Kids Summer Art Camps in Pleasanton, CA
Four ways to spend the summer making something real — fluid art, resin art, and hands-on studio experiences for kids ages 6–14. No art experience needed.
Studio team walking campers through a fluid art pour — step by step
Adding fire glass to a dried canvas — only possible in the Signature Camp
Campers at work — the full studio in action during a camp session
A resin beach scene made by a camper — ready for pickup after curing
Which camp is right for your child?
All formats are open to ages 6–14 and include real studio materials, guided instruction, a snack break, and take-home artwork. No art experience needed for any format.
One main studio project plus a rotating supplemental activity — all in a focused morning or afternoon.
- 9am–12pm or 1pm–4pm
- 1 main project + 1 supplemental
- Snack included
- Great first camp
Two complete studio sessions — fluid art in the morning, resin in the afternoon (or vice versa) — with lunch and snack breaks.
- 9am–4pm (lunch 12–1pm)
- 2 main projects + 2 supplementals
- Both mediums in one day
- Lunch break (bring from home)
A complete creative week with a curated sequence of fluid art and resin projects — and a family art showcase on Friday.
- Monday–Friday
- 5–7 studio projects
- Daily rotating supplementals
- Family art showcase Friday
Art meets science — kids learn the real physics and chemistry behind fluid art while building advanced multi-day projects across two weeks.
- Two consecutive weeks
- 10–12 studio projects
- Physics, chemistry & color science
- Multi-day layered techniques
- Grand family art showcase
Why parents choose this summer art camp in Pleasanton
Most kids camps fill time. This one helps kids make something real. At Makers Art Studio Pleasanton, campers use studio materials, explore fluid art and resin techniques, and leave with finished projects they are proud to bring home. Instead of a general camp rotation with simple crafts, each session is designed around guided, hands-on art experiences that feel memorable, creative, and genuinely rewarding.
A creative morning (or afternoon) — one main project, one surprise, and a snack break
Each half-day session is built around two activities. Kids start with the main event — a guided fluid art or resin art project. After a snack break, the session shifts into a rotating supplemental activity that changes regularly throughout the summer.
The rotation keeps things fresh for kids who come back for multiple sessions. Most kids are asking when they can come back before the session ends.
What a session looks like
📦 During & after camp
Kids take home everything that's ready on the last day of their session. Projects still curing are available for pickup after camp — fluid art canvases around 7–10 days, resin projects 3–5 days. We notify you as each piece is ready. Many families make pickup its own little moment — kids love seeing how their work looks once it has fully set.
- You want to introduce your child to studio art without a full-week commitment
- Your schedule only allows a morning or afternoon slot
- Your child loves variety and gets excited not knowing what the second activity will be
- You want to try the studio before booking a longer camp
Studio instructor walking kids through the day's main fluid art or resin project
Building geometric structures — one of the rotating craft sessions
Studio-provided snack break — parents can also pack a snack from home
Two complete sessions, two studio mediums, one full creative day
Full-day camp runs 9am to 4pm and is structured as two complete half-day sessions with a lunch break in between. The morning centers on one main studio project followed by a snack and rotating supplemental. The afternoon brings the second studio medium plus another supplemental.
Kids work through four distinct activities across the day. Because the format shifts every hour and a half or so, the day stays engaging from start to finish — even for younger kids.
What a full day looks like
📦 During & after camp
Kids take home everything that's ready on the last day of their session. Projects still curing are available for pickup after camp — fluid art canvases around 7–10 days, resin projects 3–5 days. We notify you as each piece is ready.
- You need a full day of structured creative programming
- Your child wants to explore both fluid art and resin in a single day
- You want more studio time without a full-week commitment
- Your child is ready for sustained creative focus across a longer day
Campers rotate between studio mediums across the 9am–4pm day
Colors merging on canvas — one of two main projects in a full day
Painted ocean scenes — completed projects ready to go home
A full camp week — and a family art showcase to close it out
Five-day camp is a complete creative week. Kids work through a curated sequence of fluid art and resin projects across five consecutive days, with a rotating supplemental activity and snack break built into every session.
Projects are chosen so that every piece started during the week can be fully completed within the camp window. That means real finished work every day. The tradeoff is that the most advanced multi-day layered techniques — only possible when drying cycles fit inside the schedule — are exclusive to the 10-day Signature Camp.
Each day includes
🎉 Friday Art Showcase — Family Invited
Camp closes with a family art showcase. Parents, grandparents, and family are all welcome. Kids walk their families through every piece they made — explaining techniques, showing off their haul, and describing what is still curing and on its way home. Kids who spent the week quietly focused become enthusiastic tour guides of their own work. Bring your camera.
👫 More than art — a week of new friendships
Something happens when kids spend five days creating side by side. They start asking each other questions — how did you get those cells? what colors did you mix for that? — and those conversations turn into friendships. By Friday's art showcase, kids who had never met on Monday are cheering for each other's work, swapping contact details, and asking their parents when the next camp is. We hear regularly from families that friendships made at camp continue long after the session ends.
📦 During & after camp
Kids take home everything that's ready at Friday's showcase. Projects still curing are available for pickup after camp — fluid art canvases around 7–10 days, resin projects 3–5 days. We notify you as each piece is ready.
Instructor guiding kids through a resin art project — all supplies and aprons included
Detailed painting work during a supplemental session — kids choose their own subject
Kids pouring resin coasters — one of the rotating supplemental projects
Where art meets science — and kids build on their own work the way real artists do
Sibling rate: $750 Standard · $900 VIP
Every other camp format is designed around projects kids can finish within the time window. That is a real experience. But it has one honest limitation: drying and curing time.
Fluid art on canvas needs around 5 days to fully dry before the next layer can be added. Resin takes 3–5 days to cure. In a shorter camp, those timelines fall outside the schedule. In the 10-day Signature Camp, they fit perfectly inside it.
🎨 What kids make across 10 days
Daily maker crafts include: slime, tie-dye tote bags, clay modeling, and texture projects
🔬 The science kids actually learn
Fluid dynamics & density
Heavier pigments sink, lighter ones rise — creating the cell patterns fluid art is known for. Kids learn to predict and control this.
Surface tension & cells
Silicone oil and paint react differently at the surface — kids learn which colors produce cells and how to coax more to the surface using a torch.
Polymer chemistry in resin
Mixing resin triggers an exothermic chemical reaction — the mixture heats as it cures. Kids measure exact ratios and observe the transformation over days.
Material science & drying time
Fluid art takes 5 days to dry because water and alcohol in the paint must fully evaporate. The waiting period becomes a lesson in why timing is part of the process.
Fire Glass Layering
Pour fluid art on day one. Return on day six or seven — once it has fully dried — to press fire glass into the surface. A technique that simply cannot be done in a shorter format.
Resin Topcoats & Layered Pours
Lay down a resin base in week one. Apply a second pour in week two once it has cured. Finished pieces have depth that could not exist in a single session.
Dirty Pour, Dutch Pour & Swipe
Three foundational fluid art pouring techniques — each producing completely different cell patterns and color movement. Kids learn to control the outcome, not just hope for it.
STEM Lab Journal
Each camper keeps a personal journal to document their formulas, color ratios, and daily discoveries. By the end of camp, they have a record of their own creative science.
Days 1–5 · Foundation
Kids are introduced to fluid art pouring (dirty pour, Dutch pour, swipe), color theory in motion, canvas preparation, and their first resin experiences. They begin their STEM lab journal — recording formulas, color ratios, and what they observe each day. Supplemental maker crafts run daily. Projects started this week are set aside to dry and cure over the weekend.
Days 6–10 · Advancement
Kids return to work they started in week one — now dried, cured, and ready to go further. Add fire glass. Apply a resin topcoat. Layer a second color pour. Build UV resin pendants and geodes. Their STEM journal grows alongside their work. By the final day, kids have the most complete body of studio work of any camp format we offer.
Standard · $850
- ✓ 10-day camp (3 hrs/day)
- ✓ All materials included
- ✓ Daily snacks & juice
- ✓ STEM lab journal
- ✓ Grand Art Showcase
- ✓ Completion certificate
Sibling rate: $750
⭐ VIP Experience · $1,050
- ✓ Everything in Standard
- ✓ Custom art kit to take home
- ✓ $100 birthday party credit
Sibling rate: $900
👫 A two-week creative community
Ten days is enough time to build something real — not just the art, but the friendships. Kids become invested in each other's projects. They watch each other's canvases dry over the weekend and come back Monday curious about how everyone else's work is developing. Families regularly tell us that their children stayed connected with friends from Signature Camp long after the session ended. For some kids, it becomes the creative friendship they come back to every summer.
🏆 Grand Art Showcase — Final Day of Week Two
The Signature Camp ends with a full family art showcase — the highlight of the summer. Each camper curates their own gallery space, selects their favorite creations to feature, and presents the work to their family — explaining the science behind each piece. Parents, grandparents, and family come see the complete body of work built across two weeks. Kids receive a completion certificate at the showcase. The pride in that room is real. Families often leave having discovered a creative instinct in their child they did not know was there. Bring the grandparents. Bring your camera. This one earns it.
📦 Most projects go home on the last day
Because the 10-day format gives projects the full drying and curing window they need, most pieces are ready to go home at the Grand Art Showcase on the final day. Any projects still in their curing window are available for pickup shortly after — we notify you as each piece is ready.
Pressing fire glass into a canvas poured on Day 1 — the canvas dried over days 2–5 and is now ready for this second layer
Campers building layered resin beach scenes — glass pieces, sand texture, and multiple color pours
Resin coasters setting in molds — resin projects are ready for pickup 3–5 days after pouring
Every piece, every technique — displayed with pride
At the end of 5-day and 10-day camps, kids set up their own display tables and walk family through everything they made. These photos are from last summer's showcases.
Every piece this camper made across two weeks — fluid art canvases, resin projects, painted scenes, geometric sculptures, and supplemental work — all on display for family
Showing off a customized tumbler alongside canvases, resin pieces, a custom hat, and more — kids explain every piece to their family
Campers relaxing in the studio lounge between activities — the studio is the hang-out spot too
Choosing the right format
Every format is a great first camp. Here is what is different between them.
| Half-Day3 hours | Full-Day7 hours | 5-DayOne week | 10-Day Signature⭐ Most Popular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $100per session | $165per session | $450per week | $850 / $1,050Standard / VIP |
| Ages | 6–14 | 6–14 | 6–14 | 6–14 |
| Main studio projects | 1 | 2 | 5–7 | 10–12 |
| Rotating supplementals | 1 | 2 | Daily | Daily |
| Custom tumblers, hats & t-shirts | Varies by day | Varies by day | ✓ | ✓ |
| Snack provided | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-day layered projects | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Fire glass & advanced techniques | — | — | — | ✓ |
| 🔬 STEAM learning Physics, chemistry & color science |
— | — | Intro | ✓ Full curriculum |
| 👫 Teamwork & new friendships | — | — | ✓ | ✓ Deep bonds |
| Family art showcase | — | — | ✓ Friday | ✓ Grand Finale |
| Great first camp | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Completion certificate | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Sibling discount | — | — | — | $750 / $900 |
| Returning camper upgrade | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Project pickup | During & after camp | During & after camp | During & after camp | Most ready last day |
Common camp questions
What age is summer camp for?
All camp formats are open to kids ages 6–14. No art experience is needed for any format, and the studio team guides campers through each project step by step.
How much does summer camp cost?
Pricing starts at $100 per session for Half-Day Camp, $165 per session for Full-Day Camp, $450 per week for the 5-Day Camp, and $850 to $1,050 for the 10-Day Signature Camp. All materials are included.
Does my child need art experience?
No. Every format is beginner-friendly. Studio instructors guide campers through fluid art, resin art, and mixed-media techniques from the first session onward.
What does a typical camp day look like?
Campers work on one or two guided studio projects depending on the format, take a snack break, and rotate through supplemental creative activities. The 5-Day and 10-Day formats build on each day's work progressively.
Do you serve families from Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, and Danville?
Yes. The studio is convenient for Tri-Valley families coming from Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, and Danville, with easy access near Stoneridge Mall and I-580.
What is the Art Showcase?
The 5-Day Camp ends with a family Art Showcase on Friday. The 10-Day Signature Camp ends with a larger final showcase at the end of Week 2 so families can see what campers created.
What do kids take home?
Campers take home the artwork they create, including fluid art, resin, painting, and mixed-media projects. Some resin and fluid art pieces may need a short curing or drying period before pickup.
Ready to make something this summer?
Spots fill fast — especially for 5-day and 10-day Signature Camps. Book early to secure your preferred week.
Conveniently located near Stoneridge Mall for families across the Tri-Valley — Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, and Danville. Explore kids art classes in Pleasanton or go straight to camp availability.