Enrich Your Summer Camp
Enrich the experience of your summer campers by incorporating learning into a day at the park with exciting programs offered by professional naturalists and historians. Choose experiences for your campers that explore the mysteries of nature, relive the history of the Lowcountry, or challenge them to climb to new heights! Space is limited, so book your programs early. Programs are appropriate for youth ages 6-12 and are available at your county parks. Select programs may be brought to your camp.
For more information or to make reservations for your camp, please call 843-762-8017.
Pond Poking
Beetles that use SCUBA skills and underwater dragonfly larva with harpoon-like jaws are just a few of the surprises waiting for campers as they survey a freshwater pond by using dip nets to capture insects, fish, and amphibians before releasing them.
Program Length: 30 minutes
Locations: James Island County Park and Palmetto Islands County Park
Fee: $75 per group of up to 25 campers
Secrets in the Sand
You have heard of digging for clams, but have you heard of clams digging? Thousands of animals live beneath and between the sand grains. We use trowels and strainers to discover them and release them unharmed.
Program Length: 30 minutes
Locations: Isle of Palms County Park, Folly Beach County Park, and Kiawah Beachwalker Park
Fee: $75 per group of up to 25 campers
Seining the Sea
You would be surprised to discover what’s swimming, crawling, and floating by you at the beach! We pull a huge net through the surf to catch fish, crabs, jellies, and other sea life to observe and later release.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Locations: Isle of Palms County Park, Folly Beach County Park, and Kiawah Beachwalker Park
Fee: $100 per group of up to 25 campers
Barrier Island Ecology
Students of ecology study the relationships between organisms and their environment. In this program, we do just that on a barrier island. Participants build barrier islands out of sand, collect animals in the swash zone, and use a seine net to collect fish in the ocean. Through these activities, campers gain an understanding about the ties that link living things with their environment.
Program Length: 90 minutes
Locations: Isle of Palms County Park, Folly Beach County Park, and Kiawah Beachwalker Park
Fee: $130 per group of up to 25 campers
Insects
It has 6 legs and its skeleton is on the outside; what is it? An insect of course! Enter the miniature yet mesmerizing world of insects as we learn about their characteristics.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Locations: James Island County Park, Palmetto Islands County Park, Wannnamaker County Park, and Caw Caw Interpretive Center
Fee: $100 per group of up to 25 campers
Native Americans of Coastal South Carolina
Explore Native American culture of coastal South Carolina at the time of European settlement. Handle and use reproduction artifacts, like bows and traps, to learn how local tribes successfully used natural resources available to meet their needs.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Locations: James Island County Park, Wannamaker County Park, Palmetto Islands County Park, Caw Caw Interpretive Center
Fee: $100 per group of up to 25 campers
Carolina Indigo
Experimented with by Eliza Lucas Pinckney, an enslaved man named Quash, and others, Indigo was an important but short lived cash crop in South Carolina. Investigate the science behind this “magic” dye, learn how enslaved men and women cultivated and processed it, and try your hand at dyeing your own t-shirt.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Locations: : Caw Caw Interpretive Center or McLeod Plantation Historic Site
Fee: $100 per group of up to 25 campers
Participants should bring a cotton t-shirt to dye.
Nature Detectives
Help your campers discover natural wonders found in a park or playground. We share our nets, binoculars, and sense of adventure with children to engage their natural curiosity about common plants and animals.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Locations: James Island County Park, Palmetto Islands County Park, Wannamaker County Park, and Caw Caw Interpretive Center
Fee: $100 per group of up to 25 campers
For more information or to make reservations for your camp, please call the Environmental Education staff at 843-762-8017.