Indoor Activity Ideas to Inspire Your Camp!

April 18, 2024

There are so many camp formats out there – faith-based camps, organization-backed camps, recovery camps for physical or mental health, volunteer camps, outdoor adventure camps, sports camps, engineering camps – we couldn’t list them all if we tried. The camp world is a kaleidoscope of possibilities!

But there is one thing that all camps have in common – a group of campers who need entertainment from occasional disruptions (like severe weather or service outages) that make the planned activities impossible to facilitate. Every camp should have a backup plan that includes a few easily prepped and approved indoor activities to keep campers entertained until the camp can resume its planned programming. 

In 2023, the iCampPro Team surveyed camps about a variety of topics – view our findings here! While there was no clear winner for best indoor activity in the surveys collected, we identified four main categories of activities – Arts and Crafts, Culinary Activities, Board Games and Organized Games, and STEM/STEAM Activities. 

To help inspire your camp with new indoor activity ideas, we have included a few examples of each type of activity below!

Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts encourage creativity, self-expression, and problem-solving. They can provide relaxation and stress relief for campers. Plus, they are a fantastic way to include campers who may not get as much enjoyment from physical or group activities – giving them time to recharge!

• Create recycled art using recycled material, found objects and items from nature
  
• Design a cabin flag or camp team flag and motto
  
• Learn to make friendship bracelets
• Craft picture frames for camp photos
• Explore paper crafts with tissue paper flowers, paper plate masks, paper bag puppets, origami, or paper dolls with costumes

Culinary Activities

Learning how to make a snack from scratch can foster independence in young campers! It can also be a great way to introduce healthy eating patterns and nutrition topics so that campers can explore simple culinary techniques and recipes.

• Explore custom snack recipes like trail mix, ants on a log, popsicles, or fruit kabobs
• Learn about food and knife safety by making apple bunnies or personal veggie trays 
• Try foil-packet cooking over a campfire
• Learn about measuring liquids and solids with baking or instant pudding
• Get creative with cookie or cupcake decorating 

Board Games and Organized Games

Board games and organized games are a wonderful way to promote social interaction, strategic thinking, problem-solving, leadership, and sportsmanship at camp. Traditional games like Red Rover and Follow the Leader may be outdated – but there are still a ton of options to work with!

• Grid-based games like Battleship, Connect4, Chess, or Checkers translate perfectly to life-size formats
• Host a gameshow with trivia, karaoke, or charades
• Plan a giant indoor scavenger hunt
• Physical challenges - like a hula hoop pass relay
• Mental challenges - like riddles or puzzles

STEM/STEAM Activities

The benefits of STEM/STEAM activities are well known. They’re an immersive way to bring together concepts and explore the practical uses of more complex topics with young minds. Here are a few activities that can suit any budget!

• Building with blocks, LEGO ®, K’NEX, pool noodles, PVC, foam blocks, etc.
• Learn to measure and mix with slime or salt dough
• Compete for the tallest tower out of large marshmallows and pretzel sticks 
• Build a DaVinci Bridge using rubber bands and a variety of materials (like pencils, pretzel sticks, chopsticks, pickup sticks, etc.) to test their load capacities
• Fold and customize paper planes and plane launchers



Do you have a favorite indoor activity at your camp? Share this article on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and mention @icamppro to tell us all about it! Include photos and videos. We would love to see your creativity in action!