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Nature Adventures™ offers classes, workshops, camps, and overnights at the Museum and Sea Center for children ages 2–12 years to inspire a thirst for discovery and a passion for the natural world. This children's program is designed to provide children with opportunities to experiment, experience, and observe the natural world around them, while engaging in the scientific process. Pre-registration is required for most programs.
Click on the "ENROLL ONLINE" button to enroll your child in a camp/class.
Camp/Class Offerings:
| | Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 4-6 |
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Sea Squirts and Jiggly Jellies
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explore the squirting, jiggling, and amazing things aquatic animals do. Watch moon jellies dine on brine shrimp, touch tide pool creatures, and hunt for live sand crabs. Then discover what treasures await during beach explorations.
Location:
Sea Center
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Art of Nature
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Discover the colors, textures, and sounds of nature. Study the iridescent colors of a butterfly, create plant rubbings, and explore the patterns nature creates in crystals, snowflakes, and plants. Play with sunlight and shadows. Experiment with water and movement. Make music with wind and sound. Take a hike to Rocky Nook Park and discover nature's beauty in all its glory!
Location:
Museum
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Kids Dig Dirt
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
What mysteries does dirt hold? Discover treasures from worms to rocks to artifacts as we dig in, get messy, and explore dirt at the Museum, Rocky Nook Park, and a local hiking trail.
Location:
Museum
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Dynamic Dinosaurs
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become a paleontologist as we investigate the world of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Excavate fossils and piece together a skeleton. Meet a T. rex at the new dinosaur exhibit. Then marvel at birds, today's dinosaurs.
Location:
Museum
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Animal Olympics
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Gymnasts, runners, jumpers, and swimmers-they're competing at the Summer Olympics, but they're also all around you. Get to know some amazing animal athletes with hands-on investigations and experiment with adaptations. Soon you'll be ready to take the challenge to run like a cheetah, jump like a frog, and climb like a squirrel! Then we'll take a walking field trip to the Mission Rose Garden for an Olympic festival.
Location:
Museum
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Mini-Beasts
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
No bones about it, these creepy crawlies are some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth! Discover how to see like a bee, sing like a cricket, and eat like a butterfly. We'll go bug hunting in the Museum Backyard and Rocky Nook Park, visit Butterflies Alive, and investigate the lives of the thousands of insects around us.
Location:
Museum
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Science of Suessville
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Dr. Seuss is on the loose in this week full of silly stories, ringing rhymes, and super science. Discover how Horton Hears a Who as you experiment with sound. Would you Rather be a Bullfrog? will inspire us to try different animal feet, tails, and more! There's a Wocket in my Pocket and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish will have us exploring habitats.
Location:
Museum
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 6-8 |
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Wizarding School: The Science Behind the Magic
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Would you like to go to Wizarding School? Take a potions class and learn chemistry, study the stars, make a broom fly using static electricity, and study magical creatures. Then use all of your wizarding science skills to face a challenge that makes the O.W.L. exam look easy.
Location:
Museum
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Ancient Science
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become an archaeologist and uncover the mysteries of our past. Learn the skills that helped scientists understand Neanderthal tools, Mesopotamian soap, and Egyptian pyramids and mummies. Travel through time as we experiment with the scientific discoveries and inventions that spanned human history and shaped our world.
Location:
Museum
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Olympic Gold
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
What does it take to win Olympic gold? Find out with hands-on experiments, investigations, and outdoor games. You'll experiment with streamlining to see how swimmers shave seconds off their race times and dissect a chicken wing to see how gymnasts' arm muscles, tendons, and bones work together. Then discover the top animal athletes-what makes a beaked whale a champion diver and a flea a super long jumper?
Location:
Museum
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Explorers
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Want to explore outer space or the bottom of the sea? What would you bring and how would you find your way? Face the unknown as you travel to other planets and rocket to the Moon for an astronomical treasure hunt. Navigate the ocean waters as the Chumash did. Travel to the Maritime Museum for an underwater exploration. Courage and curiosity will be rewarded as we become intrepid explorers!
Location:
Sea Center
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Hunters of the Sky and Sea
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
See eye to eye with sharks and birds of prey. Investigate body shapes, sizes, and hunting techniques of marine mammals. What makes an animal a successful hunter? Match your senses against the specialized senses of successful predators and discover which animals are the top hunters of the sky and sea.
Location:
Sea Center
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Fossil Hunt
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Develop your skills as a paleontologist by finding and excavating fossils in our mystery cave. Build a dinosaur model and examine it to learn how it looked, moved, and lived. Meet a paleontologist and learn about her field adventures.
Location:
Museum
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Creepy Crawlies
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Discover the incredibly diverse world of insects and other "bugs." Meet spiders that hunt, beetles that farm, and roly-poly garbage collectors. Have an insect party and try singing like a cricket, dancing like a bee, and eating like a fly. No bones about it, these creepy crawlies are some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth!
Location:
Museum
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Astounding Astronomy
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Have an out-of-this-world adventure! Explore the vastness of space from our neighboring planets to distant solar systems. Discover how astronauts live in space. Watch the wonders of the cosmos unfold through special planetarium shows and Space Lab exhibits. Try your hand at astronaut training activities and hold onto your hat as you build and launch rockets.
Location:
Museum
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Fly!
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Butterflies do it. Bats do it. Helicopters, hot air balloons, kites, and planes do it. But how do they do it? Observe flying animals and experiment with flying machines. Learn the science of flight dynamics and create your own flying wonders.
Location:
Museum
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Masters of Disaster
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explode stuff. Make a mess. Catch a water balloon and try not to get wet. Build the strongest structure you can, then test it against gale-force winds and powerful earthquakes. Devise clever tricks to shock your parents and impress your friends. You are a Master of Disaster and you know that science holds the key to excitement!
Location:
Museum
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 8-10 |
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Fossil Hunt
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Develop your skills as a paleontologist by finding and excavating fossils in our mystery cave. Build a dinosaur model and examine it to learn how it looked, moved, and lived. Meet a paleontologist and learn about her field adventures.
Location:
Museum
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Toy Lab
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Create, experiment, and play! Create a variety of toys and explore the science behind them. Combine simple machines to build a tabletop pinball machine, test and improve recipes for modeling clay, and experiment with tops. Use dry ice to blow up balloons. Try your hand at architecture as you build tubular skyscrapers. Assemble noisemakers and cheer on the home teams at the Olympics!
Location:
Museum
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Ancient Science
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become an archaeologist and uncover the mysteries of our past. Learn the skills that helped scientists understand Neanderthal tools, Mesopotamian soap, and Egyptian pyramids and mummies. Travel through time as we experiment with the scientific discoveries and inventions that spanned human history and shaped our world.
Location:
Museum
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Masters of Disaster
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explode stuff. Make a mess. Catch a water balloon and try not to get wet. Build the strongest structure you can, then test it against gale-force winds and powerful earthquakes. Devise clever tricks to shock your parents and impress your friends. You are a Master of Disaster, and you know that science holds the key to excitement!
Location:
Museum
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Olympic Gold
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
What does it take to win Olympic gold? Find out with hands-on experiments, investigations, and outdoor games. You'll experiment with streamlining to see how swimmers shave seconds off their race times and dissect a chicken wing to see how gymnasts' arm muscles, tendons, and bones work together. Then discover the top animal athletes-what makes a beaked whale a champion diver and a flea a super long jumper?
Location:
Museum
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Xtreme Science
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Venture into the realms of Earth explorations. Find out what makes the earth shake, rattle, and roll. Create volcanoes and simulate a tsunami. Be in charge of the weather as you build a weather station and experiment with the water cycle to create fog and rain. Study extreme weather patterns in hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning. Venture into outer space for the ultimate rocket explorations
Location:
Museum
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 9-12 |
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Be an Ologist
Ages 9-12, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Find your passion. What will you do when you grow up? Explore the microscopic world of a materials scientist. Become a naturalist for a day and discover the wonders of Coal Oil Point. Interview a veterinarian and learn a few tricks of the trade. Develop your skills as a paleontologist as we hike along Santa Barbara trails. Venture to the Sea Center and wear the hat of a marine biologist. Please note that parents will drop off and pick up at different Santa Barbara locations.
Location:
Museum
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Marine Safari
Ages 9-12, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explore Santa Barbara on a Marine Safari. Enjoy a sea kayak excursion. Cruise across the harbor to tour the Maritime Museum. Explore the exhibits and the grounds of the Museum of Natural History. Check out cool animals at the Zoo. Bring out your inner steward by promoting a healthy coast through a beach cleanup activity.
Location:
Sea Center
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Jr. Aquarist
Ages 9-12, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become a member of the Sea Crew as you train to be an aquarist. Go behind the scenes at the Sea Center to investigate, care for, and feed exhibit animals. Work with scientists to create a special Underwater Park exhibit to share with Sea Center visitors and share what you've learned about marine conservation.
Location:
Sea Center
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 10-14 |
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Survival!
Ages 10-14, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Imagine you are parachuting into an inhospitable land. What would you do to survive? How would you adapt? Explore animal diversity and behavior, past and present, and discover how you would apply that knowledge to your survival. Build a habitat, discover edible plants, create a solar machine, and learn about the environment. Enjoy a hike along Santa Barbara hiking trails and explore the flora and fauna. Please note that parents will drop off and pick up at different Santa Barbara locations.
Location:
Museum
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Marine Mammal Science
Ages 10-14, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
The Santa Barbara Channel is home to over 30 different species of whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions. Investigate these marine creatures from three amazing perspectives: the deck of a boat, the seat of kayak, and in a lab with a scientist. Be a sharp-eyed spotter aboard the Condor Express to witness our abundant local marine wildlife. Paddle in a kayak to observe sea lion behavior. Tour the SBMNH's Vertebrate Zoology lab and meet a scientist who investigates marine mammal strandings.
Location:
Sea Center
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Marine Academy
Ages 10-14, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Investigate the world as a marine scientist. Find out why Marine Protected Areas are critical to ocean health and marine biodiversity. Discover marine animals living in the harbor as you explore it in a kayak. Dissect specimens, keep a field journal, and collect animals from plankton to sheep crabs. Take a closer look at the ocean as we paddle, snorkel, and experiment.
Location:
Sea Center
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