Summer Camps For Animal-loving Kids at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Unforgettable experiences include a weeklong residential camp focused on exotic animal care for pre-teens,
 and day camps on everything from animal senses to wildlife careers

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park offers unique weeklong summer camps in 2012 for youth ages 2 to 17. Each day, campers will have opportunities to meet animals up close. Younger children enjoy fun, hands-on activities that open the world of animals to them. Older campers feed rhinos and giraffes and create treats for other animals such as elephants and lions. All day camps have extended-day options. Summer camps run from June 25 to Aug. 17, 2012. And, for the first time in many years, the Safari Park also will be offering one-day camps for ages 6 through 17! For more information, parents and grandparents can call 619-718-3000 or go to www.sdzsafaripark.org and click on "education."

Some of the highlights of the weeklong camps include:

Work on the Wild Side (weeklong day camp for youth entering grades 9 through 12)
Teens can try wildlife careers on for size for five days by working on the wild side.  The Work on the Wild Side camp pairs teens with a zoo keeper one day and an animal trainer or veterinarian the next, allowing them to shadow professionals in all areas of animal care and conservation. The camp includes a chance to hop on board a caravan truck for an opportunity to feed giraffes and rhinos and see if field research is their thing.  Campers explore off-exhibit, behind-the-scenes animal areas to meet exotic animals up close. Work on the Wild Side at the Safari Park is a great way for teens to determine if a career in wildlife is right for them or to spend time with animals and the people who care for them. (Cost: $295 for members, $325 for nonmembers.)

Animal Care Boot Camp (weeklong overnight camp for youth entering grades 6 through 8)
Pre-teens get the inside scoop on animal care and conservation straight from the experts during this weeklong adventure. Among the exciting activities are meeting zookeepers and animal trainers to see firsthand what it takes to work with exotic animals, visiting the Park's state-of-the-art hospital to see veterinary medicine in action, and riding on a Caravan Safari truck deep into the heart of the Safari Park's enormous field enclosures. Campers will have an opportunity to try their hand at wildlife research as they monitor animal behavior and spend four nights camping at the Safari Park! (Cost: $879 for members, $909 for nonmembers.)

Colorful Creatures (weeklong day camp for children ages 2 and 3 along with a favorite adult)
Through play and interactive learning, tiny tots will be introduced to colorful creatures from around the world.  Each day includes visits from animal ambassadors for up-close interaction, stories, crafts, songs, and games.  From pink flamingos and blue-tongued skinks to spotted cheetahs and striped zebras, there's a ton of colorful animal fun for campers ages 2 to 3 along with their favorite grownup at Colorful Creatures Summer Camp!  (Cost: $165 for member adult/child pair, $195 for nonmember adult/child pair, $95 for a second child.)

Other weeklong options:
Sensory Safari (ages 4 and 5), You Talkin' to Me? (children entering grades 1 and 2), Fact or Fiction (children entering grades 3 through 5), and Animal Athletes (youth entering grades 6 through 8)

One-Day options:
Fancy Feet, Feathers & Flight, Predators!, and Wild About Art (all for youth entering grades 1-12)