Thank you to all the campers who made this summer unforgettable! Our days were filled with exciting animal encounters, creative crafts, and tons of fun. From birds and small mammals to reptiles and invertebrates, every day was a new adventure that left us all amazed.
Missed out? Don’t worry—plans are already underway for next year’s Summer Critter Camp! Stay tuned for upcoming themes and dates as we prepare for another round of wild, educational fun. We can’t wait to see you back at camp in 2025!
We offer registration in both a daily and a weekly form. Please pay close attention to the text for the dates you sign up for to ensure you’re selecting the option you want.
We also offer camp for 7th-8th graders on select weeks!
CANCELLATION POLICY
Please stay home if a member of your household is sick. We can transfer registrations that haven’t started, to another day if that day has room, for any purpose. Communicate with us about child’s illness and we can discuss the cancellation policy allowances.
Daily registrants: If you need to cancel and provide more than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the camp day, we can refund you with a $10 cancellation fee per day.
Weekly registrants: If you need to cancel and provide more than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the camp week, we can refund you with a $50 cancellation fee per week.
If you need to cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the day for daily registrants or the start of the week for weekly registrants you will not receive a refund.
Preschool
Kindergarten – 8th Grade
Discounts
Your camp fee may provide a partial tax credit. Check with your tax professional to see if you qualify.
Details
No matter the career we have, animals and the world are all interconnected with us. Join us this week for camp as we explore the ways nature is involved in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, and how today we can start to solve for tomorrow!
Different days of the week follow different daily themes depending on grade. Below is a list of all the daily themes for the Animals in STEAM weeks. All grades will also visit our Adoptions department, and some older grades will visit other departments of the Center on select days.
Look no further for a super summer camp experience – at Critter Camp, kids will be surrounded by superheroes! Each animal has amazing adaptations that make them real life superheroes, not to mention their abilities to improve our lives and our planet.
Different days of the week follow different daily themes depending on grade. Below is a list of all the daily themes for the Animal Superheroes weeks. All grades will also visit our Adoptions department, and some older grades will visit other departments of the Center on select days.
Explore the different ways you can work with animals, some of which include direct care of the animals, while others mean supporting them through the work you do at a distance. Campers will earn an hour of community service each day of camp by assisting our animal care team, plus they will meet professionals in the animal industry, and develop lifelong leadership skills during their time here at Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego.
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.
You can add early drop-off or extended day as late as day of by contacting the office about adding it at any time.
There is no extended day option for Preschool.
Early drop-off is 8:00-8:45am. Children will mostly free play with camp staff supervision. This is the only option
available to children younger than Kindergarten.
Extended day is 3:00-5:00pm. 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 this time.
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.
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, for any purpose. Communicate with us about child illness and we can discuss the cancellation policy allowances.
Daily registrants: If you need to cancel and provide more than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the camp day, we can refund you with a $10 cancellation fee per day.
Weekly registrants: If you need to cancel and provide more than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the camp week, we can refund you with a $50 cancellation fee per week.
If you need to cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice to the start of the day for daily registrants or the start of the week for weekly registrants you will not receive a refund.
For more information:
Please contact us at [email protected] or 858-756-4117 ext. 318
Follow us online to get more humane education virtually including animal facts, cute animal photos and videos, and notifications about upcoming programs!
Due to Hurricane Hilary, all departments will be closing at 3pm today. Stay safe!
![- Kim C. “[My son] loved the animal interactions and new knowledge he learned. The games were engaging. There was a great balance of learning, playing and even snack/rest.”](https://animalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/kid-group-craft-scaled-1-1-1024x683.jpg)
![- Bansidhar G. “[The] ability to choose what days to send the kids to without having to register for the entire summer. The animal interactions kids have here is unmatched anywhere else.”](https://animalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/kid-snake-scaled-1-1-1024x683.jpg)