Summer is an exciting time for kids–opportunities to enjoy new adventures and play. Surprisingly, summer can also be a powerful time for learning, creativity, and exploration!
Often called the “summer setback” or the “summer slide,” did you know that an average student loses between 17 and 34% of the prior year’s learning gains during the summer break? But this doesn’t have to happen! Educational summer zoo camps and other opportunities can prevent summer learning loss and expose kids to new and exciting opportunities!
The Benefits of Summer Camp in Education
Summer camps can be a powerful tool in educating the next generation about conservation and environmental activism and combatting that summer learning loss. Research shows that keeping kids of all ages engaged mentally and maintaining some structure and routine can slow and even reverse summer learning loss!
Summer camps offer differentiated instruction
Summer camp brings kids of all ages and backgrounds together for shared experiences and learning opportunities. One great value of summer camps is the ability to offer differentiated learning opportunities so children can experience all kinds of education styles.
The summer camp environment gives children the opportunity to have hands-on learning experiences. Freed from academic pressures, students can often blossom and learn more freely.
Summer camps encourage kids to apply knowledge to real-world experiences
Most kids never notice how much summer camp activities draw on what they learned in school. For example, a knitting craft encourages kids to apply mathematics and complex problem-solving skills.
Kids will eagerly dive into learning when they see how the knowledge will help them accomplish something they want to complete.
Summer camps promote holistic development
Summer camps and summer enrichment programs promote hands-on learning with plenty of opportunities for students to create, play, and explore. They offer valuable scenarios where students develop their social and emotional intelligence by making friends and working collaboratively.
Summer is the perfect time to teach and promote environmentalism
Kids who are exposed to environmental activism and conservation at a young age grow up to appreciate the environment. Spending time outdoors, at zoos, and in nature helps kids gain an understanding of ecology and green living that can shape decisions for the rest of their lives.
El Paso Zoo Society Zoo Camp at the El Paso Zoo
Zoo Camp at the El Paso Zoo is a powerful experience for hands-on learning, fun, and environmentalism. Kids will enjoy age-appropriate learning opportunities in the engaging and inspiring El Paso zoo.
While there are countless reasons I think you should send all the kids in your life to Zoo Camp this summer, here’s a brief overview of what kids can expect to learn and experience in a fun, inspiring, and safe environment.
Fun, engaging, behind-the-scenes experiences
Through self-discovery, hands-on activities, and exciting behind-the-scenes experiences, campers experience the natural world and the role they play in protecting it. Each day includes everything from games and activities to arts and crafts and live animal demonstrations.
Your budding zoologist will appreciate the daily behind-the-scenes VIP access where they can learn about conservation and wildlife care. All the activities are age-appropriate and designed to illustrate environmental concepts.
Weekly Zoo Camp themes keep campers learning
The Zoo Camp staff works hard to create weekly themes each summer that keep the content and activities interesting, relevant, and engaging. The 2022 Zoo Camp themes include the Siamang Apes and the tiger. Campers will learn about care and conservation through the lens of one of these animals each week.
Having two alternating themes each summer means campers can attend two weeks of camp to continue learning and having fun! Changing the camp themes each year allows kids to return year after year.
Compassion for our shared home–planet earth
At the core of the entire Zoo Camp curriculum is cultivating compassion and empathy for planet earth and all its inhabitants. Empathy comes from a place of understanding and knowledge.
A harmonious relationship evolved
Zoo Camp at the El Paso Zoo offers countless opportunities for kids to enjoy hands-on experiences to cultivate compassion for animals, the environment, and fellow humans.
The curriculum also shares a timeline of how humans and nature have lived in harmony before the emergence of fossil fuels, plastics, and other harmful products. Kids will then explore the effects of fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, global warming, and the fundamentals of climate change.
On Tuesdays of each camp week, the curriculum offers age-appropriate examples of how climate change is impacting nature and specific species.
For example, kids will explore how the arctic fox turns its coat from brown to white to camouflage in different seasons. Due to global warming, the arctic fox’s natural habitat is not covered in snow. Its white winter coat stands out against the brown background in winter when there should be snow and ice for camouflage.
As children learn about specific animals and how they’re threatened by climate change, they gain greater awareness, compassion, and a desire to be part of the solution. These experiences at the El Paso Zoo, where they can observe each animal they’re discussing, offer greater value to the learning experience.
Pollution, landfills, and a climate in crisis
The Zoo Camp curriculum also presents kids with age-appropriate content on the negative impacts of plastic pollution, landfills, and ocean pollution. Kids will gain an understanding of how pollution negatively impacts wildlife and nature.
Kids will explore specific examples of how sea turtles confuse plastic bags for jellyfish. When the turtles eat the plastic, they get sick and often die.
The Zoo Camp curriculum incorporates a lot of hands-on and visual experiences. One powerful lesson includes a presentation about how long it takes different plastic materials to decompose (ranging from a few hundred years to several thousand years). Kids will also explore eco-friendly alternatives to everyday plastic items, empowering them to be change agents and conservationists in everyday life.
EcoGarden at the Zoo Encounter
One benefit to hosting a summer camp about conservation at a zoo is having all kinds of hands-on opportunities! Campers get the chance to explore the EcoGarden and learn about all the different plants being grown.
Kids learn with all five senses, and having the chance to smell, touch, feel, and even taste the herbs and veggies makes the lessons exciting and engaging. Plus, learning about composting and its ecological and gardening benefits is more interesting when kids can get their hands dirty and participate in the process! Campers will be inspired to consider keeping their own garden at home and incorporating composting into their waste management practices.
Another fun learning opportunity in the EcoGarden comes as kids experience how the zoo uses the produce harvested from the garden for the zoo animals. For example, the elephants and Galapagos turtles enjoy fresh-cut mint or rosemary to rub on their thick skin!
Hands-on learning experiences to empower eco-friendly lives
Overall, the entire Zoo Camp experience is designed to give campers an unforgettable learning experience that inspires and equips them to live with compassion toward the planet and all its inhabitants.
Because personal experience and hands-on activities are some of the most memorable and impactful learning opportunities, the Zoo Camp staff go to great lengths to offer as many of these experiences as possible. Some of my favorite activities include:
Peanut Butter Bird Feeders: Using toilet paper rolls, campers make bird feeders to take home to hang in a tree and attract native birds.
Plastic Fish: Inspired by the Instagram feed “theplasticfisherman,” children create ‘plastic fish’ using various common household plastic trash pieces. Campers use the plastic bits to create fish art to hang as a reminder to avoid single-use plastic as much as possible.
Campers also get to take home an ‘Every Day is Earth Day’ goodie bag with information, websites, resources, and additional activities to do at home. This resource bag is designed for the whole family to use together and learn how to make small but sustainable everyday changes. Families can continue learning together by watching recommended documentaries, reading books off the book list, planting the basil seeds, and many other activities included in the goodie bag.
Who can attend Zoo Camp at the El Paso Zoo?
Zoo Camp is open for kids ages six to ten years old. Our staff is trained and equipped to cultivate a fun and learning environment for children in this critical age range where they are gathering memories and developing attitudes and opinions that can influence the rest of their lives.
I am very proud of the Zoo Camp at the El Paso Zoo, and I hope every child gets the opportunity to learn, grow, make memories, and have fun at this wonderful, enriching summer camp.
