CAMP ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Find A Day in the Life, FAQ’s and Adult Guide for our summer camp programs

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Sample Schedules

Ever wonder what your camper may be up to at Woodland Park Zoo Camp?

Check out the links below for a sneak peek at what a typical day at camp may potentially be structured.

River Otter or Pond Turtle Camper (ages 5-6 years, 7-9 years)
Grizzly Bear Camper (ages 10-13 years)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions?

If you have additional questions or need assistance contact us at camps@zoo.org.

Additional Policies

Please see our Safety & Policies page.

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To support accessibility for families with financial barriers, we offer both partial and full scholarships. Scholarship funds are available in 20% increments up to 100% (extended care can be included.) You can learn more about the scholarship request process here. Funds are limited but we encourage all in need to apply. We will post on the registration webpage and in our FAQs when funds are fully allocated.

We have two separate check-in and check-out locations. Pond Turtle (ages 5-6) and Grizzly Bear (ages 10-13) campers will be located at the Lion Lot (south end of the zoo) and River Otter campers (ages 7-9) will be at the Bear Lot (north end of the zoo.) It is the adult’s responsibility to drop off and pick up campers in the correct locations.

Caregivers willpark their cars and walk up to the check-in/check-out tables where further instructions will be given. For check-out, caregivers will be required to give their camper’s Kid Code in order to pick them up.

Extended Care drop-off and pick-up will occur at the Education Center doors located near the Lion Lot for all groups and ages.

Yes, all early pick-ups and late drop-offs take place at the Education Center. Please give us as much advanced notice as possible. Our camp groups are exploring all over the zoo and without advanced notice it can take up to 30 minutes for campers to walk back to the Education Center.

You can register your camper for a full week of extended care, available for all age groups in the morning (Tuesday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 8:45 a.m.) and afternoon (Monday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.) You may register your camper for extended care during camp registration for an additional cost of $100 for afternoon extended care and $50 for morning extended care. Limited spots are available.

Woodland Park Zoo’s camp programs are structured as weekly sessions with two different alternating curricula offered for each age tier. Families are not encouraged to enroll in more than two sessions, as the curriculum will repeat. Depending on your child’s date of birth, they may be eligible for two age tiers during the summer.

You are welcome to register your child for camp the week they turn the appropriate age. For instance, if your child turns 5 on Wednesday, August 6, you are welcome to register them to participate in Pond Turtle Camp the week of their birthday , or any following week. However, they will not be eligible for the week of July 28 or earlier.

To promote a well-rounded camp experience, campers are randomly assigned to a camp group within their age tier. You may request that your camper be placed with up to two other campers who are in the same age group during the registration process. If you have already registered your child and would like to submit a grouping preference, you may do so by emailing us at camps@zoo.org. Although we make every effort to honor your grouping preference whenever possible, please understand that we can never guarantee that children will be grouped together. We will not accommodate any requests submitted the week prior to camp or the week of camp.

Yes. Campers must be able to use the bathroom independently. Our camp instructors are not able to assist with toileting. If there are specific accommodations your camper needs, please reach out to camps@zoo.org for further discussion.

We strive to welcome and provide a rich and educational environment for campers who are neurodivergent or who have a disability. Please use this link to visit our camps accessibility and inclusion page to learn more about how camp operates and our available resources to make the best decision for your camper. Please email camps@zoo.org for further questions and more information about available camper support.

For your tax forms and other childcare deductible paperwork, the zoo’s EIN/Tax ID number is 91-6070005.

Camp staff are trained to create a supportive environment by doing the following:

Using a calm and respectful tone of voice, positive language, facial expressions to match child’s mood, and validating children’s feelings
Using guidance techniques to assist in adapting to camp routines and activities, including coaching, role modeling, redirection, and expectation setting.
Providing opportunity for choice and child-led learning
Encouraging positive interaction between and among children by offering collaborative activities and modeling social skills
Using youth’s pronouns or preferred name.

We work hard to hire fantastic camp staff each summer. All our instructors are over 18. Many have studied natural sciences and education or are professionals in the environmental education or teaching fields. In each group we aim to have 2 instructors working with up to 15 children in Grizzly Bear, up to 12 children in River Otters, and up to 10 children in Pond Turtles.

There are three age tiers at summer camp. Pond Turtle is for campers ages 5-6, River Otter is for campers 7-9 and Grizzly Bear is for campers 10-13. Campers come from all over the state and country – even overseas!

Camp staff will inform you of your child’s camp group at check-in on the first morning of camp. Please try to recall your child’s camp group for ease of check-in the rest of the week.

For safety reasons, we are unable to take Pond Turtle and River Otter groups behind-the-scenes in animal units. Some years we do go to non-animal behind-the-scenes locations such as the Zoo Doo Yard or Commissary. Groups occasionally have the opportunity to come in contact with small zoo animals at the Family Farm Contact Area or Animal Encounter stations around the zoo.

Grizzly Bear groups may have the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes depending on the curriculum for the week. Campers will be accompanied by zoo staff at all times while in any behind-the-scenes location. Campers will not be in direct contact with animals while behind-the-scenes.

Woodland Park Zoo is a hive of activity in the summer months with lots of exciting events, concerts and construction continuing on the new Forest Trailhead Exhibit. We work closely with our colleagues across the zoo to ensure these exciting zoo offerings have minimal impact on our programming.

All Pond Turtle and River Otter campers are required to wear official zoo camp t-shirts on Mondays and are encouraged to wear their t-shirt the rest of the week. This allows us to recognize campers easily when we are out on grounds with summer guests. Each child automatically receives one camp t-shirt for each week they are registered to attend camp, which will be distributed on Monday morning at check-in.

Campers in Grizzly Bear are not required to wear the camp t-shirt.

Our goal is to choose a color that is bright and easy to pick out in a crowd.

To receive the camps presale email on February 4, you must renew or join by February 2. If you’d like to update the primary email address on the membership, please contact the membership office at membership@zoo.org or 206-548-2425 by February 2. If you do not receive your member emails re: camps presale on January 27 and February 4, please check your spam/junk before alerting us.

Wild at Heart donors and members of the Board of Directors will receive special instructions on how to access the camps presale by email prior to February 4. If you are unsure of your Wild at Heart status, please contact the development team at donations@zoo.org before February 2.