Looking for something fun for your kids to do during school break? Bring them to the Utica Zoo for our school break zoo camp!
Zoo camp is a great place for students to have fun and learn too! We introduce campers to an inquiry-based learning environment, with STEAM activities that encourage group collaboration and learning. Camps are interactive and also include an animal meet and greets, enrichment projects, touring the zoo, and crafts.
Please note: PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR ALL CAMP SESSIONS! This is a drop-off style program. Sign-in and out will be required for drop off and pick up. Parents wishing to remain on zoo grounds while their child enjoys zoo camp will be required to pay admission.
2025 Zoo Camp Dates & Topics
Ages 3-5 Years
*Campers must be able to independently use the restroom in order to attend*
Dino-Rama
Monday, June 23 – Friday, June 27 | 9 am – 3 pm
Do you like dinosaurs? Of course you do, everyone loves dinosaurs! Stomp your way to the Utica Zoo for a camp about everyone’s favorite big beasts of the past!
AZA Hot Topic: STEM, and Connecting to Nature
Outdoor Explorers
Monday, August 4 – Friday, August 8 | 9 am -12 pm
The great outdoors is great for a reason, even if Earth used to be a lot different millions of years ago! Join us at Utica Zoo this week for a lesson in what there is to do and see outside!
AZA Hot Topic: Connecting to Nature
Crafty Critters
Monday, August 18 – Friday, August 22 | 1 pm – 4 pm
Animals today and in the past have come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with no two alike! This Zoo Camp has our campers creating some of their favorites, while learning about some crafty critters along the way!
AZA Hot Topic: Connecting to Nature
Ages 6-8 Years
Mini or Giant
Monday, July 7 – Friday, July 11 | 9 am – 3 pm
What’s the biggest animal you can think of? What about the smallest? How can things so different in size live on the same planet together? Was everything bigger back in prehistoric times, or were some things smaller? Join us at Zoo Camp for a week of BIG fun, while also meeting some of our TINY friends up close!
Learning Standard: 3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of the environment affecting a trait could include normally tall plants grown with insufficient water are stunted; and, a pet dog that is given too much food and little exercise may become overweight.]
Wacky Wildlife
Monday, August 4 – Friday, August 8 | 1 pm – 4 pm
With so many different animals in the world, it’s no surprise that some of them are a bit…strange. This week’s Zoo Camp focuses on some of the more bizarre animals that we share Earth with, as well as some stranger dinosaurs that walked our world before us!
Learning Standard: 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include specific animal and plant names in specific habitats.]
Eat or Be Eaten
Monday, August 18 – Friday, August 22 | 9 am – 12 pm
Whether you are a giant Allosaurus or a tiny ant, everyone has to eat. Unfortunately for them, animals cannot just go to the grocery store to get food. They need to get it themselves! Because of this, animals have developed some really unique and interesting ways of getting food in their bellies, while others have found cool ways of avoiding being someone’s lunch! Join this week’s Zoo Camp as we look at some of the best examples of animals looking for a snack, and others trying not to be one!
Learning Standard: K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that animals need to take in food but plants do not; the different kinds of food needed by different types of animals; the requirement of plants to have light; and that all living things need water and other materials to live, grow, and thrive.]
Ages 9-11 Years
Desert Diversity
Monday, July 14 – Friday, July 18 | 9 am – 3 pm
While deserts may be dry, they’re far from a dry topic! Even the most desolate looking places have life to be seen, as well as fossils to be found from big desert dwelling dinos of the past! Come to this week’s Zoo Camp if you want to learn about what makes deserts such a hot topic!
Learning Standard: 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include specific animal and plant names in specific habitats.]
Sensory Overload
Monday, July 28 – Friday, August 1 | 9 am – 12 pm
This camp will explore the different ways animals use their five senses, and other senses we don’t even have! Navigating the world looks different for every species, but they are all masters of their own niche no matter how differently they may do things.
Learning Standard: 4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on systems of information transfer.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the mechanisms by which the brain stores and recalls information or the mechanisms of how sensory receptors function.],
Animals and Humans
Monday, August 11 – Friday, August 15 | 1 pm – 4 pm
We have coexisted with many species during our time on the planet. In that time, we have changed the ways that some animals live their lives. In turn, many animals have changed the ways that we live too! Zoo Camp this week looks at some of the more interesting and important ways humans and wildlife affect one another.
AZA Hot Topic: Human Wildlife Coexistence
Ages 12-13 Years
Ecosystem Adventure
Monday, August 11 – Friday, August 15 | 9 am – 12 pm
The Earth is home to countless different ecosystems. Over millions of years they may have changed dramatically, but even so, each ecosystem is a complex web of interactions between species of plants and animals. This week’s Zoo Camp explores the interconnections within an ecosystem, why they are important, and why they might be so fragile.
Learning Standard: MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms in a variety of ecosystems. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on predicting patterns of interactions such as competition, predation, mutualism, and parasitism in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms.]
MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy associated with the ecosystem, and on defining the boundaries of the ecosystem.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the use of chemical reactions to describe the processes.]
Zoo Crew (Children & Teens ages 14-17 years)
Monday, June 30 – Friday, July 3 | 9 am – 2 pm
Have you always wanted to work in a zoo? The Zoo Crew Program at the Utica Zoo is an exciting way for high school students ages 14 to 17 to explore career opportunities, meet new friends, gain customer service skills, and much more!
Our Zoo Crew members are valuable volunteers who help educate the public about the zoo and its efforts. The Zoo Crew training course is designed to train your child to become an effective and independent zoo volunteer that is capable of interpreting their environment successfully.
This course is held over a period of five consecutive days and will cover a different zoo topic each day.
The fees for each program will cover any/all materials that will be handed out during or after the course is completed, a t-shirt, name badge, plus many other fun activities that the kids get to enjoy during the course!
Jr. Zoo Crew (Children ages 12-14 years)
Monday, July 21 – Friday, July 25 | 9 am – 3 pm
Our Jr. Zoo Crew course is designed just like our regular zoo camps but will explore the zoo, its animals, and critical conservation issues in greater detail. It is held over a period of five consecutive days, with each day focusing on a different zoo topic. Those that attend the Jr. Zoo Crew course will receive vital information that will be
helpful when they go on to join the Zoo Crew volunteer program. Completion of the Jr. Zoo Crew training course also qualifies those that successfully attended to shadow some of the Utica Zoo’s educational programs throughout the year.
