Kiddin’ Around Chicago 2011 has come to a close. We had a great crop of campers this summer. From our first trip to learn how to use our cameras to our closing ceremony food party, all of our campers were appreciative of their summer experience with Kiddin’ Around Chicago and happy to have the opportunity to experience Chicago in a whole new way. Please enjoy these pictures from our days at camp. Most pictures are taken by their campers on (our much appreciated donated by friends of Kiddin’ Around Chicago) digital cameras. As you will see, we all had lots of smiles to share during camp.



We enjoyed our first trip to Millennium Park. Our first stop was the Family Fun Tent where our campers read books in giant chairs, played giant checkers, built towers, made friendship bracelets and even took in a tap dancing show.





After our fun in the tent, we headed over to Cloudgate. The Bean always entertains the kids as soon as they walk up. And of course, it makes for great pictures!

On our walk back to the CTA bus stop, we stopped at Daley Plaza to take a trip down the Picasso Slide. We started this tradition with Kiddin' campers two years ago and now it is one of our most popular stops in the summer.

Kiddin' Around Chicago would not be complete with a a trip to Navy Pier to visit the Ferris Wheel. The Ferris Wheel was invented for the Chicago World's Fair after all. The kids look forward to this trip because we have a picture of the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in our logo. Every year we have one or two campers who are scared when we get to the Pier to get on the giant wheel and every year with the support of their fellow Kiddin' campers, all the kids choose to get on the Ferris Wheel. After the Ferris Wheel, our campers got to choose between the Wave Swinger or the Carousel. Our campers were so well-behaved and appreciative this year that we even had time to go through the Amazing Chicago Maze and get ice cream at McDonald's (which also began in Chicago.) Oh, and we met a parrot named Mo on our way home.


Kiddin' Around Chicago prides ourselves on being an enviromentally friendly and also frugal camp. One of our main contributions towards both of these goals comes from riding Chicago's public bus system, the CTA to each of our trips and walking from each of the bus stops to and from school and to all of our destinations. We also love taking public transportation because it allows some spontaneity on our travels. Walking to a bus stop is how we found the Picasso slide one year. Here is a picture of our campers enjoying a bus ride with Buckingham, our camp mascot.


Here is a great shot of one camper taking a picture of another camper on our Boat Ride on Lake Michigan.














At the top of the Willis Tower just after we stepped out on the Ledge!














Our campers hard at work on their scrapbooks in the St. Malachy computer lab and on our final trip to the Cubs game. St. Malachy School is not air-conditioned and the temperature at our Cubs game was almost 100 degrees, but none of our campers complained because they were having too much fun! Thank you to all of our supporters, donors and of course, this year's wonderful Kiddin' Campers!