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Summer Critter Camp

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

June 5th-August  25th 2023

Preschool- 8th grade

Daily and weekly sign ups available!

Summer Critter Camp is San Diego’s best animal camp for kids preschool through 8th grade! Children will experience daily animal interactions that will amaze them as they get up close and personal with a variety of species including birds, small mammals, reptiles, large mammals, and invertebrates. Our summer camp activities are different each day and include animal themed games, crafts, songs, and more! There’s something for everyone at Summer Critter Camp, and a great time for all!

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: 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 – 8th Grade

  • 9:00am – 3:00pm
  • Extended Care option: 8:00am – 5:00pm for $24 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.
  • Automatically receive $5 off the daily tuition or $25 off the weekly tuition when registering siblings. Must register siblings at the same time. Applies to the second or more siblings only.
  • 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 at $10 per child, per day. It includes a main entrée and two sides.
    • Hot Lunch option (Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays): cheese pizza
    • Hot Lunch option (Tuesdays and Thursdays): bean and cheese burrito
    • Cold lunch option (Mondays-Fridays): turkey sandwich
    • Sides: a piece of fresh fruit or applesauce and a cheese cracker variant
 
  • 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

In Your Wildest Dreams – Odd Weeks

 

 

From sculptures and songs, to fables and folklore, animals have provided inspiration for many forms of art for thousands of years! Join us this week for camp as we tap into our creative sides and explore the fantastic links between animals and our imaginations.

Different days of the week follow different daily themes depending on grade.  Below is a list of all the daily themes for the In Your Wildest Dreams weeks. All grades will also visit our Adoptions department, and some older grades will visit other departments of the Center on select days.

Fantasy and Imagination Day

LEARN MORE
Learn about the origins of fantasy animals and the real animals that inspired them! Campers will meet an alpaca, mini horse, large parrot, bearded dragon, and millipede.

Fables and Folklore

LEARN MORE
For thousands of years, humans have used animals in fables to explain some of life’s biggest lessons. Each animal encounter will relate to a fictional tale the group will read! Campers will meet a dog, rabbit, dove, California desert tortoise, and Madagascar hissing cockroach.

Art and Creativity Day

LEARN MORE
Tap into your creative side and discover how animals inspire art and if animals can make art themselves! Campers will meet a rabbit, small parrot, blue tongued skink, leopard gecko, and a hermit crab.

Legends and Mythology Day

LEARN MORE
Many cultures used oral storytelling to explain our world, delve into some of the greatest legends from cultures all over the globe and realize the impact animals have left on us all. Campers will meet a goat, chinchilla, chicken, ball python snake, and a turtle.

Music and Song Day

LEARN MORE
From bird calls to frog croaks, many animals are capable of unique and beautiful sounds. Investigate how animals make sounds and how they respond to sounds made by other animals. Campers will meet a sheep, guinea pig, medium parrot, rosy boa snake, and a frog.

Animals through the Ages – Even Weeks

 

Travel back in time as we discover the many adaptations that have helped animals to live on this Earth during the past, present, and future! During this week of camp, learn about how fossils can unlock keys to a certain animal’s history or how their amazing adaptations can inspire the designs of 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 Through the Ages weeks. All grades will also visit our Adoptions department, and some older grades will visit other departments of the Center on select days.

Prehistoric Day

LEARN MORE
Grab your magnifying glass because it’s time to uncover clues about animals’ amazing pasts. Discover how animals are classified and how fossils can help us imagine an ancient time. Campers will meet an alpaca, rabbit, chicken, leopard gecko, and millipede.

Stone Age Day

LEARN MORE
Delve into the different ways animals approach problems and how we measure their intelligence. Much in the same way our human ancestors in the stone ages began to develop early tools to help us survive, animals have unique and creative ways they solve life’s challenges! Campers will meet a dog, small parrot, rosy boa snake, turtle, and a hermit crab.

Bronze Age Day

LEARN MORE
Explore the ways animals and humans have shaped history together, especially those species that we domesticated, how that separates them from tamed or wild animals, and how important of a role that partnership played in the development and continuation of society. Campers will meet a mini horse, guinea pig, medium parrot, bearded dragon, and ball python snake.

Modern Age Day

LEARN MORE
Investigate the relationship humans have with animals today. No matter how big or small, learn how you can do their part to promote conservation and respect for all living things. Campers will meet a sheep, chinchilla, dove, California desert tortoise, and frog.

Future Day

LEARN MORE
From bullet trains to medical sutures, lots of technology has been inspired by animals! Imagine how animals can influence the tools of tomorrow. Campers will meet a goat, rabbit, large parrot, blue tongued skink, and Madagascar hissing cockroach.

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 sheep, chinchilla, small parrot, turtle, frog, 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 mini horse, guinea pig, dove, bearded dragon, and blue tongued skink. They will also wash rabbit or bird enclosures 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 an alpaca, dog, large parrot, leopard gecko, and a millipede. They will also clean out a large mammal pen and visit a different department at the Center.

Thursday - Research

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, rabbit, medium sized parrot, tortoise, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach. They will also walk a large mammal, and visit a different department at the Center.

Friday - Influencer

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 Flemish giant rabbit, chicken, mini donkey, snake, and a hermit crab. They will also socialize our 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 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.

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.

- Joanie L. “Super professional and organized, amazing facility, and most importantly, my kids were thrilled with the experience and are begging for more.”
- Joanie L. “Super professional and organized, amazing facility, and most importantly, my kids were thrilled with the experience and are begging for more.”
- Jeannete L. “My daughter is shy about joining groups she does not know. The teachers made her feel so welcomed and she adapted so quickly to join the group and meet people.”
- Jeannete L. “My daughter is shy about joining groups she does not know. The teachers made her feel so welcomed and she adapted so quickly to join the group and meet people.”
- 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.”
- 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.”
- Kathryn P. “Would definitely recommend. My son had a great time! He came home excited to share what he had learned and done each day at camp.”
- Kathryn P. “Would definitely recommend. My son had a great time! He came home excited to share what he had learned and done each day at camp.”
- Jennifer C. “My daughter absolutely loved this camp. She was thrilled with her experience. The kids were exposed to a broad number of animals, and learned a ton while having a blast. She even loved cleaning up horse manure, and is still talking about it. We are just sorry we didn't sign up for more sessions this summer, but now we know to do so next year!”
- Jennifer C. “My daughter absolutely loved this camp. She was thrilled with her experience. The kids were exposed to a broad number of animals, and learned a ton while having a blast. She even loved cleaning up horse manure, and is still talking about it. We are just sorry we didn't sign up for more sessions this summer, but now we know to do so next year!”
- 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.”
- 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.”

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!