Winter Zoo Camp

This is the heart of the Zoo Camp experience! Each day, campers will have an opportunity to step into the role of the zookeepers: putting out food for an animal or helping to prep an animal enclosure for the day. At least once each day, campers get to see or touch an animal up close. We also focus on investigating the real life challenges zoo staff and vets face. Campers will have opportunities to build their teamwork skills as they complete our science challenges.

• Campers are welcomed with some games or activities while everyone arrives.
• Small group bonding activities start the day.
• Some days campers do a “keeper chore” to help the keepers set up for the day.
• The challenge of the day is revealed. The group comes up with questions and suggestions for which animals to observe.
• Campers explore the zoo to make observations that will help them solve the challenge.
• Meet an animal up close or go into an enclosure to learn more.
• Lunch offers a chance to eat, relax, or play at the playground (campers must bring their own lunch).
• After lunch, campers discuss solutions to their scientific challenges and work together to design or build a model to solve the problem they have been working on.
• The afternoon continues with thematic activities, games, and often another up-close animal encounter, before wrapping up and reflecting on the day.

With easy access to information online, teaching children how to approach a novel challenge is more effective than telling them animal facts. Our instructors build on campers’ innate curiosity by encouraging them to carry out scientific investigations. The challenges also create natural teamwork situations that bring groups together and are lots of fun!

We work with the kind of challenges zoo staff and scientists are faced with everyday, such as:

• What kinds of food should we feed the animals?
• What should we add to the enclosure to encourage natural behaviors?
• How do we design the best habitat for an animal?
• How do we care for an injured animal?
• What new inventions can we create by studying animals?

At Zoo Camp, we use age-appropriate scenarios based on real life. The campers then have room to observe, wonder, and come up with their own solutions – some of which we can actually put into place at the zoo!

Yes! We have a new theme each day, and we rotate themes from year to year. Each theme has different animal encounters, and a new challenge and science investigations. The process of asking questions and carrying out new investigations feels fresh each time.

We keep our group sizes small. Camps are limited to no more than fourteen children with two adults.

We group our sessions by age. If you don’t see a session that works for you, please email us to discuss if it would be a good fit to sign your child up for a younger or older camp. In most cases, we are willing to make exceptions if everyone thinks it will be a good fit. Email: education@henryvilaszoo.gov.

If you choose to cancel your registration, and notify us via email MORE THAN TWO WEEKS prior to the start of camp, you can choose to receive a refund (minus 10% for administrative costs) or transfer your registration payment to a donation for the Zoo.

If you choose to cancel your registration, and notify us LESS THAN TWO WEEKS prior to the start of your camp, no credits or refunds will be given. Your registration payment will automatically be transferred to a donation.

All cancellations must be made via email to education@henryvilaszoo.gov.