Summer Youth Programs with The Raptor Center and University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness
The Raptor Center, 1920 Fitch Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108
About
Summer Youth Programs with The Raptor Center and University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness include sessions where participants explore the various raptors found in Minnesota and their role in the environment, learn key features that set raptors apart from other birds, and get up close with The Raptor Center’s live education birds. Depending on the session, activities include discussing the positive and negative impact humans have on the environment, learning about environmental success stories such as the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle, discovering what it takes for raptors to migrate, survive winter, nest in spring, and grow new feathers, and meeting resident raptor ambassadors while discovering raptor natural history and behaviors. Some sessions focus on designing and engineering using raptor adaptations, exploring myths and legends involving raptors such as the Phoenix, griffin, Ra, and Thunderbird, creating paleoart-inspired projects with graphite, modeling clay, and paint, or exploring drawing, painting, and sculptural artwork inspired by plants and wildlife, including field trips to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to observe nature-themed artworks and showcase artwork for friends and family.
• Ages: 6–15 years old
• Schedule: Half-day camps run in June, July, and August 2026 in 4- or 5-day sessions, with additional 2-day camps and some full-day 9:00am–3:00pm options
The 2026 offerings include Enraptured with Raptors (4 days, June 15–18, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 6–7 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 8–9), Soaring with Raptors (5 days, July 13–17, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 6–7 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 8–9), Raptor Biomimicry and Engineering (5 days, July 6–10, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 10–12 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 11–13), Raptor Myth and Legends (5 days, July 27–31, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 8–9 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 10–12), and Working with Wildlife (5 days, August 3–7, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 9–11 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 12–15). Full-day art-focused camps include Creatures from the Cretaceous to the Present (Paleoart) (5 days, July 20–24, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 6–9) and Get Wild (Nature Inspired Art) (5 days, July 20–24, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 9–12), where participants draw inspiration from living raptors and prehistoric ancestors, translate colors, textures, and forms from the natural environment into mixed media art projects, and journey to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to observe artworks featuring animals and natural imagery. Raptors: Birds of Prey Camps run August 10–11, 2026 (2 days, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 7–9) and August 13–14, 2026 (2 days, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 10–13), and include exploring habitats to search for wild birds, a field trip to The Raptor Center, learning how the veterinary clinic rehabilitates and cares for injured birds, and a behind-the-scenes tour of The Raptor Center’s education department to see different species of raptors up close.
Across the different sessions, participants engage directly with live raptors, observe, study, and draw birds of prey with guidance from interpretive naturalists, learn requirements to care for and train birds in captivity, and explore careers in veterinary medicine, animal care, animal training, field biology, scientific illustration, and art. The Raptor Center’s mission states that, as top-of-the-food-chain predators, raptors are a lens into the health of the shared environment, and that surveilling and aiding in raptor health alerts staff to what is happening down the rest of the food chain. The Raptor Center is partnering with University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness to offer these summer youth programs, with additional collaboration on specific camps with Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and Richardson Nature Center, and its hospital treats over 1000 birds every year and is nearly 100% donor supported. Bus transportation is provided to and from The Raptor Center for the Richardson Nature Center Raptors: Birds of Prey Camp sessions, and registration for those camps is required two weeks in advance.
Last updated June 27, 2026.
• Ages: 6–15 years old
• Schedule: Half-day camps run in June, July, and August 2026 in 4- or 5-day sessions, with additional 2-day camps and some full-day 9:00am–3:00pm options
The 2026 offerings include Enraptured with Raptors (4 days, June 15–18, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 6–7 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 8–9), Soaring with Raptors (5 days, July 13–17, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 6–7 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 8–9), Raptor Biomimicry and Engineering (5 days, July 6–10, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 10–12 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 11–13), Raptor Myth and Legends (5 days, July 27–31, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 8–9 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 10–12), and Working with Wildlife (5 days, August 3–7, 9:30am–12:00pm for ages 9–11 and 1:00pm–3:30pm for ages 12–15). Full-day art-focused camps include Creatures from the Cretaceous to the Present (Paleoart) (5 days, July 20–24, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 6–9) and Get Wild (Nature Inspired Art) (5 days, July 20–24, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 9–12), where participants draw inspiration from living raptors and prehistoric ancestors, translate colors, textures, and forms from the natural environment into mixed media art projects, and journey to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to observe artworks featuring animals and natural imagery. Raptors: Birds of Prey Camps run August 10–11, 2026 (2 days, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 7–9) and August 13–14, 2026 (2 days, 9:00am–3:00pm for ages 10–13), and include exploring habitats to search for wild birds, a field trip to The Raptor Center, learning how the veterinary clinic rehabilitates and cares for injured birds, and a behind-the-scenes tour of The Raptor Center’s education department to see different species of raptors up close.
Across the different sessions, participants engage directly with live raptors, observe, study, and draw birds of prey with guidance from interpretive naturalists, learn requirements to care for and train birds in captivity, and explore careers in veterinary medicine, animal care, animal training, field biology, scientific illustration, and art. The Raptor Center’s mission states that, as top-of-the-food-chain predators, raptors are a lens into the health of the shared environment, and that surveilling and aiding in raptor health alerts staff to what is happening down the rest of the food chain. The Raptor Center is partnering with University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness to offer these summer youth programs, with additional collaboration on specific camps with Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and Richardson Nature Center, and its hospital treats over 1000 birds every year and is nearly 100% donor supported. Bus transportation is provided to and from The Raptor Center for the Richardson Nature Center Raptors: Birds of Prey Camp sessions, and registration for those camps is required two weeks in advance.
Last updated June 27, 2026.
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