Summer Critter Camp
Helen Woodward Animal Center, 6461 El Apajo Rd, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
About
Summer Critter Camp includes daily animal interactions, animal themed games, crafts, and songs. Children interact with a variety of species including birds, small mammals, reptiles, large mammals, and invertebrates. The summer camp activities are different each day, and Summer Critter Camp is part of the Education Programs at Helen Woodward Animal Center.
• Ages: 3–13 years old
• Schedule: June 1 – August 21, 2026; Preschool–8th Grade; daily sign ups available; registration offered in both a daily (drop-in) and a weekly form; no weekly option during Week 5 (Fourth of July week); closed on July third; camp for 7th–8th graders offered on select weeks; weekly registration available on 6 select weeks only
• Price: Additional details and prices can be found when you click the register now button.
Summer Critter Camp offers both daily registration, which applies the daily rate regardless of how many days are selected and allows flexibility to fit schedule needs, and weekly registration, which applies the weekly rate and is described as the best value option and includes a free t-shirt for campers. The program has a weekly theme that alternates every other week for Preschool–6th grade, with odd weeks focusing on “Amazing Animal Athletes” to discover how animals are built to perform, and even weeks focusing on “Bioscience and Beyond” to explore how animals inspire human ideas and innovation. During Amazing Animal Athletes weeks, all grades visit the Adoptions department, and some older grades visit other departments of the Center on select days.
Helen Woodward Animal Center, established in 1972, states as its mission that it is an organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” The organization has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2022.
Last updated March 24, 2026.
• Ages: 3–13 years old
• Schedule: June 1 – August 21, 2026; Preschool–8th Grade; daily sign ups available; registration offered in both a daily (drop-in) and a weekly form; no weekly option during Week 5 (Fourth of July week); closed on July third; camp for 7th–8th graders offered on select weeks; weekly registration available on 6 select weeks only
• Price: Additional details and prices can be found when you click the register now button.
Summer Critter Camp offers both daily registration, which applies the daily rate regardless of how many days are selected and allows flexibility to fit schedule needs, and weekly registration, which applies the weekly rate and is described as the best value option and includes a free t-shirt for campers. The program has a weekly theme that alternates every other week for Preschool–6th grade, with odd weeks focusing on “Amazing Animal Athletes” to discover how animals are built to perform, and even weeks focusing on “Bioscience and Beyond” to explore how animals inspire human ideas and innovation. During Amazing Animal Athletes weeks, all grades visit the Adoptions department, and some older grades visit other departments of the Center on select days.
Helen Woodward Animal Center, established in 1972, states as its mission that it is an organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” The organization has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2022.
Last updated March 24, 2026.
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