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.
2025 Discovery Camps
Our 2025 Discovery Camps will be held for three weeks, July 7-11, July 14-18, and July 21-25. Scroll down for descriptions of the available camps.
Registration opens for MNA members in late January. If you are not a member, become a member now to get the first choice of camps and a valuable discount on enrollment. Otherwise, registration begins February 24. For questions about MNA membership, email membership@musnaz.org.
We do 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.
2025 Camp Schedule and Registration Links
Dino-mite Friends, Age 5-6, July 7-11
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–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
The camp is full.
To be added to a waitlist in case of cancelations, email
discovery@musnaz.org
Eco Investigators: H2O, Age 7-8, July 7-11
Keep cool in this camp focused on H2O as we learn about the role water plays in the Southwest. We’ll explore how humans utilize and conserve water here, which aquatic animals thrive here, and how plants survive in our dry climate.
Educator: Summer Richardson
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Art Scapes, Age 9-11, July 7-11
Nature provides inspiration and materials for this camp, which is equal parts art and engineering. Using sand, soil, rocks, and plants, campers create sculptures while discovering how the properties of materials and the forces that act on them shape our landscapes.
Educator: Sammie Biter
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Earth Rocks! Age 5-6, July 14-18
Age 5-6, July 14-18, Earth Rocks!
Get ready for an adventure through our constantly changing planet. Stones have stories and we’ll learn how some flew through space, spewed out of volcanoes, or floated down rivers before being pressed into a hard layer, all to form the ground we walk on.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
The camp is full.
To be added to a waitlist in case of cancelations, email
discovery@musnaz.org
Life on the Plateau, Age 7-8, July 14-18
Learn about where you live in this camp focused on mapping the Colorado Plateau. We’ll study geography, landmarks, life zones, and how living things impact and are influenced by their environments while playing on the museum’s campus—our living laboratory.
Educator: Summer Richardson
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
The camp is full.
To be added to a waitlist in case of cancelations, email
discovery@musnaz.org
Rock, Paper, Paint, Age 9-11, July 14-18
As artists have for millennia, we’ll gather inspiration and materials from nature to make our own paper and pigments, then use them along with watercolor and acrylic paints to create two-dimensional art. The week culminates with an art show Friday afternoon.
Educator: Sammie Biter
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Life in the Garden, Age 5-6, July 21-25
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 – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
The camp is full.
To be added to a waitlist in case of cancelations, email
discovery@musnaz.org
Welcome to the Willows, Age 7-8, July 21-25
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
People of the Pines, Age 9-11, July 21-25
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: Sammie Biter
Camp hours: 9 am – 3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
The camp is full.
To be added to a waitlist in case of cancelations, email
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:
Odyssey Camps
Led by the Meteor Crater Education Alliance, these camps are adventures filled with hands-on excitement, wacky experiments, and just the right amount of slime. Science has never been this much fun!
Odyssey Camps at MNA include:
- Chocolate Lava Volcanoes (ages 5 & 6)
- Top Secret Formulas (ages 7 & 8)
- Roller Coaster Physics, (ages 9 & 10)
- Totally Yuck Science! (ages 5 & 6)
- Ancient Survival Secrets (ages 7 & 8)
- Wizard’s Workshop (ages 9 & 10)
- Jaw-some Sharks (ages 7 & 8)
- Scary Special FX (ages 9 & 10)
- Imagineering Studio (ages 11-13)
For full camp descriptions, fees, and registration links, Click Here.
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 2-6 and June 16-20. This camp is held at MNA, but run by the Flagstaff Youth Riders. To learn more and register, Click Here.
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 23-27. This camp is held at MNA, but run by the Biodiversity Outreach Network. To learn more and register, Click Here.
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