Junior Naturalist Camp: PreK/Ages 4 – 5
Come to camp all morning this week and get an up-close look at animals in their habitats, make art, play games, hear stories and enjoy nature walks each day. Explore the prairie, pond, forest and Interpretive center with caring and creative counselors. Have fun and learn with our age appropriate nature activities. Come play with the big kids, no grown-ups allowed!
Junior Naturalist Camp runs 9am – noon, Monday – Friday ● Snack included
$110 Member; $135 Non-Member
Session 1: June 21-25 ~ Working with Wildlife
What is it like to work on a farm, be a wildlife biologist or take care of animals on display? Go behind the scenes at KNC and learn what it takes to work with wildlife. Care for the animals that work on the Family Farm at KNC and meet live Birds of Prey. You will learn about bird migration from the Research Staff. Learn how to help the wildlife in your own backyard.
Session 2: June 28 - July 2 ~ Flight School
Ever wondered how birds and bugs fly? Investigate the science of flight and learn about the adaptations that animals and people use to soar sky high. Search out flying insects in their habitats. Study bird and butterfly migration with the KNC Research Staff. Learn about fast fliers and animals that soar at night, and meet live Birds of Prey. Study flight with the Kalamazoo Air Zoo staff.
Session 3: July 12-16 ~ Animals of the Past
Travel with us back into the distant past as we explore the animals that lived long ago. Grab your shovel and dig into the truth about the animals of the past. Learn about flying dinosaurs and meet their modern cousins, the hawks. Go on a fossil hunt at the Gravel Pits. See the bottom of the ancient ocean that once covered Michigan. Enjoy a visit from the alligators and other reptiles from the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary.
Session 4: July 19-23 ~ Survival Sense
Run, jump and use all of your senses to experience for yourself the adaptations that animals use to help them survive in all of the extreme habitats on earth. Learn what makes a good animal home in the prairie, pond and forest. Explore the amazing feat of migration and meet some master migrators, like the rough-legged hawk. Discover how animals and people stay comfortable in extreme temperatures. Learn the tricks that animals use to find food – not at the grocery store!
Session 5: July 26-30 ~ Bugs and Slugs
The world is full of small things that some people think are gross. But if you love our creepy crawly neighbors, come explore high and low for our small and slimy friends. Learn what makes an insect different than other small creatures. Discover how scientists study insects in a prairie, pond and forest. Make connections between insects and the other animals in the web of life. Take home your very own photo-bug collection.
Session 6: August 2-6 ~ Amazing Animals
Animals are wonderful: they have amazing speed, strength and senses that help them survive. Join in on the action as we search out superheroes of the animal world. Explore the pond, stream and river for super swimmers. Search the woods and prairie for animals that run fast and fly high. Take a trip into the night-time world of nocturnal animals like bats and owls. Discover the adaptations that make some animals the “X-Men of the Wild.”
Session 7: August 9-13 ~ Water Beasts
Dive into the amazing world of ponds, streams and rivers! Prepare for an out of this world adventure as we search for the animals that call the water their home. Go buggy with aquatic insects. Think deep about the lives of fish and sharks. Search high and low for muskrats and beavers. Explore the adaptations of water birds with heirloom ducks and geese from the Barry County 4-H Club.
Session 8: August 16-20 ~ Awesome Amphibians & Rockin’ Reptiles
Take an adventure into the world of slime and scales! If you think turtles are terrific and frogs are fun then you will be “hoppy” this week. Explore the amphibians and reptiles of the past. Scour the property for turtles, snakes, salamanders, frogs and toads. Learn how amphibians and reptiles reproduce and survive the winter. Enjoy a visit from the alligators and other reptiles from the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary.