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family · Monday 13 July 2026 · 9:00am 
Designer Minds STEAM Summer Camp - Castlebar
At Castlebar · Castlebar, Co. Mayo
At Castlebar · Castlebar, Co. Mayo
A week of hands-on science, technology and creative problem-solving for children aged 6.5 to 12, running in Castlebar every morning of the week starting 13 July 2026. Designer Minds has built a strong reputation across Ireland for STEAM camps that keep kids genuinely busy - not watching demonstrations, but getting their hands into experiments, coding robots, and building things that may or may not survive the afternoon. If your child has an curiosity for how things work, or just likes making a mess for good reason, this is a solid week out.
The camp splits into two age groups - Junior (1st to 3rd class, roughly 6.5 to 9 years) and Senior (4th to 6th class, 10 to 12 years) - so the activities are pitched to match. Over the five mornings, children move through a rotating mix of activities: dry ice experiments, stop-motion clay animation, chromatography T-shirt design, robotics coding with Lightbot, gravity-defying bridge-building challenges, Minecraft maths puzzles, circuits, and an egg drop challenge that tends to attract a crowd. The balance between science, technology and creative arts means there is usually something that clicks for every child, regardless of whether they lean more towards the lab bench or the sketchbook. Learning happens without grades or tests - the goal is building confidence by doing.
Sessions run from 9am to 1pm each day, Monday to Friday. The camp is organised by Designer Minds, who have been running STEAM camps at schools and community venues around Ireland for several years.
Castlebar is the county town of Mayo and is well connected by road and rail. From Dublin, take the N5 west or catch a direct train from Heuston Station - Irish Rail runs services to Castlebar station, which sits close to the town centre. Bus Éireann and Citylink also serve the town on several routes, with connections from Galway (roughly 1.5 hours by road), Sligo and Westport. If you are driving in from within Mayo, Castlebar is at the hub of the local road network. Parking in the town centre is generally straightforward on a weekday morning.
Dropping off and picking up gives you four hours each morning, which is a comfortable amount of time to walk the town, visit the museum, or head out towards Lough Lannagh. There is more to see in Castlebar and across Co. Mayo.
Heading to Castlebar in Castlebar? Mayo has plenty more to see. Read the Castlebar area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.