Wild Child: 4th – 5th Grade
Wild Child Day Camp (WCD)
What could be more super than spending all day exploring the coolest parts of the Nature Center like the Gravel Pits, Trout Run Stream, and the Source Pond? Meet new friends and awesome counselors while living out your favorite adventures. Practice outdoor skills like orienteering and archery, travel back in time to the DeLano Homestead and the Pioneer Cabin, create natural art, or learn to catch a fish!
$210 Member, $235 Non-member Sessions: 2, 3, 5, 8
Wild Child Day Camp runs 9 am – 5 pm, Monday – Friday
Wild Child Campout (WCC)
Being at home in the woods doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a week at camp! Learn to set up a tent and build safe shelters and fires. Explore the best of camp during the day, then discover nature at night and practice awareness and self-reliance on an awesome overnight campout. Pack your bags and get ready to let out the Wild Child!
$250 Member, $275 Non-member Sessions: 1, 7 ● Girls Only! 4, 6 ● Boys Only! 4, 6
Wild Child Day Camp runs 9am – 5pm, Monday – Wednesday, Overnight campouts are on Thursday nights ● Tents and 3 meals are provided ● Tents are shared with same-gender campers only.
Session 1: June 20-24 ~ Amazing Animals: Campout
Animals are wonderful: they have amazing speed, strength and senses to help them survive. Join in on the action as we search out the superheroes of the animal world. Look for super swimmers in the pond and stream – and try to catch a few. Scour the Gravel Pits for fossil evidence of awesome ancient animals. Take a night hike after dinner to explore the world of nocturnal animals like bats and owls. Discover the adaptations that make animals the “X-Men of the Wild.”
Session 2: June 27 - July 1 ~ Reptiles & Amphibians: Day Camp
Take an adventure into the world of slime and scales! If you think turtles are terrific and frogs are fun, then you will be “hoppy” all week. Explore amphibians and reptiles of the past to practice amphibian and reptile care with the Exhibit Animals of KNC. Learn how scientists study these animals in the field and enjoy a visit from LIVE reptiles and amphibians!
Session 3: July 11-15 ~ Working with Wildlife: Day Camp
What is it like to work on a farm, be a wildlife biologist, or take care of animals on display? Go behind the scenes at KNC and learn what it takes to work with wildlife. Take care of the animals at KNC’s Family Farm. Study bird migration and nesting with KNC’s Research Staff and see wild birds up close! Help us care for our exhibit and camp animals and meet LIVE birds of Prey. We’ll even visit Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery to get a behind-the-scenes-tour.
Session 4: July 18-22 ~Wild Wings: Campout– Boys/Girls Only!
Be a true nature detective and seek out the truth behind nature’s flyers. Are those “flying squirrels” really flapping, or just falling with style? You be the judge! Explore flying insects, mammals, fish, and of course - birds. Meet and help care for live birds of prey and go on a night hike to track the things that fly in the night. Are there bats in that belfry? Let’s find out!
Session 5: July 25-29 ~ Animals of the Past: Day Camp
Travel with us back into the distant past as we explore the animals that lived long ago. Grab your shovel and dig into the truth about the animals of the past. Learn about dinosaurs and meet their modern cousins, birds and reptiles. Go on a fossil hunt at the Gravel Pits. Travel to WMU’s Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education to discover the history hidden below Michigan’s soil.
Session 6: August 1-5 ~ Survival Sense: Campout – Boys/Girls Only!
Run, jump, and use all of your senses to experience for yourself the adaptations that animals and people use to survive in the extreme habitats on earth. Learn from the animals how to make a comfortable survival shelter. Explore the amazing feat of migration and meet some master migrators – then learn to use a map and compass. Discover how animals and people can stay comfortable in extreme temperatures, and practice starting a fire without matches!
Session 7: August 8-12 ~ Insect Investigators: Campout
The world is full of small things that some people think are gross. But if you love investigating our creepy crawly neighbors, come explore high and low for all things small, slimy, and cool. Explore insects in a prairie, pond, and forest. Help threatened butterflies by participating in the Imperiled Butterfly Conservation Initiative and learn how scientists study insects. Visit Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and learn fly tying.
Session 8: August 15-19 ~ Wet & Wild: Day Camp
Dive into the amazing world of ponds, streams, and rivers for an out of this world adventure! Search for the animals that call the water their home, and then learn how to care for aquarium animals like fish, turtles, and frogs. Enjoy a double treat with visits to the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery to study healthy waterways and watersheds, and then learn about adaptations of water birds at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary!