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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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Little Pebbles, Big Boulders
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Put on your hard hat and embark on the life of a geologist! Campers will engage in hands-on experiments to learn how volcanoes make mountains, how water forms valleys, and how rocks help us find oil. Then explore the boulders at Rocky Nook Park and take a journey along the bed of Mission Creek to find rocks of all shapes and sizes.
Location:
Museum
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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 ocean animals do. Watch moon jellies dine on brine shrimp, touch tickly tide pool creatures, and make beautiful fish prints. Discover marine treasures during daily beach explorations.
Location:
Sea Center
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Built It, Move It, Test It
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Build impossible roller coasters, fast cars, amazing flying machines, and towering skyscrapers. Experiment with different materials and designs as you try to overcome friction and defy gravity. Learn to engineer incredible masterpieces that can withstand the forces of nature!
Location:
Museum
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Dynamic Dinosaurs
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become a paleontologist and explore the world of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Campers will examine dinosaur bones to piece together a skeleton, excavate fossils, investigate clues to discover how dinosaurs once lived, and marvel at dinosaurs' modern descendants-birds!
Location:
Museum
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It's a Bug's Life
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, and investigate the lives of the thousands of insects around us.
Location:
Museum
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Pee Wee Naturalist
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Get up close and personal with Santa Barbara's wildlife! Spend a week living the life of a naturalist: witness the life cycles of insects in The Museum Backyard, discover a flower with special powers of attraction, hike along a trail from Rocky Nook Park, and rock hop along the Museum's creek. Observe woodland critters coming out to play as we explore a variety of local habitats!
Location:
Museum
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Marine Mysteries
Ages 4-6, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explore the wild, wet, and mysterious world of marine life. Discover how clever an octopus can be, and find animals hiding right in front of your eyes! Uncover the secrets of deep ocean animals and explore how they see, communicate, and live in their cold, dark environment. How do whales tell each other apart? Put on your sleuth hats and solve the Sea Center's 'Marine Mysteries'!
Location:
Sea Center
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 6-8 |
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Creative Contraptions
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Go back in time to when Leonardo DaVinci watched birds fly, studied the human body, and invented machines. Discover how he used natural adaptations to invent useful machines. Explore the way things work, put together some of DaVinci's machines, and test them out. Then build your own machine to complete a challenging task.
Location:
Museum
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Wizarding 101: 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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Earth Explorers
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
How was the Earth formed? What ancient forms of life can be found in fossils? How did prehistoric plants look? Rocks hold the answers! Earth Explorers will live the paleontologist's life by excavating fossils. Then we'll work like archaeologists, discovering how to collect artifacts and revealing history's greatest stories. Then continue the adventure into outer space to explore moon rocks and beyond!
Location:
Museum
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Ocean Explorers
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
All aboard Lil' Toot as we navigate through the SB Harbor toward the Maritime Museum to explore different types of seafaring vessels, including underwater travel. Venture to Arroyo Burro Beach to explore life among the tide pools. Courage and curiosity will be rewarded as we become intrepid explorers! Please note: drop-off and pickup will be at the Sea Center three days, at SBMNH once, and once at Arroyo Burro Beach.
Location:
Sea Center
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Hunters of the Sea and Sky
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
What makes an animal a successful hunter? Investigate diets, body shapes, and hunting techniques of marine mammals, birds, and fish (including sharks). Match your sniffing and seeing abilities 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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Bugs Alive!
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Discover the incredibly diverse world of insects and arachnids. Meet spiders that hunt, caterpillars that spin silk, and roly-poly garbage collectors. Have an insect party and try singing like a cricket, dancing like a bee, and eating like a fly. Study the life cycles and special abilities of backyard bugs. No bones about it, these creepy crawlies are some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth!
Location:
Museum
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Dino Hunt
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Develop your paleontology skills by finding and excavating fossils in our field lab. Build dinosaur models and examine them to learn how these "terrible lizards" looked, moved, and lived. Meet a paleontologist and learn about her field adventures.
Location:
Museum
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Wizarding II: The Sequel
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Take wizarding to the next level. Learn the secrets of turning copper to gold, levitating a train, and morphing flat shapes into 3D objects. Discover the world of dragons in their habitats. Create crazy concoctions and clever contraptions worthy of a magical wizard.
Location:
Museum
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Fly Me to the Moon
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Astronauts-in-training will explore what it takes to be a space adventurer. Campers will design and build their own rockets for a journey into outer space. When they get to the moon, campers will experience what it's like to make a giant leap for "kid-kind." Discover the planets as we venture further into space. Then, parachute back to Earth for a safe return.
Location:
Museum
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Robot Cadets
Ages 6-8, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explore how machines work, then build your own! We'll start by exploring the mechanics of simple machines and using those ideas to make something that moves and something that grabs. Then you'll use your own ideas to build a useful robot for a crazy challenge.
Location:
Museum
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 8-10 |
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Backyard Investigators
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become a master naturalist and use your skills to build ideal habitats and solve wild mysteries. Create a blind so you can observe wildlife undetected. Learn to identify scat, pawprints, and other signs to discover and track who wanders the oak woodland at night. Read nature's clues to connect with the hidden life around you.
Location:
Museum
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Spa Science
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Discover the history and chemistry of spa science. Experiment with recipes blending natural and organic ingredients to make your own fresh spa products. Create your own secret formulas for candles, bath oils, fizzing potions, oatmeal soap, and lip balm!
Location:
Musuem
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Earth Explorers
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
How was the Earth formed? What ancient forms of life can be found in fossils? How did prehistoric plants look? Rocks hold the answers! Earth Explorers will live the paleontologist's life by excavating fossils. Then they'll work like archaeologists, discovering how artifacts are collected and reveal history's greatest stories. Then continue the adventure into outer space to explore moon rocks and beyond!
Location:
Museum
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Jr. Naturalist: Science in the Field
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Become a naturalist by studying the world around you. Discover how plants, insects, rocks, and animals interact to create special bonds in The Museum Backyard. Learn about natural resources and how to protect them. Take a hike around Coal Oil Point to explore the flora and fauna. Collaborate with a professional naturalist and make your own field guide! Please note that parents will drop off and pick up at Coal Oil Point once.
Location:
Museum
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Dinos
Ages 8-10, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Develop your paleontology skills by finding and excavating fossils in our field lab. Build dinosaur models and examine them to learn how these "terrible lizards" looked, moved, and lived. Meet a paleontologist and learn about her field adventures .
Location:
Museum
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 10-14 |
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Jr. Naturalist
Ages 10-14, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Explore the world around you through the eyes of a naturalist. Learn about local habitats and natural resources and examine the invasive species that may threaten them-what can we do to help? Take a hike around Coal Oil Point to explore the flora and fauna. Please note that parents will drop off and pick up at Coal Oil Point once.
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 a kayak, and in a lab with a scientist. Be a sharp-eyed spotter aboard the Celebration 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 mammals.
Please note: this camp has an additional $27 kayaking fee.
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 from different vantage points: the ocean, the laboratory, and living marine exhibits. Search for marine animals as you kayak through the harbor. Tour UCSB's Marine Science Institute. Discover why Marine Protected Areas are critical to ocean health and marine biodiversity through dissections and marine explorations.
Please note that parents will drop off and pick up at UCSB REEF once.
Please note: this camp has an additional $27 kayaking fee.
Location:
Sea Center
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| Nature Adventures Summer Camps: Ages 9-12 |
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Sea Center Marine Investigator
Ages 9-12, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Examine mysteries of the deep by learning forensic techniques and developing marine science skills: look at life under a microscope, test water quality, and compare fish scales. Campers will also learn how one biologist answered the riddle of the 'exploding whale' and experience how scientists use DNA to reveal sushi secrets.
Location:
Sea Center
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Jr. Aquarist
Ages 9-12, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Join the Sea Crew as you train to become an aquarist. Go behind the scenes at the Sea Center to investigate, care for, and feed exhibit animals. Meet marine scientists in their laboratory and discover SBMNH's marine mammal research collection. Dream, brainstorm, and make a special Sea Center exhibit on Marine Protected Areas to share the importance of biodiversity and healthy ocean habitats with visitors.
Location:
Sea Center
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