The zoo has you covered with the wildest weeks of programming available in Michigan! Each day of camp includes a variety of hands-on experiences, animal presentations, and adventures typical zoo visitors don’t have.
We have a great camp season planned for 2021! We will continue to offer both morning and afternoon sessions each week of Zookambi for kids entering grades 1-7. We will again offer both morning and afternoon extended care.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Zookambi is being reimagined with reduced class sizes and more time outdoors to ensure an engaging and safe experience for all. Although a lot may change before June, we plan to adhere to recommended COVID-19 health and safety policies and best practices in alignment with CDC, Ingham County, and American Camp Association recommendations. More information will be added on this webpage as it comes available.
Check out the schedule and descriptions in the tabs below:
Zookambi 2021 Registration Now Open! Click here
This summer we are offering our most popular sessions more than once. Please note that the activities will be the same for repeated sessions.
Cost
Membership saves you money, so if you aren’t already a member, join today!
| Regular | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Half Day Program | $115.00 | $100.00 |
| Full Day Program | $230.00 | $200.00 |
| Extended Care (add-on) | $25.00 | $25.00 |
Entering Grades 1-2
Week 1- June 14-18
FULL Wild Tales (morning) FULL
The ugly duckling, the three little pigs, the tortoise and the hare… stories about animals are everywhere! Join us for this week-long exploration of some of our favorite stories about animals!
FULL Creature Power! (afternoon) FULL
Owl flight and Lion roar! Penguin dives and Eagle soar! Our creatures have some AMAZING powers! During our one week mission, we’ll explore some of the incredible abilities our animals use to leap, glide, hide, and hunt in the wild and see how we stack up when we test our own incredible creature powers!
Week 2- June 21-25
FULL What’s For Lunch? (morning) FULL
Anyone up for a hearty helping of mashed meal worms? This week, we’ll explore how animals find food in the wild while keeping from becoming food themselves! Head to Potter Park Zoo to get a glimpse of what’s on the menu this week for your favorite animals—meal worms and all.
FULL Wild for Art Junior (afternoon) FULL
Did you know that rhinos paint? So can you! Join us for a week-long adventure painting, drawing, and crafting our way through the zoo!
Week 3- July 5-9
FULL Sensational Zoo (morning) FULL
Why is the lion making a funny face? It just might have something to do with the wonderful ways that animals see, hear, smell, touch and taste their environment. We’ll have a sense-ational week as our five senses are fully engaged while discovering how animals perceive the world and solving mysteries about animal behavior.
FULL All in the Family (afternoon) FULL
Mobs of meerkats, ambushes of tigers and waddles of penguins…oh my! Animal families all look and act different! Join us as we learn about animal families here at Potter Park Zoo!
Week 4- July 12-16
FULL Wild for Art Junior (morning) FULL
Did you know that rhinos paint? So can you! Join us for a week-long adventure painting, drawing, and crafting our way through the zoo!
FULL Wild Tales (afternoon) FULL
The ugly duckling, the three little pigs, the tortoise and the hare… stories about animals are everywhere! Join us for this week-long exploration of some of our favorite stories about animals!
Week 5- July 19-23
FULL A Bug’s Life (morning) FULL
Do you love crawlers, hoppers, or flyers? Come join us for a week-long safari exploring the crazy, colorful, and creepy world of insects! We’ll use our explorer skills to find insect homes, learn to identify some common Michigan insects, and discover how insects interact with many of our animals at the zoo!
FULL Sensational Zoo (afternoon) FULL
Why is the lion making a funny face? It just might have something to do with the wonderful ways that animals see, hear, smell, touch and taste their environment. We’ll have a sense-ational week as our five senses are fully engaged while discovering how animals perceive the world and solving mysteries about animal behavior.
Week 6- July 26-30
FULL All in the Family (morning) FULL
Mobs of meerkats, ambushes of tigers and waddles of penguins…oh my! Animal families all look and act different! Join us as we learn about animal families here at Potter Park Zoo!
FULL What’s for Lunch? (afternoon) FULL
Anyone up for a hearty helping of mashed meal worms? This week, we’ll explore how animals find food in the wild while keeping from becoming food themselves! Head to Potter Park Zoo to get a glimpse of what’s on the menu this week for your favorite animals—meal worms and all.
Week 7- August 2-6
FULL A Bug’s Life (morning) FULL
Do you love crawlers, hoppers, or flyers? Come join us for a week-long safari exploring the crazy, colorful, and creepy world of insects! We’ll use our explorer skills to find insect homes, learn to identify some common Michigan insects, and discover how insects interact with many of our animals at the zoo!
FULL Creature Power (afternoon) FULL
Owl flight and Lion roar! Penguin dives and Eagle soar! Our creatures have some AMAZING powers! During our one week mission, we’ll explore some of the incredible abilities our animals use to leap, glide, hide, and hunt in the wild and see how we stack up when we test our own incredible creature powers!
Entering Grades 3-4
Week 1- June 14-18
FULL Zoolympics (morning) FULL
Are you an athlete or sports fan? Want to find out which animal would take home the gold medal in the 100 meter dash or high jump? Come learn about some of the amazing athletes of the animal kingdom and see if you can take home your own medal when you test your skills in the Zoolympic Games!
FULL Around the World (afternoon) FULL
Grab your passport because we’re traveling around the globe, and you don’t even need to leave your favorite zoo! Each day will bring new adventures as we fly off to different continents to explore animal and human cultures sharing various unique habitats.
Week 2- June 21-25
FULL Nature’s Engineers (morning) FULL
Ever wondered how beavers build dams? Or how spiders spin webs? Or why some birds build really fancy nests but others are simple? Come unravel the mysteries behind the amazing and unique structures that animals build.
FULL Vet Med Jr. (afternoon) FULL
Love animals? Want to be a vet or vet tech? Join us for a week of fun animal health activities! You’ll learn about how animal bodies work and what our vet does every day to keep our animals healthy here at Potter Park Zoo!
Week 3- July 5-9
FULL Grossology Jr. (morning) FULL
Animals do some weird, fascinating, and completely gross things! From throwing up to eating their own poop, you’ll investigate with us how being gross can actually be good for animals.
FULL Nature’s Engineers (afternoon) FULL
Ever wondered how beavers build dams? Or how spiders spin webs? Or why some birds build really fancy nests but others are simple? Come unravel the mysteries behind the amazing and unique structures that animals build.
Week 4- July 12-16
FULL Zoolympics (morning) FULL
Are you an athlete or sports fan? Want to find out which animal would take home the gold medal in the 100 meter dash or high jump? Come learn about some of the amazing athletes of the animal kingdom and see if you can take home your own medal when you test your skills in the Zoolympic Games!
FULL Water, Water, Everywhere! (afternoon) FULL
Water is all around us! From lakes to ponds to the Red Cedar River that runs past the zoo, water is teeming with animal life. Learn about animals that live in or near water both here at the zoo and in our local waterways through hands-on activities and explorations. There may even be a chance to get wet!
Week 5- July 19-23
FULL Wild for Art (morning) FULL
Animals have been a source of inspiration for artists ever since the first cave paintings. It’s time to pull out your pencils, markers, and more and search around the zoo for inspiration to create our own masterpieces!
FULL Vet Med Jr. (afternoon) FULL
Love animals? Want to be a vet or vet tech? Join us for a week of fun animal health activities! You’ll learn about how animal bodies work and what our vet does every day to keep our animals healthy here at Potter Park Zoo!
Week 6- July 26-30
FULL Around the World (morning) FULL
Grab your passport because we’re traveling around the globe, and you don’t even need to leave your favorite zoo! Each day will bring new adventures as we fly off to different continents to explore animal and human cultures sharing various unique habitats.
FULL Grossology Jr. (afternoon) FULL
Animals do some weird, fascinating, and completely gross things! From throwing up to eating their own poop, you’ll investigate with us how being gross can actually be good for animals.
Week 7- August 2-6
FULL Wild for Art (morning) FULL
Animals have been a source of inspiration for artists ever since the first cave paintings. It’s time to pull out your pencils, markers, and more and search around the zoo for inspiration to create our own masterpieces!
FULL Water, Water, Everywhere! (afternoon) FULL
Water is all around us! From lakes to ponds to the Red Cedar River that runs past the zoo, water is teeming with animal life. Learn about animals that live in or near water both here at the zoo and in our local waterways through hands-on activities and explorations. There may even be a chance to get wet!
Entering Grades 5-7
Week 1- June 14-18
Grossology (morning) ONE SPOT OPEN!
Animals do some weird, fascinating, and completely gross things! From regurgitation to urination, you’ll investigate with us how being gross can actually be good for animals.
FULL Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) (afternoon) FULL
Be a conservation hero! Zoos and aquariums work together to save endangered animals, and part of that work is done through a global effort called SAFE. Learn about the animals that are part of this project, including our own black rhinos! You will also discover little ways YOU can make a big difference to wildlife, through games, projects, and more!
Week 2- June 21-25
FULL So You Want to Work at the Zoo (morning) FULL
Do you like asking questions, and learning why things work the way they do? Then this class is for you! Take on the role of a scientist, a behavioral analyst, an architect and many more exciting roles. Discover what it means to work at a zoo!
FULL Habitat Design (afternoon) FULL
Have you ever wondered what it takes to design and build a zoo habitat? Do you have an interest in architecture or like building models? Come explore habitat design at Potter Park Zoo! We will explore the different habitats at the zoo to see how animal spaces have improved from the days of concrete cages with steel bars to the spectacular naturalistic habitats we have today. Then we’ll try our hands at constructing our own model habitats.
Week 3- July 5-9
FULL Animal CSI (morning) FULL
We need your help!! A crime has occurred at Potter Park Zoo and we need you to analyze the crime scene. Using careful observations, amazing skills of deduction, and the same type of scientific investigation methods used by real Animal Cops, help us figure out what happened and who was the dastardly culprit!
FULL Vet Med (afternoon) FULL
So you want to be a vet? Great! Come get a head start at Potter Park Zoo! We’ll be spending the week exploring surgical techniques, lab tests, and first aid skills that real veterinarians use every day! You’ll also get to try your hand at figuring out what’s wrong with one of our animal patients in Friday’s diagnostic challenge!
Week 4- July 12-16
FULL Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) (morning) FULL
Be a conservation hero! Zoos and aquariums work together to save endangered animals, and part of that work is done through a global effort called SAFE. Learn about the animals that are part of this project, including our own black rhinos! You will also discover little ways YOU can make a big difference to wildlife, through games, projects, and more!
FULL Art Safari (afternoon) FULL
Wait, what? The zoo is an art gallery? You bet! From graphics on signs to landscaping, exhibit design, sculpture and photography, there are many ways that art is used and made throughout the zoo. We will explore the art here at the zoo, and try our hand at creating some of our own!
Week 5- July 19-23
FULL Habitat Design (morning) FULL
Have you ever wondered what it takes to design and build a zoo habitat? Do you have an interest in architecture or like building models? Come explore habitat design at Potter Park Zoo! We will explore the different habitats at the zoo to see how animal spaces have improved from the days of concrete cages with steel bars to the spectacular naturalistic habitats we have today. Then we’ll try our hands at constructing our own model habitats.
FULL Grossology (afternoon) FULL
Animals do some weird, fascinating, and completely gross things! From regurgitation to urination, you’ll investigate with us how being gross can actually be good for animals.
Week 6- July 26-30
FULL Vet Med (morning) FULL
So you want to be a vet? Great! Come get a head start at Potter Park Zoo! We’ll be spending the week exploring surgical techniques, lab tests, and first aid skills that real veterinarians use every day! You’ll also get to try your hand at figuring out what’s wrong with one of our animal patients in Friday’s diagnostic challenge!
FULL Animal CSI (afternoon) FULL
We need your help!! A crime has occurred at Potter Park Zoo and we need you to analyze the crime scene. Using careful observations, amazing skills of deduction, and the same type of scientific investigation methods used by real Animal Cops, help us figure out what happened and who was the dastardly culprit.
Week 7- August 2-6
FULL So You Want to Work at the Zoo (morning) FULL
Do you like asking questions, and learning why things work the way they do? Then this class is for you! Take on the role of a scientist, a behavioral analyst, an architect and many more exciting roles. Discover what it means to work at a zoo!
FULL Art Safari (afternoon) FULL
Wait, what? The zoo is an art gallery? You bet! From graphics on signs to landscaping, exhibit design, sculpture and photography, there are many ways that art is used and made throughout the zoo. We will explore the art here at the zoo, and try our hand at creating some of our own!