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Winter Critter Camp

December 20th 2024    – January 3th 2025

(No camp on December 25th 2024 and January 1st 2025)

Preschool- 6th Grade

Daily sign ups available!

What does winter mean for animals? At Winter Critter Camp, your child will embark on a fascinating adventure to discover how animals adapt to the cold! From learning how chinchillas thrive in chilly climates to understanding how reptiles cope with dropping temperatures, campers will explore a variety of animal behaviors and survival tactics. Each day is themed and packed with hands-on animal encounters, creative crafts, exciting activities, and opportunities to connect with peers. Winter Critter Camp offers a unique, educational, and fun experience that will leave lasting memories and spark a love for nature!

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Camp Times, Rates, Discounts and Details

Preschool

  • $81 per child, per day
  • 9:00am – 1:00pm
  • Extended Care option: Early drop-off at 8:00 am and/or extended day to 5:00 pm available for an additional fee, per day.
  • Must be at least 4 years old and able to use the bathroom independently.

Kindergarten– 6th Grade

  • $101 per child, per day
  • 9:00am – 3:00pm
  • Extended Care option: Early drop-off at 8:00 am and/or extended day to 5:00 pm available for an additional fee, per day.

Discounts

  • 15% off camp tuition for active military. Call us at 858-756-4117 ext. 318 for the coupon code.
  • 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 for an additional fee, per child, per day, before 9:30 am.
    • 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 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.
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Winter Critter Camp Themes

Monday – Moving Through the Frost

Monday – Moving Through the Frost

How do animals move when the temperature drops? From slithering snakes to hopping rabbits, explore the fascinating ways creatures adapt their movements in the chilly season. Campers will meet a bearded dragon, rabbit, dove, ball python, and earthworm! .
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Tuesday – Winter Warriors

Tuesday – Winter Warriors

Adapt or freeze! Discover the incredible adaptations animals use to survive the cold. Campers will meet a goat, dog, chicken, turtle, and frog, learning how each critter stays warm and thrives in winter.
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Wednesday – Home Sweet Habitat

Wednesday – Home Sweet Habitat

From forests to deserts, find out how animals' homes change with the seasons. Campers will encounter a mini horse, guinea pig, small parrot, tortoise, and gecko as they learn about the unique environments these animals call home.
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Thursday – Critter Care and Compassion

Thursday – Critter Care and Compassion

Let’s show some love! Learn how people help animals and how animals give back. Meet a rabbit, chinchilla, large parrot, rosy boa, and beetle while discovering how we can all make a difference in their world.
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Friday – Fur, Feathers, and Family

Friday – Fur, Feathers, and Family

Animal families are just as strong as ours! Campers will meet a sheep, dog, medium parrot, skink, and cockroach, discovering how different species support each other to survive the winter months.
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Critter Camp Frequently Asked Questions

Most frequent questions and answers

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.

  • 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.
  • “Yes would recommend. She can never tell me anything about her day at school. She could tell me everything about every animal she saw today. I could tell she really liked it.”
  • “I would highly recommend this program to others because my child enjoyed the whole program and learned a lot about animals.”
  • “Hits all the marks for an educational and fun experience, along with friendly and professional staff.”
  • “My kids love animals and this camp was a great way for them to learn about new animals, while being able to touch and interact with them at the same time.”

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 [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!

YouTube Critter Station ● Instagram ● Facebook

Due to Hurricane Hilary, all  departments will be closing at 3pm today.  Stay safe!