Let Missouri Botanical Gardens Teach Your Children About Nature This Summer at Day Camp

By Karen Hagenow

St. Louis, MO - How will your child spend his or her summer vacation? Why waste summertime in St. Louis sitting indoors? Put down the remote control, cell phone and computer mouse, and head for the great outdoors!

The Missouri Botanical Garden and its family of attractions offer a variety of summer camps and youth and family programs to help you reconnect with nature—and each other! Registration is now open; visit www.mobot.org/classes or call (314) 577-5140 to book your adventure.

Summer Camps
Join other campers to explore the Missouri Botanical Garden’s hot spots with Camp MBG multi-day programs for ages four to 11. Three new prehistoric adventures will whisk campers inside the iconic Climatron® dome and its thriving tropical rain forest. In celebration of the Climatron’s 50th anniversary, dozens of life-sized dinosaurs will take temporary residence during the “DinoQuest: A Tropical Trek Through Time” exhibition, scheduled to run from May 1 through Oct. 3. Or, choose from three camps designed around discovery of the Garden’s other natural wonders. Sessions include:

Ages four and five: Gotta Grow, July 13 through 15, and Dino Discovery Camp, Aug. 3 through 5. Camp is from 9 a.m. to noon each day and cost is $72 per week.

Ages six through eight (for children entering first through third grades): Great Green Thumbs, July 7 through 9, and Triassic Trek, July 27 through 30. Camp is from 9 a.m. to noon each day and cost is $96 per week.

Ages nine through 11 (for children entering fourth through sixth grades): Prehistoric Garden, July 19 through 23, and Garden Designers, Aug. 9 through 13. Camp is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and cost is $185 per week.

Enjoy a discounted rate when both weeks of camp are booked for an age group.

It’s easy being “green” with guidance from the Garden’s EarthWays Center. Camp EarthWays: Young Green Builders gives youth ages ten through 13 (entering fifth through eighth grades) the tools they need to create a fantasy green home from the inside out. Explore sustainable home design as you interact with green building professionals and hop aboard public transportation to discover new neighborhoods and homes. An optional second week of camp includes new site visits, an exploration of green careers and a hands-on project. Camp Earthways week one is July 12 through 16; week two is July 19 through 23. Camp is held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and cost is $185 per week, with a discount of $50 if both weeks are booked.

Youth and Family Programs
Experience the Missouri Botanical Garden alongside your favorite young person with a variety of programs designed for children with an adult. The Little Sprouts summer series lets two- and three-year-olds discover plants and nature through hands-on activities, songs, stories, snacks and a Garden walk. Choose from Tuesdays, June 8, 15, 22 and 29, or Wednesdays, June 9, 16, 23 and 30. Activities are held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. each day and cost is $72 per child (includes accompanying adult) for the four-week series.

The Pitzman Nature Study program for four- through six-year-olds gives parents, grandparents and children an outlet for fostering connections with each other and the natural world. Taught by experienced preschool teachers, each program features child-centered, hands-on activities to awaken your child’s natural curiosity and spirit of discovery. Enjoy time outdoors, classroom discussions, crafts and snacks. Sixteen themed programs include Wiggly Worms, Plants that Eat, Dinosaurs in the Garden, Lotus and Koi, Pound a Leaf, Busy Birds and more. Each program is from 10:30 a.m. to noon and costs $18 per child (includes one accompanying adult).

Oaks and Acorns is designed to inspire a common appreciation of nature across generations. Together with a grandparent or parent, children ages seven through 13 will learn about plants and nature and complete a take-home project. Register for Across the Pond on June 22 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $18 per child (includes one accompanying adult).

The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House is filled with crawling and flying critters, both inside and out. Join your toddler or preschooler age two to four to investigate some of these interesting insects with Bugaloo classes. Play bug-inspired games and enjoy activities themed around seasonal wonders:

Celebrating Seasons: Spring: June 11 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. or June 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Celebrating Seasons: Summer: July 11 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. or July 16 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Celebrating Seasons: Fall: Aug. 13 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. or Aug. 15 from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Cost is $18 per class and includes one child plus accompanying adult.

Butterfly fans ages eight and over can improve their butterfly identification skills while learning to display and mount the delicate beauties in a permanent collection. The two-part Butterfly Displays class is offered June 9 and 16 from 10 to 11 a.m. Cost is $15, which covers both sessions.

Insect enthusiasts between the ages of seven and 13 will want to register for Bug Hunt Field Collecting on July 6 from 10 to 11 a.m. Attempt to capture local insects crawling, swimming and flying around the Butterfly House, and use a field guide to identify them. The class is $15 and includes accompanying adult.

Youth sleuths ages nine through 11 can help solve the Case of the Dismembered Cricket on July 9 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Investigators will examine a “crime scene” and question suspects to uncover the culprit of the caper, and to judge whether a crime has really occurred. Put your thinking caps on! Cost is $15 and includes accompanying adult.

The Shaw Nature Reserve is a 2,400-acre natural landscape perfect for a family retreat. The Reserve has teamed with the Missouri Department of Conservation to offer an exclusive fishing experience for young anglers ages six through 12. Enjoy First-time Fishing for Kids on June 5 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Equipment, bait and refreshments will be provided, along with expert assistance. One adult is required for every two children, and fishing is limited to children only. Cost is $12 per child (accompanying adult included).

The Pitzman Nature Study program for four- through six-year-olds offers further opportunities for outdoor nature exploration paired with classroom discussions, crafts and snacks. Join your child for Now You See Me, Now You Don’t on June 7, a Teddy Bear Picnic on June 9, or Over in the Garden on June 11. Each class is from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and costs $18 per child (accompanying adult included).

Two programs for families with children ages eight and older explore nature’s flying creatures. Take a Nighttime Insect Safari on June 12 from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. to discover and marvel at the diversity and adaptations of night-flying insects, with the help of black lights. Come prepared for moderate hiking and wear dark clothing. Join a daytime Butterfly Ramble on July 31 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Entomologist James Trager will guide you through some of the best butterfly habitats at the Reserve, where you can learn all about butterflies’ relationships to their favorite flowers, the plants caterpillars feed on, their amazing migrations and what happens in winter to those that don’t migrate. Cost is $12 per person for each class.

During the months of May and June, don’t miss out on Wilderness Wagon Tours, offered Saturdays and Sundays. The narrated wagon ride departs the Visitor Center at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. to travel the three-mile Trail House Loop Road, stopping at the Trail House and wetland bus stop. It’s an ideal way to explore while your feet get a rest! Cost is $1 per person.

For More Information and to Register
Visit www.mobot.org/classes and click the link for “Children and Families” to browse the complete class lineup and register for summer camps or youth and family programs. For questions, call (314) 577-5140.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in south St. Louis, accessible from Interstate 44 at the Vandeventer exit and from Interstate 64 at the Kingshighway North & South exit. For general information, visit www.mobot.org or call the recorded line at (314) 577-9400.

The EarthWays Center is located at 3617 Grandel Square in mid-town St. Louis. Visit www.earthwayscenter.org or call (314) 577-0220.

The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House is located at 15193 Olive Blvd. at Faust Park in Chesterfield, accessible from Interstate 64 at exit #19B. For general information, visit www.butterflyhouse.org or call (636) 530-0076.

The Shaw Nature Reserve is located just off Interstate 44 in Gray Summit, Mo., approximately 22 miles west of the Interstate 44/Interstate 270 interchange. Visit online at www.shawnature.org or call (636) 451-3512.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest continually operating botanical garden in the nation, celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009. Missouri Botanical Garden: Green for 150 Years.

To view Missouri Botanical Gardens web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-1032-Missouri_Botanical_Garden