Summer Writing Camp

Grades 2-9

‍ ‍

Letter from Camp Director:

It’s never “The End”

Hello!

It is unbearably quiet and incredibly bare in Thurber Center right now. We had our end of the summer intern party on Monday and to earn their snacks and brownies, I made them clean! They took down all of the decorations, scrubbed the tables of all of the markers and glue, vacuumed up all of the magazine bits and eraser shavings, and basically “de-campified” the Center. After we took copious amounts of group photos, laughed, and said our goodbyes, I sat alone in a quiet Center. I definitely wasn’t curled up in a ball with Thurbear…

It was an unbelievably awesome summer and it never fails to hit me hard when it’s all over. The stories, poems, skits, songs, and everything else in between that was written and shared never ceases to amaze me and the teachers. I believe I said this at the family sharing events but we have teachers and counselors who take personal time off from their regular jobs to work at camp. They love these young writers as much as I do and want to be around their creative, fun, and quirky energy! If I could find a way to bottle it up, I would. Oh wait, don’t tell them I said that! I definitely do not juice campers for their creative juices…

While I am still glowing from the camp aura, I am hard at work planning the fall and winter programs as well as scheduling school and library visits. No rest for the wicked! News of our upcoming fall Pen and Tell It! workshops as well as all of our teen programming will be out at the end of August, first of September. We’ll kick off our Young Docent program in October and I’ll start interviewing for our new “batch” of interns in November as well. I never let them go!

While the Center may be quiet at the moment, I will take all of the laughter, inside jokes, stories shared, crafts created, general shenanigans, and creative chaos with me all year. Thankfully, I have about 1000 photos to remember everyone by. (Check out the links to see your photos!)

Thank you for a fantastic summer and I better, I mean, I hope to see your writer again soon!

Miss Meg

Camp Director

(Almost certainly not an alien who juices campers…)

2026 Summer Writing Camp

Grade levels refer to the grade that the camper is entering in fall 2026.

Rising 2/3 Grade

$200 + $25 registration fee

The day is short but our activities are packed! You’ll write your own Magic Tree House Adventure, make pop-up cards, create pet adventures, and so much more.

Rising 4/5/6 Grade

$355 + $25 registration fee

Think like a detective, make cartoons, write about things that go bump in the night, try your hand at script writing, make new friends, and laugh along the way!

Rising 7/8/9 Grade

$355 + $25 registration fee

Break out of your boredom with us! We’ll have adventures writing ghost stories, developing worlds, making our own games, and cryptids, just to name a few.

 
 

  • —All camp sessions are held at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215), next door to Thurber House. 

    —Enrollment is first-come, first-served and each week of camp is limited to forty students.

    —Campers will be split into four groups of ten, with one counselor per group.

    —The camp schedules for each grade level are the same for each week, so please register for only one week.

    —Grade levels refer to the grade that the camper is entering in fall 2026.

    —Campers bring their own lunch each day; Thurber House provides an afternoon snack.

    —Tuition covers all supplies, a camp t-shirt, and daily snack.

    —Our camps fill quickly, so don't wait to register!

    Full payment must be received to confirm each registration. We will be confirming receipt of online registrations via email. If you are unable to register online, please contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org to register.

  • Camp is held at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215).

    Free, easy street parking is available all along the Jefferson Avenue oval for up to three hours. Note: only the spots along the one-way oval are free; the spots along the two-way ends of Jefferson Avenue (near Broad Street and Long Street) are not free.

  • We encourage the involvement of all students and will do our best to make accommodations. Contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org to discuss any accessibility needs.

    The first floor of Thurber Center is handicap/wheelchair accessible, including the first floor restrooms.

    How to reach the wheelchair ramp:

    —If you park on Jefferson Avenue: There is a slight curb (some wheelchairs can navigate this). The closest “ramp” cut is the entrance to the large parking lot on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Long Street (here). Follow the sidewalk through the Thurber Center front gate. Take the sidewalk around the porch on the right side of the building. The entrance to the wheelchair ramp will appear on your left, past the porch.

    —If you park in the Thurber House rear parking lot: Follow the sidewalk between the handicap parking signs (here). The sidewalk will take you around the north side of our multipurpose building, Thurber Center. The ramp will appear on your right and leads up to the front porch.

  • —Students who need financial assistance may enter a lottery for one of a limited number of scholarships.

    —We are only able to offer one scholarship per family at this time.

    —To apply, fill out the regular registration form and fill out the applicable scholarship fields.

    —We will notify all scholarship applicants of their status in early May.

    —For questions about scholarships or how to apply, please email megbrown@thurberhouse.org.

    —Scholarship spaces are reserved in the requested week along with all other registrations.

    If we are unable to provide you with a scholarship, we will work with you on a plan or try to help you as much as we can.

  • The registration cost includes a non-refundable administration fee of $25. If a camp session is full or is canceled by Thurber House, a full refund minus the administration fee will be given. Tuition is 70% refundable for cancelations received no later than two weeks before the scheduled start date for your chosen week of camp. There are no refunds of any kind within two weeks of your chosen week of camp.

  • Contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org. To receive email updates about children's education programs, please use the sign up form at the very bottom of this page.

  • Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by teachers and counselors in all mediums are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Thurber House, its affiliates, or its staff/board.

 

Special thanks:

Thurber House would like to thank G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. for their donation of drinks for our campers all summer long & a special thank you to our partner, Campwing.

 
 

Thank you to our major arts supporters: