Summer
Day Camp
June 19 – July 28 Natural History Museum
July 31 – August 4 La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
This summer, join us for Adventures in Nature
Summer Day Camp! Whether it’s becoming a
dinosaur or engaging with nature in new ways,
NHM has dedicated three decades of hands-on
experiences and behind-the-scenes tours to
campers – giving them access to 4.5 billion years
of life on Earth. With so much adventure, your
child’s camp memories will surely last a lifetime!
Natural History Museum
Schedules
JUNE 19 – 23
OCEANS
JUNE 26–30
DINOSAURS!
JULY 3- 7 (NO CAMP JULY 4)
BACKYARD ADVENTURES
JULY 10–14
GEOLOGY ROCKS!
Kindergarten
Tubes, Tails & Tentacles!
Stomp, Chomp, Roar!
Backyard Buddies
Mini Miners
Grades 1 & 2
Under the Sea*
Totally Jurrasic
Hidden Nature*
Geo Journeys
Grades 3 & 4
Explorers of the Abyss
Dinosaur Myths & Legends
Junior Naturalist
Forces of Nature
Grades 5 & 6
X
X
X
Tremendous Tectonics
Grades 7 & 8
X
Dinosaur Lab
X
X
Kindergarten
Tubes, Tails, and Tentacles!
Kindergarten
Stomp, Chomp, Roar!
Kindergarten
Backyard Buddies
Kindergarten
Mini Miners
What is going on under the sea?
Anemones that keep fish as
pets? Whales that scoop sand in
their mouths? This class will be
a fun-filled introduction to the
magical diversity of ocean life.
This summer, claw your way
through camp as we get up close
and personal with some of our
most famous dinosaur friends!
Jump in the nest and learn how
dinosaurs once moved, sounded,
slept, and ate.
Learn about the animals that
make Los Angeles their home!
Where do they sleep? What
do they eat and how do they
move? Each day we’ll meet a new
backyard buddy and become
them by building a bird’s nest,
eating like a butterfly, and
hopping like a frog!
Rappel into adventure! All that
glitters is not gold and not only
diamonds sparkle. Campers will
chisel away to find the gems and
minerals that are hidden inside
the Earth.
Descriptions
1st and 2nd grade
Under the Sea*
Where do whales sleep? Who
else lives in sea worm cities?
Explore the many different
places ocean creatures call
home, from coral reefs and tide
pools to the inky-black abyss.
3rd and 4th grade
Explorers of the Abyss
How do we know what’s out
there? Together we will seek
out the hidden wonders of our
ocean world using tools of the
scientific trade. See for yourself
how our own Museum scientists
use their collections to better
understand the deep blue sea.
*This camp has two
1st and 2nd grade classes
1st and 2nd grade
Totally Jurrasic
So you just found a Stegosaurus
in your backyard, what now?
Meet the Museum’s Dinosaur
Institute and experience the
whole paleontological process
from Montana to NHM!
3rd and 4th grade
Dinosaur Myths & Legends
Were dinosaurs once bright
purple or able to talk? What is
fact and what is fiction? This
camp will take cutting edge
dinosaur studies and compare
them not only with our past, but
with dino pop culture of today!
7th and 8th grade
Dinosaur Lab
(includes additional $35)
Come experience this oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to
work on a real fossil jacket!
This week you’ll get a close up
look at how fossils are prepared
in our behind-the-scenes lab.
1st and 2nd grade
Hidden Nature*
Sometimes animals hide in
the most unexpected places!
From the ground to the sky,
find out who makes their home
in the natural habitat around
Exposition Park and discover
their special hiding places.
3rd and 4th grade
Junior Naturalist
Become a naturalist by getting
outside and experiencing
urban wilderness! Join us on
our expedition through the
Nature Gardens to discover
the plants and animals that live
here. Using the same tools the
Museum’s scientists use, we’ll
explore everything from birds
with binoculars to bugs with
microscopes!
*This camp has two
1st and 2nd grade classes
1st and 2nd grade
Geo Journeys
Start your first rock collection
this week! Become a Junior
Geologist by taking a closer
look at what’s in the ground and
recapture Earth’s beginnings,
the environment, and creatures
that once existed here.
3rd and 4th grade
Forces of Nature
Investigate the forces of nature
and explore the world’s most
extreme environments! Each day
we will design an experiment to
test these destructive forces and
examine how they shaped life
on Earth.
5th and 6th grade
Tremendous Tectonics
Los Angeles sits right next to
the San Andreas Fault. Shake
it up at camp and learn how
earthquakes as well as other
natural “disasters” have shaped
the land and get an up-closeand-personal look at the fault
line itself. This camp quakes
close to home!
Natural History Museum
La Brea Tar Pits
Schedules
JULY 17–21
PREHISTORIC WEEK
JULY 24–28
EXTREME MAMMALS*
JULY 31–AUGUST 4
L.A.'S TAR TAP
Kindergarten
Prehistoric Pals
Extreme Body
X
Grades 1 & 2
Junior Paleontologists
Extreme Environments
Tracking the Ice Age
Grades 3 & 4
Fossil Detectives
Extreme Locals
Pleistocene Naturalists
Grades 5 & 6
Paleo Safari
Extreme Evolution
X
Grades 7 & 8
X
X
Inside the Fossil Lab
Kindergarten
Prehistoric Pals
Kindergarten
Extreme Body
1st and 2nd grade
Tracking the Ice Age
What makes a fossil a fossil? Learn about
and touch specimens straight from the
Museum’s very own collections. From casts
to molds, this week uncover the different
kinds of fossils that paleontologists dig up
every day!
This week campers will get anatomical from
head to tails! Some mammals have trunks
and others have webbed feet, but why?
Find out the answers to some of mammals
strangest adaptations.
Travel back in time and track the sloths,
cats, and bears of the past. How did they
move? What did they hunt? Why did they get
trapped in the tar? Campers will use games,
movements, and crafts to get to the answers
of these Ice Age questions.
Descriptions
1st and 2nd grade
Junior Paleontologist
Wear the hat of an excavator, biologist,
curator, and researcher as you become a
Junior Paleontologist this week at camp!
Create your own fossil collection and learn
all the ways in which fossilization can occur.
Grab your shovel and start digging up the
past.
3rd and 4th grade
Fossil Detectives
Meet a real paleontologist and learn the
techniques they use for identifying fossils.
Find out for yourselves how organisms alive
today can help us in learning more about the
past and what it looked like. Excavate and
evaluate this week at camp!
5th and 6th grade
Paleo Safari
From Asia to Africa to right here in
California, the Museum collects specimens
from all around the globe! Each day campers
will travel to a different country by going
behind the scenes and examining some of
our most exotic collections!
1st and 2nd grade
Extreme Environments
Some like it hot and some like it really
cold! Trek across the globe this week to
learn about some of Earth’s most extreme
environments and the mammals that have
adapted to survive there.
3rd and 4th grade
Extreme Locals
Join us this week of camp as we take a trip
through time to uncover ancient mammals
from the Ice Age to the extant mammals
of today like P-22, Los Angeles’ resident
mountain lion that lives in Griffith Park.
Home of the Channel Island fox, and the
extinct California grizzly bear, the Golden
State is where the present is as impressive
as its past.
5th and 6th grade
Extreme Evolution
Why did the camel leave North America?
Why did the saber-toothed cat go extinct?
What made the first human stand up?
Become a scientist and a philosopher as we
explore these complex and controversial
questions. Work with NHM scientists and
educators to develop your own theories of
mammalian evolution.
* This week, all camps are themed around
the Museum’s temporary exhibition,
Extreme Mammals.
3rd and 4th grade
Pleistocene Naturalists
Get an up-close look at prehistoric Los Angeles
and go back 40,000 years into the past.
Experience the life of a Pleistocene naturalist as
you photograph, sketch, cast, and collage your
way through the Ice Age!
7th and 8th grade
Inside the Fossil Lab
(additional cost of $35)
Go behind-the-scenes to sort real
microfossils from Project 23 and contribute
valuable data to active research at the
La Brea Tar Pits! Get one-on-one time with
Museum paleontologists and learn how
fossils are excavated, prepared and curated.
This is one camp week you cannot afford
to miss!
Camp Structure
Camp Content
Our Staff
• All Camps are one week long,
(with exception of the 4th of July week),
taking place 9 am to 3 pm daily.
• Our camps use the research and collections
of the Museum as a jumping off point for
exploration and adventure.
•Camps for students entering Kindergarten
include rest times.
• Our camps are designed to explore science
and nature in ways that spark curiosity and
are as fun as they are interesting.
•We keep a low staff-to-child ratio, to provide
the best experience to our campers. It ranges
from 1:5 for our youngest campers to 1:10 for
our older participants.
•Lunch supervision is provided; all children
must bring a lunch and snack each day.
• Extended care is offered beginning at
8 am and until 5 pm daily.
• Each week, every camp explores the same
theme, from bugs to dinosaurs, but all
camps are created with developmentally
appropriate and age-specific activites.
For Additional Information
Phone213.763.3499
Fax213.763.3550
[email protected]
Join today as a Museum Member
and save!
Take advantage of discounts
and free admission to the
Natural History Family of Museums.
For more information or to join, please
call 213.763.3426 or
email [email protected]
•All camp staff undergo extensive background
checks and training.
Questions?
Your child’s safety and well-being are
our highest priority. Please contact us if
you have any question at (213) 763-3499.
How to Register
Register Online
Register and pay by credit card online at
NHM.ORG/AINcamp
•Our instructors and counselors are
professional educators and students, with
interest and experience in teaching and
science.
Registration fees
Members (per week): Non-members (per week): Dinosaur Lab, add: Inside the Fossil Lab, add:
10% off nonmember rate
$300
$35 per week
$35 per week
Special Discount for week of July 3 – 6
Members (per week):
10% off non-
member rate
Non-members:
$240
Extended Care
Non-members: $75 (per week),
Members: 10% off non-member rate offered
for children from 8 – 9 am and 3 – 5 pm.
General Information
To ensure the best possible experience for all,
your child must be entering the appropriate
grade level selected by September 30, 2017.
If you have any questions about which camp
is right for you, please call us (213) 763-3499.
Scholarships
Scholarships are on a first-come, firstserved basis for camp weeks we have
available. A limited number of scholarships
are available to families who qualify. Funding
is provided by the generosity of Museum
donors, members, employees and volunteers.
Visit our www.nhm.org\AINcamp for an
application and details.
Cancellation
Cancellations made 2 weeks prior to
camp start date will receive a 100% refund.
No refund will be given to cancellations
made after this period.