We offer summer camp opportunities for students in Pre-K-Grade 12 on our beautiful 40-acre campus. We are conveniently located in Waunakee, just outside Madison!
Many of our camps are science, research, or business focused, with hands-on activities to enhance learning and interests.
We place an emphasis on spending time outside and exploring nature. Our campus is perfect for science experiments, kayaking down the Yahara, building a pop-up fresh vegetable farm stand, and observing plants and insects on hikes through the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park.
Our Summer Research Academy (SRA), for students entering grades 8-12, is through a partnership with Edgewood College. The SRA program takes place on the college campus in downtown Madison, students have access to college labs and libraries!
Summer Discovery 2025 Courses
Select the grade your camper will be entering for the 2025-26 school year.
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Summer 2025 Registration opens December 26.
We use Popsicle, a third-party website, for camp registration. If you have not used Popsicle with us before, you will be prompted to create an account in order to register.
If the session your child is interested in attending is full, please email summercamp@madisoncountryday.
Who can participate?
Summer Discovery is open to the greater community (not just MCDS students!) entering grades Pre-K through Grade 7. We offer our Summer Research Academy for students entering grades 8-12.
Summer Discovery 2025 Camp Sessions
Session 1: June 16-20 (No camp on June 19)
Session 2: June 23-27
Session 3: July 7-11
Session 4: July 14-18
Session 5: July 21-25
Session 6: July 28-August 1
Summer Discovery Schedule & Logistics
- All sessions run for one week, and many students attend multiple sessions! Our Summer Research Academy programs run for two weeks.
- Daily Schedule: Summer Discovery begins at 9:00 am and we offer optional before-camp care beginning at 8:00 am for an additional fee. Dismissal is 4:00 pm with optional after-camp care until 5:00 pm. Each camp follows a schedule that includes class time, plenty of outdoor recess, lunch, sports, and a daily all-camp game. We offer "Water Day" every Friday, where we spend the afternoon outside eating popsicles, playing with slip 'n slides, sprinklers, water balloons, and more!
- Location: Madison Country Day School Campus. We are located at 5606 River Road in Waunakee, just off highway 113.
Summer Discovery Tuition
$550 for each one-week session.
Registrations are 100% refundable until April 1, 2025. After that date, tuition is non-refundable. However, schedule changes to another session may be made, provided space is available.
Contact Us
For Summer Discovery: Contact Camp Co-Directors Dominick LaPorte and Pearce Devlin at summercamp@madisoncountryday.org with any questions including help with registration.
For Summer Research Academy: Contact Program Director Rachael Lancor at rlancor@madisoncountryday.org.
What parents say about their
happy campers
“The crafts and games were incredibly engaging, and my camper left very excited to return to camp after the holiday break.”
“Chess camp staff were great! My son loved it and learned a lot.”
“Barrett loved the camp. He was eager to go and wanted to stay longer. It was a very positive experience.”
