February 13th-24th, 2023
Preschool- 6th Grade
Daily sign ups available!
February Critter Camp gives kids in San Diego the opportunity to discover what there is to love about our natural world by getting up close and personal with our animal ambassadors. Through hands-on animal interactions, crafts, games, and activities, your child will explore the environment and the various creatures that call this world home.
Camp Times, Rates, Discounts and Details
Preschool
- $75 per child, per day
- 9:00am – 1:00pm
- Extended Care option: 8:00am drop off for $12 per day. No late pickup available for Preschool.
- Must be at least 4 years old and able to use the bathroom independently.
Kindergarten– 6th Grade
- $95 per child, per day
- 9:00am – 3:00pm
- Extended Care option: 8:00am – 5:00pm for $24 per day
Discounts
- 15% off camp tuition for active military. Call us at 858-756-4117 ext. 318 for the coupon code.
- Automatically receive $5 off the daily tuition when registering siblings. Must register siblings at the same time. Applies to the second or more siblings only.
- Automatically receive the 5th day free if you register for 5 sessions. (Per child. Must register for the sessions at the same time.)
- Your child may be eligible for a scholarship! Please visit our website by clicking here to find out more.
- Your camp fee may provide a partial tax credit, check with your tax professional to see if you qualify!
Details
- All campers must be able to use the restroom confidently and on their own. We cannot enter a bathroom with a child to help them wipe or dress.
- Must be at least 5 years old to pet reptiles.
- Animals assigned to a theme may vary depending on animal health, safety, and availability.
- Please provide your child with a snack and water bottle each day.
- Lunch can be purchased at $10 per child, per day. It includes a main entrée and two sides.
- Hot Lunch option (same each day): cheese pizza.
- Sides: applesauce and a cheese cracker variant.
- We know that camp sounds fun for kids and adults, but this camp is for kids only!
- Aides are suggested for camp if your child regularly works with one. Camp has frequent transitions that may make an aide more necessary during camp than at school. All aides must be fingerprinted through Helen Woodward Animal Center in order to attend camp. Please call us at 858-756-4117 ext. 318 so that we can help them complete the fingerprint process. It may take up to 7 days to receive fingerprinting results.
February Critter Camp Themes
Tuesday - All Together Now
There’s nothing better than snuggling up with a loved one when it gets chilly, but not all animals feel that way! Come and learn about the relationships that animals have with people, their environment, and each other. Campers will meet a mini horse, guinea pig, large parrot, rosy boa snake, and a leopard gecko.
Thursday - Beware of the Crisp Air
We can bundle up to stay warm and still have fun frolicking in the snow, but how do animals survive the harsh winter months? Find out how different adaptations make certain animals better suited for the cold. Campers will meet an alpaca, chinchilla, chicken, bearded dragon, and hermit crab.
Critter Camp Frequently Asked Questions
Authorized Pick Up & ID Checking
For safety purposes we do not release children at pick up time to anyone not listed on the “authorized to pick up” list. We check ID daily at checkout time.
To add someone to the authorized list, we must confirm you are one of the parents/guardians and then we can add any additional names, or you can log into your account and add more in yourself.
Making sure certain children are in the same group
During registration there is a section for “my child would like to be in the same class as” and that is where you should add the first and last names of other children to group with, if any. We group children into classes by grade level first; if we have multiple classes of the same grade level then we’ll pair requests together.
We generally group classes as follows: PreK/Preschool, Kinder, 1st-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th, 7th-8th. Depending on registrations for each grade level we may combine nearby grade levels into one class, such as a Kinder-2nd class.
We only move older children down into the younger groups.
If you need your child with another child regardless of grade level, please contact the office by email or phone to escalate your request to a need. Please do this before the start of the camp week you’re attending so that it can be taken care of prior to the start of grouping for that week.
Extended Care
You can add extended care as late as day of by contacting the office about adding it at any time, or sign into your account and add it yourself. Extended care includes AM Care and PM Care (AM Care is the only option for Preschool).
AM Care is 8:00-8:45am early drop off. Children will mostly free play with camp staff supervision. This is the only option available to children younger than Kindergarten.
PM Care is 3:00-5:00pm late pick up. Children will do a craft or activity, have some guided games, help check on our outdoor animals for the night’s close, and free play under the supervision of camp staff. It is advised to pack extra snacks so your child has food for PM Care.
Camp Lunch
You can add lunch as late as morning of, as long as you do it before 9:30am when the lunch order is placed. Camp lunch includes an entrée and two sides.
You can contact the office about adding it day of or sign into your account and add it yourself (but please only add it yourself if its 24 hours’ notice otherwise it may be missed – we print rosters each morning at 8am).
Cancellation Policy
Please stay home if a member of your household is sick. We can transfer registrations which haven’t started to another day if that day has room.
If you need to cancel and can provide more than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the camp day, we can refund you minus a $10 cancellation fee per day.
If you need to cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the day you will not receive a refund.
Your program fee helps support all of our adoptable animals, as well as the many human and animal services that Helen Woodward Animal Center provides.
For more information:
Please contact us at education@animalcenter.org or 858-756-4117 ext. 318
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