How summer activities, reading programs, and screen-free time affect kids' development and well-being.
Despite the heat, Houston has 47 dedicated nature and outdoor summer camps. Here is how to find the programs at the Zoo, the Arboretum, and beyond.
The 'summer slide' is real. Here are the best academic enrichment, writing, and gifted programs in Houston designed to keep kids intellectually engaged.
Houston is home to the largest medical complex in the world. Here are the summer camps that put that expertise to use for kids interested in biology and medicine.
Finding a rigorous STEM camp for a 15-year-old is challenging. Here are the specialized programs in Houston designed specifically for middle and high schoolers.
No other city in the country has the aerospace infrastructure that Houston does. Here are the best summer camps for kids who want to build rockets and learn to fly.
Oregon ranks fourth worst in the country in 4th grade reading proficiency. Portland Public Schools cut its Summer Acceleration Academy in 2025. And the Multnomah County Library is running a free summer reading program that most Portland families don't fully use.
STEM is the largest summer camp category in Houston, with 239 distinct programs. Here is how to sort through the huge market of coding and robotics camps.
Oregon has a youth mental health problem. This is not a new observation — it's been documented for years — but the numbers are worth stating plainly.
Denver has 92 STEM-focused summer camp programs in 2026. That is more than most cities twice its size, and the quality range is wide.
In July 2025, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed Executive Order 25-09 banning cell phones in schools, with policies taking effect for the 2025-26 school year. Portland Public Schools had already implemented an electronic device ban. By March 2026, the Oregonian was reporting that pushback was growing on school-issued Chromebooks and iPads, with pilot programs in Beaverton to curb their use starting as early as kindergarten.
In March 2025, Willamette Week reported that Portland Public Schools was significantly reducing its Summer Acceleration Academy — limiting both the schools and grade levels that would be served.