Summer Camp Activities for Kids in Addis Ababa

Every camp in Addis lists the same words: sport, art, music, STEM. The list tells you nothing, because the difference between camps is not what appears on the timetable, it is how much of the day a child spends actually doing it.

So rather than another list, here is a real week, with the photographs. Use it as a yardstick for any camp you are considering, including ours.

Children playing football on a full-size pitch at a summer camp in Addis Ababa — Afternoon football on the campus pitch.

Mornings: something that makes them think

The first block of the day is when concentration is cheapest, so it goes to work that needs it. Robotics, STEM and the innovation lab sit here, along with the classroom sessions where campers plan what they are going to build.

Campers in a morning classroom session at summer camp — Morning session, planning the day’s build.

A child concentrating on programming a robot on a floor mat — Concentration is highest before lunch.

Midday: move properly, not a token twenty minutes

Taekwondo, football, basketball and free play. Children in Addis spend a lot of the school year sitting down, and a holiday programme that continues that is a wasted six weeks. Taekwondo does something the ball sports do not: it gives the quieter children a structure in which to be brave.

Children in white uniforms warming up for a taekwondo class at summer camp

A young student practising a high kick in taekwondo

A child shooting a basketball on an outdoor court in Addis Ababa

A child dribbling a football during a camp match

Afternoons: make something and take it home

Art and music close the day. This is the part parents underrate and children remember. A camper who comes home with a painting, a mosaic or a song they can play has visible proof the day was theirs.

A child painting with watercolours at a summer camp art table

Children making a colourful mosaic during an arts and crafts session

Two children learning keyboard together in the music room

A music teacher giving a guitar lesson to a camper

The test to apply to any camp

Ratio: how many children to one adult, and is that adult a specialist or a minder?
Movement: at least one proper physical block a day, not a token break.
Output: does your child bring something home, built, painted, played or programmed?
Variety: does the week actually rotate, or is it the same two activities on repeat?
Security: who controls the gate, and can you see the drop-off procedure in writing?

The Nucleus week

Nucleus Summer Camp runs across the Mekanisa and Vatican campuses for ages 4 to 14, with robotics, STEM, chess, art, music, taekwondo, football, basketball and kite building. Every activity is led by a qualified specialist, and both campuses are secure with controlled access.