SPARK - Business Academy (Grades K-8)

SPARK Business Academy

SPARK campers spend each day highly engaged in hands-on activities and gamification techniques as they develop essential 21st century skills.  In all programs, campers will develop financial skills along with soft skills in communication, collaboration and public speaking, all while becoming business savvy!  Most programs culminate with a showcase event each Friday that allows campers to present and learn from their peers.  

SPARK has been offering empowering youth programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurship since 2013. Our skills-based programs help campers develop essential life skills and have received glowing parent testimonials. SPARK's unique programs have been featured in Business Week, Bloomberg TV, Georgetown Business and international newspapers.

*Participants must be enrolled in an AM Only program in order to participate in the PM Only program.

Dates, Hours, and Fees

Weekly Themes/Programs

Budding Entrepreneurs

Join other intrepid campers and develop a business plan for your own business idea. You will learn to take risks and persevere, while making business-like decisions about strategy, marketing and finance (optional activities include building a website and designing business cards). Campers build confidence "learning by doing" throughout the week and make their pitch presentations on the last day!

Bulls & Bears

Learn investing fundamentals and how you can start investing at a young age! Build your own $100,000 stock portfolio and trade stocks like Apple, Nike or Amazon with a cool investing simulation tool. This hands-on experience empowers campers with the tools and mindset to face future investment decisions with confidence and buy low, sell high! A solid foundation for successful future investors!

Jr CEOs

How cool would it be for you to be the boss at Apple or Amazon for a day?  In this leadership program, you can! Campers act as CEOs for leading companies and collaborate to make strategic recommendations to address real business issues. Case studies include popular companies and examine the role of female and minority CEOs. Campers enhance their problem-solving skills, develop business savvy and cultivate a strategic mindset as future leaders.

Little Inventors

Are you ready to innovate? Get your creative juices flowing in this project-based program, where you will identify the need for an invention, think on your feet, and create structures and solutions.  Campers also learn about famous inventors and internalize how recent innovations improve our lives.

Model UN

Campers act as United Nations (UN) delegates, collaborating in teams to develop policy recommendations and debating current global issues aligned to the UN’s sustainable development goals. Participants enhance their research and communication skills, while gaining a solid exposure to debating international affairs, problem solving in a diplomatic context, and making persuasive presentations.

Money Math

This innovative foundation on financial literacy also serves as a practical math lab where campers learn and reinforce computational skills, while developing a mindset for healthy financial habits. From playing money math games to learning about budgeting through engaging activities, campers have fun while they enhance their “real life” math skills!

My First Food Truck

Campers select a food theme, choose an ideal location, identify target customers, design appealing menus, and form a comprehensive business plan covering strategy, marketing, operations and finance, including capital-raising needs. Activities include drafting mission statements, setting prices, estimating expenses and learning key financial metrics. This program offers a tasty way to develop business savvy!

Note: no food is handled at camp.

My First Lemonade Stand

Let's sell lemonade! Young campers become "lemonade entrepreneurs" and learn how to make yummy lemonade and earn money selling it!  From designing marketing flyers to estimating profits to experimenting with recipes, campers have fun all week while developing business savvy.  As an optional showcase event, campers launch the lemonade stand on Friday to raise money for a charity they select! 

My First Passport

This fun program helps campers develop a global mindset and build international awareness early in life! Explore cultural differences across countries, geography games, famous landmarks, world currencies, current global events, the role of international institutions like the UN, and more. Campers role-play as diplomats and come up with solutions to key global problems like hunger, poverty and pollution.

My First Piggy Bank

Earn, save, spend, donate! Let's learn about money! This innovative program provides a solid foundation on financial literacy for kids in a fun setting. Games and hands-on activities help campers internalize key concepts (like money, budgeting and saving) in an engaging and supportive environment fostering teamwork. Students use their arts & crafts skills to make their own piggy banks!

Sports Management

For the sports lover, future team General Manager, sports team owner or ESPN analyst, this unique program helps campers view the world of sports from a business perspective. Campers participate in fun mock drafts for various sports and analyze different sports topics, including player contracts, college sports, NIL, endorsements, the Nike vs Under Armour competition, sports agents, the Super Bowl, e-sports and more!

Young Debaters

Campers learn the art of persuasion and help select debate topics they find interesting. In a public forum debate format, campers work in groups and practice their debating skills in a supportive environment, including developing arguments, issuing rebuttals, providing examples, rebuilding their case and summarizing points of view. Campers learn to think on their feet and enhance their public-speaking skills, gaining self-confidence in the process.

Young Philanthropists

Campers internalize the benefits of doing well and doing good, reviewing a number of charities and discussing the merits of giving back. Campers collaborate in small teams to select a charity or issue they feel passionate about and come up with practical ways they can support that cause (including raising awareness, volunteering and fundraising), then create their own mock foundation!