Double Trouble (campers register with a friend or two)
74. Wolfpack Week (groups of friends register together)
75. Sibling Sensation (campers register with siblings)
76. Contests and Competitions (Everything during the week is a contest or competition)
77. Camp Warriors (This is for your true camp fans, the ones that register for multiple weeks, recommend your camp to others, etc.)
78. LEGO My Eggo
79. Storybook Summer
80. Birthday Celebration (Celebrating every camper’s birthday no matter what time of year it is)
81. Glamping Week (Taking rustic camping to glamorous camping)
82. Sailors and Mermaids
83. Geeky Greatness
84. Southern Comfort (The food, hospitality, etc. of the deep south – etiquette is a must)
85. Oh Canada
86. British Invasion
87. Polynesia-palooza
88. Mysteries of the World
89. Mysteries of the Universe
90. Martian (Based on the book and movie, campers learn science, including botany)
91. Off the Grid (No technology for the week, or even electricity if you really want to go for it)
92. In The Game (Bring video games to life)
93. Plugged In Paradise (The opposite of Off the Grid)
94. Rock the Vote (Camper vote on what activities are offered, in fact they vote on everything during this week)
95. Lab Rats (Science!)
96. Shark Tank (Campers try to get “investors” for their crazy businesses)
97. Fire and Ice
98. Ninjas vs. Pirates
99. Hero’s Journey
100. Bigger and Better (Instead of a slip and slide rent a huge inflatable slide…)

Need more ideas? Check out 100 Pop Culture Themes.