Kids just want to have fun during summer break. Parents want their children to have a safe learning environment to play and make the most of the time away from school. Bellaboo's Play & Discover Center makes everyone happy and delivers with Lake County Parks and Recreation's Super Monday FUNday summer camp program.
Bellaboo's is owned and operated by the Lake County Parks Department. At Bellaboo’s, the philosophy is that children learn through play. The center provides a hands-on experience that requires items to be touched, moved, built, and played with. Activities are presented in a fun and entertaining way with an end result of learning and development in a safe and secure environment.
Camp Bellaboo, started in 2010, is a full-day camp experience designed for kids ages 4-10. Called Super Monday FUNday, there is a different theme in this series of day camps running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Monday, June 13.
“This will be our 13th summer camp season,” said Kara Mackey, assistant superintendent, Recreation and Special Facilities, Lake County Parks and Recreation. ”We are incredibly grateful to our camp parents for sharing their kids with us for a little bit of the summer. We have the best time at Camp Bellaboo and love getting to see our buddies as they come back year after year.”
Camp Bellaboo takes place on Mondays throughout the summer (June 12-August 7 with an off week on July 3 for the holiday) and includes fun theme days such as Island Vibes, Inspectors Gadgets and Dino-ROAR. Campers get the indoor 23,000 square feet of play space to themselves. They also get to explore 10 acres in the outdoor Imagination Garden that includes a big splash pad.
While Lake County Parks and Recreation works collaboratively with its sister parks and naturalist staff throughout the year on special programs, most of the Bellaboo camp experience is curated by the discovery center's play experts and counselors.
“We have Northwest Indiana’s best camp counselors running the show that sincerely elevates our program,” Mackey said. “Our play experts have CPR/AED and First Aid certification. Early childhood is their passion, and they are trained in planning and executing 'outside the box' fun. At Super Monday FUNday camp, kids reign; messes are welcome and glee is our goal. It is an outstanding way for kids to play their way through summer.”
Each session can accommodate 30 campers. Some families sign up for all the sessions, while others pick and choose depending on the theme of the day, according to Emily Trisler, communications specialist, Lake County Parks and Recreation.
“Just over half of our kids will be full campers or 'almost full campers' who are at the center all but one or two sessions,” Trisler said. “There also are quite a few who are new to drop-off experiences and start out by just trying a day or two. As long as there is space available, we are happy to add on more days, if necessary, to accommodate everyone.”
Trisler said that during past seasons they have been able to register new campers well into June (either brand new friends or those who had fun on day one) and want to keep coming back.
“Our 2023 registration is already filling up, so if you are thinking about it, I would consider committing sooner rather than later,” Trisler said.
Cost of the entire eight-day Monday series is $375 for the summer/first camper; $345 for the summer/siblings. Individual sessions are $50 day/first camper; $45 day/siblings. A 10% discount also is available to Play Pass holders.
Click on MyBellaboos.com/camp to go to the camp page of the website or register online here. Or, call 219-963-2070 for assistance with sign-up and registration.
