Wild Child: 4th – 5th Grade
Wild Child Day Camp (WCD)
What could be more super than spending all day exploring the coolest parts of the Nature Center like the Gravel Pits, Trout Run Stream and the Source Pond? Meet new friends and awesome counselors, while living out your favorite adventures. Practice outdoor skills like orienteering and archery, travel back in time to the Delano Homestead and the Pioneer Cabin, create natural art or learn to catch a fish!
$210 Member, $235 Non-Member Sessions: 1,3,5,7
Wild Child Day Camp runs 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday
Wild Child Campout (WCC)
Being at home in the woods doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a week at camp! Learn to set up a tent and build safe shelters and fires. Explore the best of camp during the day; discover nature at night and practice awareness and self-reliance on an awesome overnight campout. Pack your bags and get ready to let out the Wild Child!
$250 Member, $275 Non-Member Sessions: 2,6 ● Girls Only! 4,8 ● Boys Only! 4,8
Wild Child Day Camp runs 9am – 5pm, Monday – Wednesday, Overnight campouts are on Thursday nights ● Tents and 3 meals are provided ● Tents are shared with same-gender campers only.
Session 1: June 21-25 ~ Working with Wildlife: Day Camp
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. Take care of the animals at KNC’s Family Farm. Study bird migration and nesting with KNC’s Research Staff, and see wild birds up close! Help us care for our exhibit and camp animals and meet live Birds of Prey. Visit Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, get a behind the scenes tour and catch fish in the show pond.
Session 2: June 28 - July 2 ~ Flight School: Campout
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 and learn how “To Bee or Not To Bee.” Study bird and butterfly migration with the KNC Research Staff. Go on a night hike and meet nocturnal birds and insects. Come meet the live Birds of Prey. Study flight with the Kalamazoo Air Zoo staff and put principles of aerodynamics into action at the new Target Sports Range with Marshmallow Projectiles and Archery.
Session 3: July 12-16 ~ Animals of the Past: Day Camp
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 dinosaurs and meet their modern cousins, birds and reptiles. Go on a fossil hunt at the Gravel Pits. Travel to WMU’s Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education and the Geosciences Museum at Rood Hall to explore the history that is hidden below Michigan’s soil. Enjoy a visit from alligators and other dinosaur relatives.
Session 4: July 19-23 ~ Survival Sense: Campout – Boys/Girls Only!
Run, jump and use all of your senses to experience for yourself the adaptations that animals and people use to help them survive in all of the extreme habitats on earth. Learn from animals how to make a comfortable survival shelter. Explore the amazing feat of migration and meet some master migrators – then learn to use a map and compass. Discover how animals and people stay comfortable in extreme temperatures, then practice starting a fire without matches! Learn survival tricks from a survival expert and find food and water out in the wild
Session 5: July 26-30 ~ Bugs and Slugs: Day Camp
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. Explore insects in a prairie, pond and forest. Help threatened butterflies by participating in the Imperiled Butterfly Conservation Initiative. Create a bug collection to take home. Visit Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, learn fly tying and fish in the show pond.
Session 6: August 2-6 ~ Amazing Animals: Campout
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. Search for super swimmers in the pond and stream – and try to catch a few. Scour the Gravel Pits for fossil evidence of awesome ancient animals. Take a night hike after dinner and explore the 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: Day Camp
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. Learn how to care for aquarium animals like fish, turtles and frogs. Think fish at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and try to catch one in the show pond. Study watersheds and learn how scientists find healthy waterways. Explore the adaptations of water birds with heirloom ducks and geese from the Barry County 4-H Club and take a trip to the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary.
Session 8: August 16-20 ~ Reptiles & Amphibians: Campout - Girls/Boys Only!
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. Practice amphibian and reptile care with the Exhibit Animals of KNC. Learn how scientists study amphibians and reptiles in the field. Enjoy a visit from the alligators and other reptiles from the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary.