Camps

LIke its sister facility in Culver City, STAR ECO Station is an environmental science and wildlife rescue center in a tropical jungle setting. Through a partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, STAR ECO Station rescues and houses at-risk and endangered exotic wildlife.

Visitors study ecology and environmentalism during a wild and fun encounter with the STAR ECO Station's rescued tropical birds, exotic reptiles, wildcats, and
ocean life. The Station's interdisciplinary, hands-on lessons of compassion and empathy for the natural world inspires visitors to a deep understanding of their role in protecting their Earth.

The ECO Station is also available to host a variety of special events throughout the year, including birthday parties. Birthday party packages include a guided tour and private party time. For additional fees, the station can provide (or book) custom invitations, custom goody bags, a Moon Bounce, cotton candy, popcorn, nachos, sno-cones, hot dogs, gourmet dogs, and more.

Offered during summers and school holidays, Camp ECO invites kids to spend their vacation with Caiman alligators, felines, tropical birds, reptiles, arachnids, and other exotic creatures in a place that looks, feels, and sounds like the real jungle. Children learn environmental science while working alongside real scientists and ecologists.

Mad Science is on a mission to stimulate scientific learning through hands-on fun and activities that will get kids excited about science.

Mad Science offers birthday parties for groups of any size, ideal for children ages five to 12. A Mad Scientist comes to your house and presents a 45-minute show, adapted to the ages of the kids in your group, combining high-energy, interactive fun with entertaining science experiments that appeal to kids' penchant for goo, pop, and fizz. A variety of 15-minute "finales" are available for an extra charge: dry ice, a laser show, hovercraft rides, or a rocket launch.

Other options, for an additional charge, include a cotton candy machine, goody bags, or invitations.

Mad Science also offers summer camps at several locations throughout the Sacramento area. Half-day and full-day camps run weekly from June through August for children ages six to 12. Registration and other information is available on the website.

Discovery Museum features a range of scientific exhibits, most of which are interactive. Families also enjoy a nature trail that winds through 14 acres; a discovery room with insects, turtles, and other creatures; a planetarium, and simulated space missions.

The museum also offers birthday party packages.

Abrakadoodle inspires the artist in every child. The national mobile arts education program meets both the National and State Standards for visual arts education. Classes are developmentally appropriate and introduce kids to color, texture, shape, and creativity. Abrakadoodle programs are broken into age-appropriate groupings, including Twoosy Doodlers, for children age 20-36 months; Mini Doodlers, for children age three through Kindergarten; Doodlers, for children in grades one through six.

A summer camp, Camp Abrakadoodle, is offered for children ages three through 12. Abrakadoodle Parties are led by an art teacher and feature age-appropriate activities and art lessons, plus each party guest leaves with a framed piece of their own original art.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Artsy Class for Big Kids in Sacramento, Sacramento Academy of Dance offers classes for children as young as seven.

Young Apprentice Company dancers, seven to 10 years old, take ballet, and also learn a variety of styles, including tap, jazz, folklorico, acrobatics, and musical theater with singing.

Search for day camps, sleep-aways, family camps, teen tours, camp jobs, special needs, national and international adventures... even weight loss and military camps!

Write to kidscamps.com at 500 NE Spanish River Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida, 33431, or email the address above.

CampDepot.com is a search engine for summer camps, offering more than 14,000 camp listings that parents can search by zip code, specialty, location, activity, etc.

Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District, in operation since 1956, hosts a wide variety of community events and workshops each year, including health and safety classes, sports classes, afterschool programs, camps, and other youth programs.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Artsy Class for Teens in Sacramento, the Children's Creative Arts Center offers art classes in a variety of mediums for students at many levels of expertise. Piano, guitar, and voice classes are also available.

Children's Creative Arts Center teaches special summer and school vacation day programs.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center is an award-winning environmental and cultural education center located in Carmichael, California.

The center offers programs for children and adults, interactive exhibits, school programs, educational workshops, and many volunteer opportunities.

Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District, in operation since 1956, hosts a wide variety of community events and workshops e