ArtJoy WonderWorks: Big Art, Sensory Fun & Puppet Play Summer Camp 2026 (FULL DAY)

✨ What’s It About?

ArtJoy WonderWorks – Puppets, Play & Creativity is a joyful, hands-on summer camp for kids ages 7–11 in Grass Valley. During this imaginative week, campers dive into art making, puppetry, storytelling, and creative play.

Children design their own puppet characters, build imaginative puppet worlds, create outdoor chalk murals, play theater games, and experiment with giant bubbles. Using simple materials like cardboard, paint, fabric scraps, and recycled supplies, kids invent creatures, craft costumes, and bring stories to life through puppetry and performance.

Camp is led by professional puppeteer Toni Tone Mikulka-Chang, founder of ArtJoy and Giant Puppets Save the World. Throughout the week, students get hands-on time with Toni’s professional puppets—including marionettes, giant silk bird kite puppets, and a collection of over 200 plush hand puppets.

The week begins with each child decorating their own ArtJoy Creative Box to store their puppets and artwork. Camp days include a balance of art projects, outdoor play, movement games, storytelling, and collaborative creativity.

The week ends with a fun puppet show for families, where campers share their characters and stories.

With a small group of just 12 campers, every child receives plenty of attention, encouragement, and space to create.

ArtJoy WonderWorks is a screen-free camp powered by imagination, creativity, and joyful play.

 Required Consent form must be completed by June 1, 2026

 

 

About the Instructor

Toni Mikulka-Chang is a multidisciplinary artist, puppeteer, and teaching artist with over 20 years of experience working with children and adults. She is the founder of ArtJoy, Yoga Pottery, and Giant Puppets Save the World.

Trained in fine art, anthropology, and puppetry, Toni studied at SUNY and apprenticed with the renowned Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont. She later worked as an early childhood educator and teaching artist at Habitot Children’s Museum in Berkeley, where she designed hands-on, play-based art programs for young children and families.

Toni has worked with clay for over 25 years and teaches pottery to adults and children through her Yoga Pottery practice. Her creative work spans ceramics, sculpture, fiber arts, puppetry, and large-scale installations, and she performs at festivals, museums, and community arts events throughout California and beyond.

Her teaching philosophy emphasizes process over product, curiosity, and joyful discovery, creating inclusive spaces where all learners can explore materials, tell stories, and build confidence through art.

 

ArtJoy WonderWorks: Puppet & Story Makers is an original program developed by Toni
Mikulka-Chang / ArtJoy.

© 2026 ArtJoy / Toni Mikulka-Chang. All rights reserved.

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