Oasis Camp in Central Park Oasis offers two programs, one uptown and one downtown. The uptown camp uses Central Park as it's country setting. Kids spend almost the whole day outside, learning to swim in Lasker Pool, playing sports in Central Park's fields and courts. Kids also participate in a the full spectrum of camp activities like environmental studies, orienteering, rock climbing, arts and crafts and more. Expect your kids to come home dirty and tired and sun-kissed as you would expect from a day outdoors. Kids will walk all over the park from one activity to another. Some younger children may find it a bit too exhausting, but I have heard many rave reviews about Oasis Camp in Central Park. Oasis offers sessions from 2 weeks to 8 weeks. Camp hours are from 9am to 5pm. For families that do not live near one of the many drop off points, some bus service is available for children who live in Manhattan. For kids aged 5-14. For more information visit oasischildren.com Downtown Day Camp Downtown Day Camp is the largest day camp in downtown Manhattan. Run out of PS 234s lovely facilities and this year the brand new downtown community center, Downtown Day camp offers swimming in the new community center pool, field sports in Battery Park City fields, karate and other indoor gym activities, plus musical performances, arts and crafts and more. Downtown Day Camp really has the feel of a traditional country day camp with everything from Crazy Hat Wednesdays to Carnival. And while kids get out and do plenty of sports, they also have a good amount of indoor time to give them a break from the heat and sun. The Downtown Day Camp day runs from 9am to 5pm, but they also offer extended hours for working parents (one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening). Camp sessions are 4 or 8 weeks. They do offer some bus transportation for kids that live south of 23rd St. Oddly I couldn't find in any of their information, including their registration forms the ages for campers, but if my memory serves, I believe they offer camp for kids going into Kindergarten through 6th grade. Please correct me if you know a different answer. For more information visit DowntownDayCamp.com Poly Prep Summer Experience Day Camp Poly Prep is another big day camp experience that is more convenient for Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan children than busing to outside of the city. The Poly Prep summer program is situated on their 25 acre campus in Brooklyn. One nice thing about Poly Prep is that the kids swim twice a day. Some other sports activities include volleyball, softball, basketball, karate, and tennis. Sports is a big focus, but there are other activities too. A Typical Camp Day for a Group

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Poly Prep Summer Experience Day Camp goes from June 30 to August 8. Poly Prep offers door to door bus service. For kids aged 3 to 13. For more information visit PolyPrep.org In the coming days we'll be writing about more camps that offer country experiences of another sort like Queens County Farm Camp or the Urban Park Rangers.