Beam Camp has earned a reputation that is genuinely hard to replicate — an Archinect Award-winning residential program where the thing your child builds at the end of summer truly did not exist before they arrived. The program has provided tuition assistance for 40% of all campers who have attended. That track record matters.
Program Overview
Beam Camp is a residential sleepaway camp in Strafford, New Hampshire for kids ages 9–17. The program runs on three interlocking pillars, each distinct but designed to reinforce the others.
The centerpiece is the Big Project — a large-scale collaborative structure selected each year from dozens of proposals by architects, artists, and designers through an annual international design competition. Every session has its own project; every camper contributes to its design and construction. No two summers are the same, and the result is always something that did not exist before that group of kids built it together. Four-week campers experience the full arc, including the final Project Crunch, where older campers take the lead in pushing the work across the finish line. To see past projects and find out what's being built this summer, visit beamcamp.org.
The second pillar is Domains — small-group, hands-on discovery activities across the arts, sciences, performance, athletics, and cultural fields. Campers choose their own Domains in weeks two and three, pursuing personal goals rather than a shared outcome. Past Domains have ranged from robotics and screenprinting to xylophone building, rockets, and surrealist video. The range is intentional. Curiosity doesn't always look like what you expect.
The third pillar is Independent Projects, where campers take skills learned in the wood shop, metal shop, and digital fabrication lab and apply them to something entirely their own — jewelry, furniture, sculpture, clothing, mosaic, and more, with guidance from shop specialists throughout.
STEM topics covered include: Builder/Maker, Engineering, Robotics, STEAM, Science, 3D Modeling & Design, Digital Media.
Who It's For
This is a strong fit for the kid who learns by doing — who gets restless in a traditional classroom but comes alive the moment there's a problem to solve with their hands. It's also a natural home for the child who doesn't fit neatly into one category: part artist, part engineer, part tinkerer. Beam Camp doesn't ask kids to pick a lane.
The CIT Program: A Path for Older Campers
Kids 15 and older can apply for the Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Program — a four-week, work-based leadership experience built around Beam's core values: Teamwork, Responsibility, Autonomy, Curiosity, and Kindness (TRACK). CITs shadow staff, support shop specialists, lead activities, and meet weekly with the Head Counselor and Camp Director to explore what it actually means to lead. They act as a bridge between campers and staff — and come away with a letter of recommendation, a certificate of completion, and on a case-by-case basis, community service hours. First-year CITs receive a 6% tuition discount; returning CITs receive 8%. CITs who later apply for full-time staff positions receive priority consideration. It's a meaningful next step for returning campers ready for more responsibility — and a genuine resume-builder in the process.
Cost & Session Information
$3,300 2-Week Session 1: June 30–July 12 or July 28–August 9
$6,900 4-Week Session: June 30–July 26
Beam Camp uses a tiered tuition model based on household income, size, and assets. A 2% discount applies when tuition is paid in full within 15 days of registration (through March 1, 2026). A 25% deposit is due at registration; the application for 2026 is now open.
Scholarship & Financial Aid
Beam Camp has provided tuition assistance to 40% of all campers since opening. Assistance is available through a tiered model based on household income, size, and assets. To apply, request a Tiered Tuition Form when you submit your camp application at beamcamp.org/dates.
Beam Camp is the summer program of Beam Center, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that partners with NYC public schools to bring hands-on making and building to students from 2nd through 12th grade.