Camps 2023
SUMMER CAMP AT CAPE FEAR BOTANICAL GARDEN
Uncover the wonders of the natural world through outdoor exploration, art projects, science experiments, and learning games. This year’s summer camps include a mix of one-day and weeklong camps, as well as a few three and four day camps for our youngest and oldest campers. All our camps instill a love for nature and a focus on hands-on fun, and outdoor learning activities.
FEES:
Week-long & Multi-Day Camps: $100/child ($80 for Garden Members*)
Day Camps: $40/child ($30 for Garden Members*)
Don’t Forget to Check out our Camp T-Shirt Deals when you register.
NOTE: Camps that are FULL are accepting Wait List entries. Please email bgoldentyer@capefearbg.org if you wish to be added to a waitlist for a camp.
Summer 2023 Camp Lineup – WEEKLY & MULTI-DAY
SPROUTS CAMPS (AGES 4-6)
Wonders of Nature: May 30-June 2 9am-12pm (FULL)
Young campers will explore the wonders of nature! We’ll investigate plants, bugs, and other critters. Create a bug jar, plant seeds, and make animal tracks.
Garden Sprouts: July 25-27 2pm-5pm (FULL)
Look at seed pods up-close, play with worms, and paint a planter to take home. Each day campers will hear a story, take a walk in the Garden, have a snack, make a craft, enjoy a simple science project, and play in the Eleanor and Raymond Manning Children’s Garden.
EXPLORERS CAMPS (AGES 5-8)
Critter Camp Session A: June 5-9 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Critter Camp Session B: July 10-14 1:30pm-5:30pm (FULL)
In this camp, learn about a new group of animals each day. Campers will investigate furs, feathers, and scales, meet live reptiles, catch fish in the pond, and build their own nests.
Note: There are two identical sessions of this camp to accommodate more campers.
S.T.E.A.M. Discoveries: July 17-21 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Learn by doing with hands-on experiments, engineering challenges, and nature art projects. Campers will build floating rafts, create a mini-lava lamp, blow giant bubbles, and become citizen scientists.
World of Bugs: August 7-11 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Most of the animals on Earth are insects! In this camp, explore the world of bugs with activities including creating bug jars, catching butterflies, building a mason bee house, and designing a floating water strider.
CREATORS CAMPS (AGES 6-10)
Nature Around the World: July 10-14 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
“Travel” to a new part of the world each day to explore ecosystems and cultures from across the globe. Learn how plants survive in the desert and thrive in the rainforest. Create a mini-zen garden, make Mexican bark rubbings, and try snacks from different countries.
Naturally Creative: July 31-Aug 4 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Budding artists will have the opportunity to use a variety of natural materials and art mediums, learn about the elements of art, and become inspired by the beauty of the Garden. Campers will use leaves and rocks to construct art, make a nature journal, paint rocks, and create bookmarks with dried leaves and flowers.
ADVENTURERS CAMPS (AGES 8-12)
Eureka! Science Discoveries Session A: June 26-30 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Eureka! Science Discoveries Session B: August 7-11 1:30pm-5:30pm
Junior scientists will conduct experiments, investigations, and engineering projects that help them learn critical thinking skills, problem solving, and the joy of scientific discovery. Explore the science of electricity with squishy circuits, create a chemical reaction that launches a mini-rocket, and engineer a parachute to protect an egg.
Note: There are two identical sessions of this camp to accommodate more campers.
Botany Lab: July 24-28 8:30am-12:30pm (FULL)
Campers become botanists for a week as they learn about bristle cone pines that are thousands of years old, pitcher plants that can eat frogs, water lilies large enough to support a child, and trees that can walk. Dissect flowers, create fern prints, plant several types of seeds, and use a tag game to model the way trees can talk to each other.
Eco-Explorers: August 21-25 8:30am-12:30pm
Campers explore the science of ecology with activities that include creating an ecosystem in a jar, meeting live reptiles, dissecting owl pellets, and catching tadpoles in the pond.
SUMMER NATURALIST CAMP (AGES 11-15)
July 5-7 9am-3pm
This three-day camp hits all the highlights for our oldest campers. This camp includes classic CFBG camp activities like pond dipping, a photo scavenger hunt, tie dye, and a campfire plus new science experiments and a terrarium project.
FEES:
Week-long & Multi-Day Camps: $100/child ($80 for Garden Members*)
Don’t Forget to Check out our Camp T-Shirt Deals when you register.
Summer 2023 Camp Lineup – DAY CAMPS
Day Camp: Garden Explorers (Ages 5-8) June 21 9am-3pm (FULL)
Campers will enjoy exploring outdoors and learn about garden plants and animals. Camp activities include making hiking sticks, a photo scavenger hunt, and learning about animal tracks.
Day Camp: Animal Art (Ages 6-10) June 22 9am-3pm (FULL)
Be inspired by the beauty and personality of animals to create amazing art projects including creations made with natural materials and painted ceramic animals.
Day Camp: Inside-Out Nature (Ages 8-12) August 15 9am-3pm (FULL)
Did you ever wonder how a bat can fly or why fish can breathe underwater? In this one day camp, we’ll explore what’s inside plants and animals. Activities include assembling model animals with plastic skeletons, cutting open a pitcher plant, looking at animal x-rays, and creating a model of the lungs.
Day Camp: Underwater Mysteries (Ages 6-10) August 16 9am-3pm (FULL)
In this camp, explore life underwater from the Garden pond to the wide ocean. Campers will use nets to look for critters in the pond, create a jellyfish craft, and dig for shark’s teeth.
Day Camp: Peculiar Plants (Ages 11-15) August 18 9am-3pm
The Garden is full of amazing and peculiar plants with incredible histories. In this one day camp, campers will explore the science of botany, build a model of a plant cell, discover rare plants in the Garden, create a flower press to take home, and build a working lemon clock.
FEES:
Day Camps: $40/child ($30 for Garden Members*)
Don’t Forget to Check out our Camp T-Shirt Deals when you register.
ITEMS OF NOTE
- Membership discount applies at Household Membership level, to include children. (To become a Member, click HERE.)
- Full payment is due at the time of registration. Scholarships may be available. Please email bgoldentyer@capefearbg.org or call 910-486-0221 x 43 for more information.
- Camps will be canceled no later than one full week out if a minimum of six children is not met. Maximum of 12 children per session.
- Children must be the minimum listed age as of the first date of the camp session – age exemptions with staff approval are sometimes made within one year of the age range.
- Refund requests require an 8 or more week notice in order to receive a full refund. If request is made 4-7 weeks out, we offer a 50% refund. Less than 4 weeks from the camp we cannot offer a refund, however we will try to find an opening in another camp if available.
- A waitlist will be started if camp sessions fill up. If space opens in your desired camp session, you will be contacted and given the opportunity to accept or decline the space. Upon accepting the space, registration fees and forms will be due to secure your camper’s spot. Please email bgoldentyer@capefearbg.org if you wish to be added to a waitlist for a camp.
- All camp dates are contingent on the school schedule for the Cumberland County Public Schools.
WHAT TO BRING
All camps will go outside every day, weather allowing. Please send children dressed for the weather, with sunscreen and bug spray pre-applied and close-toed shoes (no flip-flops or sandals please). All camps include a snack provided by the Garden. Campers for the Day Camps should bring a packed lunch. Reusable water bottles and backpacks will be provided at the beginning of weeklong camps. Day Campers should bring their own water bottle.
BEHAVIOR POLICY
Please review our Camper Expectations & Policies HERE.
THANK YOU!
Thanks to Cumberland Community Foundation for their financial support since 1990.
