The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Society, Inc. announces a new format for summer camp this year. Nature Explorers Art & Science Camp will engage campers to discover plants and the natural world through art and science. Explorers will spend time discovering the Botanical Gardens, completing multimedia art projects, learning drawing and painting skills, participating in games, taking home their own plants to care for and so much more. This is a full-day camp for kids that begins July 10 and runs weekly through August 18.
The Botanical Gardens Nature Explorers Art and Science Camp is perfect for parents that are looking for a fun and educational summer experience for their children. Campers that have completed kindergarten through 6th grade will have the opportunity to experience nature through art and science. This day camp runs Monday through Friday from 9:00am until 4:00pm and campers are required to bring a bagged lunch. Morning and afternoon snack is provided at camp.
The Nature Explorers Art and Science Camp highlights a different topic each week. July 10 through July 14 is Wild Wacky Water Week. This week is all about water and the art focus will be on painting in watercolor using techniques of washes, salt, dropping in color, and spattering. Campers will paint beach, stream, and ocean landscapes. Campers will also learn all about the water cycle and the different ways plants use water. This week also includes watery projects and wacky water games. July 17 through July 21 will be Pollinators Week where campers will sculpt a honeybee using clay, paint the symmetry of flowers in watercolor and tempera on the camp wall mural. The art of quilling to make a 3-D picture is also part of the fun. Campers will learn how pollination works by dissecting flowers and visiting our busy beehive. Explorers will also create beautiful butterflies, play pollination games, create a take-home garden and more.
July 24 through July 28 is Plants We Eat Week. Campers will consider how many different plants they eat in a day, paint a classical still life composed of fruits and vegetables and discover the method of botanical drawing by carefully inspecting plant parts and drawing them to scale. Explorers will discover how many plants in the Botanical Gardens are edible, squish oranges and other fruits into juice, make flour, and sample weird looking fruits this week of camp. July 31 through August 4 campers will learn about protecting the environment and how to become stewards of the planet during Plants And Our Planet Week. Campers will design posters on preserving habitat for our wild animals using colored pencils and markers, cover discarded bottles with paper scraps, paint, and glue to create beautiful vases and use recycled materials to craft planters and bird feeders. Explorers will also participate in environmentally themed games, explore the outdoor Arboretum and test the effects of pollution.
August 7 through August 11 is Rainforest Week where campers will discover how plants and animals live in the rainforest while exploring tropical greenhouses. Drawing colorful parrots, hummingbirds, and monkeys in oil pastels and creating a collage of tropical flowers is all part of the fun. Explorers will also learn how to fold an origami snake, play games and build a tropical terrarium to bring home. Woodland Adventures Week takes place August 14 through August 18 where campers will learn about what plants, animals and insects live in the forest. Explorers will create a painting in tempera of a north woods scene complete with birds, deer, raccoons, reptiles, and bugs. They will weave a wall-hanging using grasses, twigs, and feathers and use pencils to create leaf and bark rubbings. Campers will also explore woodland habitats while learning about local plants and animals, participate in a special camp scavenger hunt, and build a fairy garden.
The Nature Explorers Art and Science camp is an all-day camp. Prices are $180 per week or $36 per day for Botanical Gardens’ members and $200 per week or $40 per day for the general public. Camps are appropriate for kids who have finished kindergarten through 6th grade. Pre-registration is required, and completed camp forms are due by the Wednesday before each camp session. To register go to www.buffalogardens.com or call 716.827.1584 ext. 292 for more information.
Use #GardensCamp and @Buffalogardens when posting and tagging on social media. For more information, visit the Botanical Gardens’ website at www.buffalogardens.com. Proceeds benefit the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Society Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to inspire curiosity and connect people to the natural world through its historic living museum.