Think like a scientist. Create like an artist. Play like a kid!
Summer day camps held on the 200-acre museum campus immerse children in the arts, sciences, cultures, and environment of the region. Taught by knowledgeable and enthusiastic educators, the inquiry-based camps appeal to varied learning styles and engage children with authentic experiences.
From their base in a cluster of historic buildings beside the Colton Community Garden, campers are led on explorations of museum exhibitions and collections, as well as forests, fields, rocky canyons, springs and ponds. Campers become at home within the museum, providing a basis for return visits as a family and a foundation for continued learning.
2024 Discovery Camps
The 2024 camps will be held for three weeks, July 8-12, July 15-19, and July 22-26. The camp schedule is below below with registration links. Museum members enjoy camp discounts. If you are not a member, become a member now to get the first choice of camps and a valuable discount on the enrollment.
This year we will not require campers show proof of Covid vaccination. However, we strongly encourage families to ensure campers have received updated vaccinations to protect our community.
We limit the number of participants to assure a safe and quality learning environment. All registration is online and places are reserved on a first paid, first admitted policy. Send questions to discovery@musnaz.org. You can also call Education Manager Sacha Siskonen at 928-774-5211 x217.
2024 Camp Schedule and Registration Links
Age 4-6, July 8-12, Feathers, Fins and Scales
Come swim, slither, and fly as we meet the non-mammals who live among us. In this camp, kids will play games, sing songs and create art as they learn about birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians of the Colorado Plateau through storytelling and play.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am – 1 pm
Camp price: $180 for MNA members/$220 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 7-8, July 8-12, Rules of the Universe
Discover the scientific principles that run our world, from keeping us on the ground (thanks gravity!) to creating rainbows. Campers engage in simple experiments, then make connections between basic laws of physics, chemistry, and the world we live in. We’ll focus on the four fundamental forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force.
Educator: Summer Richardson
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 9-11, July 8-12, Pottery with Purpose
This week-long camp will focus on creating utilitarian pottery with clay and other materials. We will gain inspiration from artifacts in the museum and tour the Easton Collection Center to get a behind-the-scenes look at MNA’s ceramics collection.
Educator: Chas Frisco
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 4-6, July 15-19, Dino-mite Friends
Are you ready to dig into the long-ago world of dinosaurs? Have a blast while learning about the past with games, songs, storytelling, and dino-mite activities. Families are invited to a Friday dino fiesta.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am – 1 pm
Camp price: $180 for MNA members/$220 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 7-8, July 15-19, Creative Creatures
This camp focuses on evolution and how creatures change over time. We’ll study the dinosaurs, birds and mammals in the museum’s collections and exhibits to learn how animals evolve in relation to their environments. We’ll invent our own made-up creatures and see who survives as conditions change and force our creatures to evolve on a volatile planet.
Educator: Summer Richardson
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 9-11, July 15-19, Sculpting Flora and Fauna
Building on the skills learned in Pottery with Purpose (the prior week’s camp is not a pre-requisite, but will be a nice compliment to this one), campers will sculpt creatures and plants, real or imagined, out of clay and other materials. We’ll learn about the animals and plants housed in the museum’s collections, tour behind-the-scenes collections storage areas and visit the museum’s exhibits for inspiration.
Educator: Chas Frisco
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Age 4-6, July 22-26, Life in the Garden
Through imagination and play we’ll learn the fundamentals of anthropology in this camp about culture. We’ll create our own community in MNA’s Colton Garden. We will learn about art, language, work, and how to live in harmony with each other and our environment.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am – 1 pm
Camp price: $180 for MNA members/$220 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Age 7-8, July 22-26, Welcome to the Willows
Campers will create a made-up culture together in this camp about anthropology and ethnology. We’ll learn about the Indigenous cultures of the Colorado Plateau and gain an understanding of how place influences culture as we discuss our own cultural backgrounds and the place we live. With the Willows as our home base, we’ll meet the People of the Pines and the Garden (our camp friends in other age groups) and learn about art, music, food, language, games, clothing, shelter and tools.
Educator: Summer Richardson
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Age 9-11, July 22-26, People of the Pines
Campers will learn the fundamentals of anthropology and ethnology in this camp about culture. We will study Indigenous cultures and examine our own cultural backgrounds as we develop an invented culture for the People of the Pines. Language, art, storytelling, shelter and food will be topics of conversation. We’ll discover how place influences culture and learn to trade items and share our culture with our neighbors in the Willows and the Garden.
Educator: Chas Frisco
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is full. Join the waitlist by emailing your interest to discovery@musnaz.org.
Extended Care
Extended care is offered before and after the MNA Discovery Camps for families who need to drop off early (8-9 am) or pickup late (up to 5 pm). Games and activities are provided. Sign up for extended care when you register for the camps.
MNA does not offer extended care for camps run by other organizations on our campus.
Sign up:
Flagstaff Youth Riders
Spend the week riding the trails, improving confidence, skills, and endurance, playing cycle-themed games, riding with friends, and participating in trail stewardship.
Dates: June 3-7 and June 17-21
Note: This camp is held at MNA, but run by the Flagstaff Youth Riders. Find out more at www.flyrsaz.com.
Jr. Entomology Academy, ages 6-10
Learn about insects, entomological collecting techniques, proper curation, insect anatomy, life cycles, insect husbandry, and interesting facts about arthropods. The week concludes with a bug feast.
Dates: June 24-28
Note: This camp is held at MNA, but run by the Biodiversity Outreach Network. Register at their website and direct questions to Paige Cheshire (prc43@nau.edu) or Neil Cobb at 928-607-4075 (or Neil.Cobb@nau.edu)
Learn More
Junior Counselors, age 12-18
High school students enjoy summer camp while developing important skills as they assist in leading a camp group in their daily adventures. Working under the direction of the Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher, Junior Counselors learn problem-solving, communication, creativity, teamwork, and group facilitation. Junior Counselors must go through a formal application and interview process. There are a limited number of spots and preference is given to students who also participate in the Jr. Docents program.
Thank you for your interest in Junior Counselors. All the 2024 spots are filled.
Forms
Health and Liability form
This form must be filled out before your child participates in Discovery Camps. It provides necessary medical information such as allergies and medications, as well as parental consents. Submit prior to camp via email to discovery@musnaz.org.
View PublicationHome Symptom Screening
We all need to continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus, and other illnesses. This document is based on guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, which strongly encourages parents and caregivers to monitor their children for symptoms of infectious illness every day through home-based symptom screening.
View PublicationNon-parent Pickup Form
Bring this form in the morning if someone other than the parent/guardian on file will be picking up your child.
View PublicationEpi-Pen Consent Form
Fill out this form if your child has an epi-pen, then make sure to also provide the teacher for your child’s camp with the epi-pen, labeled with your child’s name.
View PublicationSelf-administration of medications
If your child has medications that must be taken during camp, fill out this form.
View PublicationScholarship application
We want all children to have access to the Discovery Camps. Scholarship funds are available for youth who demonstrate financial need or have extenuating circumstance. Fill out the form and email to discovery@musnaz.org.
View PublicationPrintable Discovery Village Map
The Discovery Village is at the end of N. Winding Brook Rd. Morning drop off and afternoon pickup are at the Discovery Village, unless otherwise specified by your camp teacher.
View Publication