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 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.
2026 Discovery Camps
Our 2026 Discovery Camps will be held for three weeks, July 6-10, July13-17, and July 20-24.
Become an MNA member to get the first choice of camps and a valuable discount on enrollment. 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.
2026 Camp Schedule
Movement and Motion, Age 5-6, July 6-10
Can’t stay still? Nothing can! Some things crawl slowly while others fly fast, but all living things have a way of moving. Through games, activities, crafts, and outdoor explorations, we’ll learn how and why plants, animals, and people all move.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-member
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Rockin’ Geology, Age 7-8, July 6-10
Discover the dynamic world of northern Arizona geology through experiments, creating a geologic time scale, investigating plate tectonics and sand dune formations, and searching for fossils.
Educator: Emi Rigby
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Curator Camp, Age 9-11, July 6-10
Be a curator for a week! Campers create their own exhibits on a Colorado Plateau topic of their choice—geology, paleontology, archaeology, art, and more. Using MNA’s exhibits, library, collections, experts, and outdoor exploration, campers research the old-fashioned way—no screens. They’ll then create art in a variety of media and curate objects, including real artifacts from our education collection, bringing their exhibits to life.
Educator: Sammie Biter
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Dino-mite Friends, Age 5-6, July 13-17
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.
Educator: Mari Soliday
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Creative Creatures, Age 7-8, July 13-17
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: Emi Rigby
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Depictions of Dinosaurs, Age 9-11, July 13-17
Dinosaurs aren’t just for little kids. We will study the evolution of dinosaurs and then take this knowledge and translate it into creating our own dinos. Like real paleontologists, we’ll create “paleoart” by building skeletal models and painting pictures of our dinosaur and reptile creations. Part dino-camp, part biology-camp, part art-camp, all fun!
Educator: Sammie Biter
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-member
Life in the Garden, Age 5-6, July 20-24
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 to 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
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
Welcome to the Willows, Age 7-8, July 20-24
Campers build shelters, invent games, design clothes, and solve problems together as they develop a unique culture for the People of the Willows. What feels like imaginative play is actually a thorough exploration of how culture develops from a place and the resources and needs of a community.
Educator: Emi Rigby
Camp hours: 9 am–3:30 pm
Camp price: $315 for MNA members/$360 for non-members
Camp is Full
To add your child to the wait list, email discovery@musnaz.org
People of the Pines, Age 9-11, July 20-24
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
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.
Week 1 | July 6-10 Register
Week 2 | July 13-17 Register
Week 3 | July 20-24 Register
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!
Camp dates: May 25-29, June 8-12 & June 22-26
Learn More
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. This camp is held at MNA, but run by the Flagstaff Youth Riders.
Camp dates: June 1-5 & 15-19
Learn MoreForms
Home 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