Eugene Science Center Camps

Eugene Science Center Camps offer weekly themes that include nature excursions, Camp Code & Craft with coding creations, and sessions such as Exoplanet Voyagers, Dark Matter Detectives, Insect Inspectors, and Paleontology Pioneers. During the Paleontology Pioneers Spring Break Camp, campers explore the world of paleontology with topics like fossils, dinosaurs, plate tectonics, comets, and more.

• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Camps run from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, with drop-off from 8:00–9:00 am and pick-up from 3:30–4:30 pm; camps are offered for all weeks of summer, and Paleontology Pioneers Spring Break Camp runs March 23–27, 2026
• Price: $325 per week; members receive 10% off, and there is an additional 10% off when registering for multiple weeks in one transaction

Eugene Science Center Camps require that children must have completed kindergarten before attending, and this requirement is strict with no exceptions. Summer camps are designed for children who will have completed K–4th grade before camp begins, and camps are capped at 14 campers per session based on classroom size, with camps for rising 6th–7th grades capped at 10 campers per session. Camps for rising 1st–2nd graders and rising 3rd–5th graders are capped at 14 campers per session unless otherwise noted, and waiting lists are available for sold-out camps. Early and late care are included in the extended drop-off and pick-up times, and only full-day camps are offered in the summer.

Eugene Science Center primarily serves children ages 0 to 14 along with their families, teachers, and guardians. The organization offers single-day workshops during Winter Break, Spring Break, and most no-school days aligned with the Eugene School District 4J calendar, and it welcomes summer camp volunteers who complete an application, background or reference check, and in-person training. Parents interested in volunteering while their child attends camp cannot volunteer for their child’s group but can help with a different age group or work behind the scenes. The organization states that it does its best to meet the needs of every young scientist who wants to attend camps and is hoping to be able to offer partial and full scholarships in the summer.

Eugene Science Center’s mission is to inspire scientific curiosity and foster critical thinking about the universe and our place in it. It is Lane County's only hands-on science museum and planetarium, with interactive exhibits and a planetarium, and it offers hands-on exhibitions, astronomy experiences in the planetarium, and special events and programs year-round. Eugene Science Center was founded in 1961 as the southwest branch of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), was incorporated in 1977 as the Willamette Science & Technology Center (WISTEC), opened in its current location in January 1980, adopted the name “Science Factory” in 2002, and changed its name to Eugene Science Center in 2018. The organization notes that its primary color is YInMn Blue, a pigment discovered in 2009 by Mas Subramanian at Oregon State University, that its complementary orange and green pigments are based on the unique chemistry of YInMn Blue, and that its icon is a creative twist of the Fibonacci sequence.

Last updated December 28, 2025.