Summer Critter Camp

A wonderful San Diego Summer Camp where kids connect with animals!

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!

Camp Times, Rates, Discounts and Details

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.

  • Daily registration: a single day and applies the daily rate, regardless of how many days you register for. Allows flexibility to fit your schedule needs!
 
  • Weekly registration: a single week and applies the weekly rate, but we do not prorate or transfer credits if you don’t attend all the days of that week. Best value option and campers receive a free t-shirt!
 

We also offer camp for 7th-8th graders on select weeks!

  • Weekly registration on 6 select weeks only.
  • Theme is the same each week and different from the weekly themes the other grades follow. Their themes focus on animal careers.

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

  • 9:00am – 1:00pm
  • Extended Care option: Early drop-off at 8:00am available for an additional fee, per day. No extended day option available for Preschool.
  • Must be at least 4 years old and able to use the bathroom independently.
 

Kindergarten – 8th Grade

  • 9:00am – 3:00pm
  • Extended Care option: Early drop-off at 8:00am and/or extended day to 5:00pm available for an additional fee, per day.
  • Be aware that camp has frequent transitions that can make an aide more necessary during camp than at school.
 

Discounts

  • 15% off camp tuition for active military. Call us at 858-756-4117 ext. 318 for the coupon code before you book.
  • Your child may be eligible for a scholarship! Please click 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.
  • 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 for an additional fee, per child, per day, before 9:30am.
    It includes a main entrée and two sides. It is listed as a separate activity that you sign each child up for.
  • We know that camp sounds fun for kids and adults, but this camp is for kids only! If your child has an aide at school and you plan to have them come to camp with your child, please call us at 858-756-4117 ext. 318 so that we can help them complete the fingerprint process. All aides must be fingerprinted through us in order to attend camp, which can take 2 weeks or more. Be aware that camp has frequent transitions that can make an aide more necessary during camp than at school.

Summer Critter Camp Themes

Animals in STEAM – Odd Weeks

 

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.

Science

LEARN MORE
Humans have made a lot of advancements in science to benefit us, but did you know there’s a lot we’ve done that is also helping animals? Campers will meet a miniature horse, guinea pig, large parrot, skink lizard, a Madagascar hissing cockroach, and visit Adoptions.

Technology

LEARN MORE
Technology and nature don’t always seem to mix, but there’s a lot of inspiration and understanding derived from animals and our natural world, come discover how! Campers will meet a sheep, dog, medium parrot, leopard gecko, and a beetle.

Engineering

LEARN MORE
Animals might not be architects in our sense of the word, but some of them do engineer some amazing homes, let’s explore their wild habitats! Campers will meet a goat, rabbit, dove, California desert tortoise, and a rosy boa snake.

Art

LEARN MORE
We love to create art based on the world around us, but let’s explore how animals use art with each other and how it’s ultimately a form of communication and what that looks like in the animal kingdom! Campers will meet a rabbit, chicken, bearded dragon, turtle, and a frog.

Math

LEARN MORE
The relationships between animals and their environment adds up to a delicate formula, where too much or too little of one thing can alter the arithmetic. Campers will meet a dog, chinchilla, small parrot, ball python snake, and an earthworm.

Surrounded by Superheroes – Even Weeks

 

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.

Super Strength

LEARN MORE
In the wild, only the strongest survive, so let’s find out what adaptations of super strength animals have to stay alive. Campers will meet a goat, rabbit, medium parrot, bearded dragon, and a turtle.

Super Lairs

LEARN MORE
Every good super hero has a headquarters, and animals are no different. Take a tour of all the different types of places a critter would call home base! Campers will meet a guinea pig, chicken, skink lizard, California desert tortoise, and a frog.

Super Senses

LEARN MORE
We know dogs have super sniffers, but many other animals have spectacular abilities to sense the world, including ones we don’t have! Campers will meet a sheep, dog, small parrot, ball python snake, and an earthworm.

Super Fuel

LEARN MORE
It takes a lot of energy to be super all the time so join us to explore the different ways animals find and eat their food and why. Campers will meet a miniature horse, rabbit, large parrot, leopard gecko, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach.

Super Humans

LEARN MORE
With all the amazing things animals do naturally it might seem like they don’t need our help, but we can all be superhuman when it comes to making positive changes in the world. Campers will meet a dog, chinchilla, dove, rosy boa snake, a beetle, and visit Adoptions.

Critter Careers – 7th-8th grade (same each week)

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.

Monday - Veterinarian

LEARN MORE
Animals communicate in a variety of ways which can tell us if they’re happy and healthy, or need medical attention. Discover the different ways veterinarians work with different species and what the path towards that career looks like. Campers will meet a miniature donkey, guinea pig, chicken, tortoise, ball python snake, bathe a large mammal, and visit a different department at the Center.

Tuesday - Keeper

LEARN MORE
Animals and humans have a lot of different relationships worldwide but one that is always needed is a keeper to care for the daily needs of animals. Explore the variations of needs different animal species have and how that translates to caring properly for them. Campers will meet a miniature horse, chinchilla, small parrot, leopard gecko lizard, frog, clean an animal enclosure, and visit a different department at the Center.

Wednesday - Trainer

LEARN MORE
Because humans and animals don’t speak the same language, we can develop a way to communicate through a new language, training! Learn the fundamentals of shaping behaviors and pairing them with signals, and understand why this is so important for animal happiness and health. Campers will meet a dog, rabbit, medium parrot, rosy boa snake, beetle, clean an animal pen, and visit a different department at the Center.

Thursday - Researcher

LEARN MORE
To best understand animals and learn from them, we need to research them. Careers are widespread and varied with this need, and can include field work or lab work. Understand the important role animals play in science and how we can make ethical decisions when studying. Campers will meet a goat, dog, large parrot, skink lizard, earthworm, walk a large mammal, and visit a different department at the Center.

Friday - Educator

LEARN MORE
Media and education are both crucial to supporting animals because they connect people and animals and the challenges they face, which generates better understanding and solutions based on positive change. Campers will meet a sheep, rabbit, dove, bearded dragon, Madagascar hissing cockroach, socialize chinchillas, and visit a different department at the Center.

Critter Camp Frequently Asked Questions

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.
  • 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.

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.

  • 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).

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.

Your program fee helps support all of our adoptable animals, as well as the many human and animal services Helen Woodward Animal Center provides.

For more information:
Please contact us at education@animalcenter.org 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!