A Reno Campus Turns Summer Break Into a Crash Course on College Life

For nearly three decades, the University of Nevada, Reno has spent summer filling its halls with kids instead of undergrads. This year's lineup of 27 weeklong camps adds guitar lessons, a spy-themed detective track and a golf clinic to a roster built to make ages seven through fourteen feel like campus regulars.

A Northern Nevada Campus Becomes a Summer Classroom

Every summer, the University of Nevada, Reno hands its lecture halls and labs over to a much younger crowd. Through KIDS University, the campus Extended Studies unit turns the school's facilities into a rotating set of themed camps for children ages 7 to 14, running full days across nine weeks from June 15 through Aug. 7.

This year's catalog includes 27 distinct weeklong sessions, drawing families from Reno and the surrounding region who want their kids doing something more structured than screen time while school is out. Organizers describe the goal simply as giving campers an early taste of what college feels like, long before they are old enough to apply.

Eight Fresh Themes Join a Familiar STEAM Lineup

The camps lean heavily on STEAM subjects, blending science, technology, engineering, art and math into hands-on projects rather than lectures. Longtime favorites like coding, robotics, forensics, world mythology and a Harry Potter themed week return for another summer alongside newer additions the university added specifically for 2026.

Families will find a noticeably broader creative and cultural slate this year, a sign the program keeps adjusting its offerings based on what kids and parents are actually asking for.

• Golf fundamentals
• Architecture and design
• Spanish language immersion
• Cooking basics
• Espionage and detective skills
• Digital painting
• Guitar instruction
• Videography and stop-motion animation

Nearly 30 Years of Building Confidence, Not Just Credentials

What sets KIDS University apart from a typical day camp is its staffing and its stated purpose. Certified classroom teachers, graduate students and outside professionals lead the sessions, and the university says the program has quietly delivered these camps to Northern Nevada families for almost three decades.

The stated mission is less about test scores and more about helping kids find out what they are good at, using a real university campus as the backdrop. Program materials note that many children return year after year, and some eventually come back as camp counselors themselves once they are old enough, a full-circle path that mirrors the kind of long-term youth engagement this organization champions statewide.

How Nevada Families Can Get Involved This Summer

Registration remains open through kidsuniversity.unr.edu for any families who still have summer weeks unfilled, with sessions running through the first week of August. Weekly tuition is $325, though the two sessions that fall around the June holidays are discounted to $260 to reflect shorter attendance windows.

Programs like this one are exactly the kind of accessible, confidence-building enrichment that keeps Nevada kids engaged and curious outside the traditional school year. Families with questions can reach the KIDS University office directly by email or phone before spots fill for the remaining weeks.

Eight New Ways Kids Are Spending Camp Week This Year

Alongside long-running favorites like robotics and forensics, these themes are new to the KIDS University lineup for 2026.

1. Golf Fundamentals: A beginner-friendly introduction to swing mechanics, etiquette and course basics for young players.
2. Architecture: Campers sketch, model and problem-solve like working architects across a full week of design challenges.
3. Spanish Language: An immersive week built around conversational skills and cultural context rather than rote memorization.
4. Cooking Basics: Hands-on kitchen instruction covering safe knife skills, simple recipes and basic nutrition.
5. Espionage and Detective Skills: A puzzle-driven camp that turns codebreaking and observation exercises into a week-long mystery.
6. Digital Painting: Kids learn tablet-based illustration techniques alongside traditional art fundamentals.
7. Guitar Instruction: A beginner music week focused on chords, rhythm and playing as part of a group.
8. Videography and Stop-Motion Animation: Campers plan, shoot and edit their own short projects using basic filmmaking and animation tools.

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