Care for Animals and Explore The Outdoors This Summer at Sedgwick County Zoo

Thanks to Sedgwick County Zoo for sponsoring this post and offering unique summer camp experiences for Wichita kids!

Sedgwick County Zoo is excited to offer a stellar lineup of learning adventures this summer, perfect for kids ranging from 3 all the way up to 17 years old.

For younger animals and nature lovers in the 3-9 age range, we offer 4 different classes:

  • Give a Helping Hand — This class focuses on cultivating a healthy relationship with the planet and the animals who live here. It discusses the ways kids can help ensure Earth and its creatures stay healthy, and even includes a service project.
  • Home Sweet Home — Sometimes the best place to start building a relationship with nature is in our own backyards. This class helps kids understand how they can create a safe living space for animals near their homes.
  • Outdoor Adventurers — The Zoo has its fair share of wild areas; kids get to explore them and learn how to navigate them in this class, which ends with a family campout designed to let adventurers show off their newly-acquired outdoor skills.
  • SAFE: Saving Animals from Extinction — One of the best ways to affect future change is by educating kids on their potential impact. In this class, attendees will learn what efforts are being made to keep their favorite species safe, and they will even get to meet some of them in person.

These classes run on an alternating schedule for the summer months, with the final class being a section of Outdoor Adventurers that ends on August 2. A new development from previous years, some sections even include evening classes.

Older zoo enthusiasts in the 10-17 age range have 3 program offerings to choose from this summer:

  • Junior Zookeepers — Intended for ages 10-12, each section of this class focuses on a different area of the zoo. Attendees will get hands-on experience with the sort of work a zookeeper does, like managing diets and training.
  • Zooniversity — This class is designed specifically for 13-year-olds and runs for four week-long session; students get to work directly with animals in all areas of the Zoo.
  • Zookeeper Apprentice Program — An exciting opportunity for teens 14-17 years old, this is a four-part program that gives students the chance to gain real life experience with every facet of the zookeeper profession. In order to advance to the next level, students are evaluated based on their level 1 performance.

From forming a bond with nature to learning the inner-workings of a modern zoo, there’s an adventure awaiting students of every age at the Sedgwick County Zoo this summer.

Admission Information

Summer Learning Adventures admission varies with each age group.

Ages 3-12: $75 for members/$95 for non-members.

Zooniversity: $65 for members/$85 for non-members

Zookeepers Apprentice Program: $130 for members/$150 for non-members

 

JUNE 17-21 – NEW EVENING CLASSES!

3-5 Outdoor Adventurers: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

6-9 Outdoor Adventurers: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Citizen Science: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

 

JUNE 24-28

3-5 SAFE: Saving Animals from Extinction: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

6-9 SAFE: Saving Animals from Extinction: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Ectotherms: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: N. America, Australia/S. America 12:30 – 3 p.m.

 

JULY 8-12 – NEW EVENING CLASSES!

3-5 Home Sweet Home: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

6-9 Home Sweet Home: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Zookeeper 101: 6 – 8:30 p.m.

 

JULY 15-19

3-5 Give a Helping Hand: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

6-9 Give a Helping Hand: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Veterinary Medicine: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Career Exploration: 12:30 – 3 p.m.

 

JULY 22-26

3-5 Home Sweet Home: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

6-9 Home Sweet Home: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Birds: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Art in the Zoo: 12:30 – 3 p.m.

 

JULY 29 – AUGUST 2

3-5 Outdoor Adventurers: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

6-9 Outdoor Adventurers: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Horticulture and Elephants: 9 – 11:30 a.m.

10-12 Junior Zookeeper: Veldt – Giraffe, Hippo, Rhino: 12:30 – 3 p.m.

 

ZOONIVERSITY SESSIONS: 8 a.m.–Noon

July 15-19

July 22-26

July 29-August 2

August 5-9

 

ZAP SESSIONS: 8 a.m.–Noon  

June 3-14

June 17-28

July 1-12 (class WILL meet on July 4)

July 15-26

July 29-August 9

To register, visit scz.org/learning-adventures/summer.

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