Explorers Adventure Full Day Camp
Children Entering Grades 3 – 7
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Meets at the Knobloch Family Farmhouse
Campers will explore all aspects of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center in this hands-on, exciting camp. From Heckscher Farm and our nature trails to streams and ponds, campers will be working with animals, planting in our garden, studying vernal pool amphibians, and more. Each session will consist of a mix of field studies, farm experiences, live animal interaction, arts and crafts, and nature exploration specially designed to get older campers excited about the outdoors.
Days will include special guests, behind the-scenes visits on Heckscher Farm, live animal handling, and cooking experiences! Camp staff includes full-time SM&NC Environmental Educators and experienced seasonal educators.
Each session is designed to be unique, providing fresh experiences each week for campers enrolled in multiple sessions. Please note that each session may not contain experiences in all parts of the SM&NC (i.e. farm). Please refer to individual session descriptions for more information on a week’s theme.
- This year we welcome campers entering grades 3-7!
- Each week is limited to 14 campers for a small group experience.
Camp Quick Links
Camp Refund Policy
Registration Information
Summer Camp FAQs
Camp Forms: Fillable Online
Allergy Forms: Download PDF
Physician Form: Download PDF
Camp Fees
Session 1
$368/Member Child
Capacity: 14 Campers
Session 2 – 6
$460/Member Child
Capacity: 14 Campers
Explorers Adventure
2026 Summer Camp Sessions
Session full? Join our waitlist! Email summercamp@stamfordmuseum.org with the following info: Child's Name, Name of Camp (i.e. Wild at Art, Explorers), and Session(s) for which you'd like to be waitlisted.
Session 1: Feathers and Fur
June 29-July 3 (4 days; No Camp 7/3)
Explore the world of mammals and birds for our first camp week! Meet our farm and Heckscher WILD! mammals and birds up close. Learn how to identify common species of birds in our area and how to match mammal tracks to the animals that made them. We’ll employ our mammal and bird artifacts to investigate the adaptations these animals use to survive and, of course, hit the trails to see what resident animals we can find.
Session 2: Planet Plant-LIMITED SPACE
July 6-10
Learn all about some of the most overlook and under loved organisms that abound around us: plants! Discover the basics of botany, how plants eat sunlight, which ones digest animals, and how some move around! We will discuss how they talk to each other, invade new habitats, and thrive on this green earth (green because of them, of course). Walk away from this camp with a new appreciation for the organisms that completely surround us, and with an eye to ID some of our native and invasive crunchy companions!
Session 3: Adaptation Odyssey
July 13-17
How did the leopard gecko get its spots? What happened to a snake’s legs? Are birds just dinosaurs in disguise? In this camp, we discover how animals are challenged by the environment and each other to survive, adapt, and evolve. Explore the process of natural selection by survival of the fittest, how species compete for resources in a crowded world, and why DNA is at the center of it all. Build your own species and help it adapt to new challenges each day as it battles for survival in a changing world!
Session 4: Lab Masters-FULL
July 20-24
Put on a coat and goggles and join us as we get hands-on with laboratory science! We’ll learn how scientists plan exciting experiments to uncover the secret ingredients of the universe, and how the smallest particles have the biggest impacts. We’ll defy the laws of physics by making our own non-Newtonian fluid, see chemical reactions in action as we make explosions and elephant’s toothpaste, and put our ingenuity to the test by designing our own experiments.
Session 5: Mythical Menagerie-FULL
July 27-July 31
Do bearded dragons breathe fire? Probably not, but we’ll explore the fantastic nature of magical creatures and the real-life animals that inspired them. From salamanders to spiders, creatures feature in myths and legends from ancient history to modern day movies. We’ll explore wild stories and artwork from Egyptian, Greek, and Native American culture, and observe how our own SM&NC animals possess almost magical abilities of their own. You don’t need a staff or a magic wand, just a curious mind and a passion for the extraordinary, to join us for this fantastical camp week!
Session 6: Vet School 101-FULL
August 3-7
From feeding to medicine to enrichment, there is much that goes into the care of our many animals. Work with our farm and animal care staff to discover how we manage care for our numerous animal species, from lizards to llamas. We’ll create enrichments for farm animals, explore what medical procedures we use, and see how we care for our older animals on Heckscher Farm. We’ll also explore the varied diets of our Heckscher WILD! residents and learn how exercise and enrichment are vital to the health of our critters.
Questions?
If you have questions about summer camp content or procedures, please contact our Camp Director at summercamp@stamfordmuseum.org or 203.977.6568.
For questions about the registration process or if you are having difficulties with your account, please call our Visitor Services team at 203.977.6521.
Please ensure that you are registering your child for the correct age/grade camps. Registrations for children outside the camps listed age/grade of will be cancelled and refunded. If you have questions, please contact Summer Camp Director, Lisa Monachelli at lmonachelli@stamfordmuseum.org.