Our summer Family Discovery Camps are back for 2025! Explore Florida’s natural world with scientists and Museum staff in this outdoor experience for the whole family. Discover how scientists work in the field and learn how to use the tools of science yourself.
Camps are designed for children finishing grades K-6 and accompanying adults. Each week’s two-hour session will cover a different museum-based topic and includes outdoor exploration of the University of Florida Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. The NATL camps are outdoors so wear appropriate footwear and clothes that can get dirty or wet!
We will meet at the picnic tables at the UF NATL Natural Park Entrance located on the corner of Natural Area drive.
Pre-registration is required and closes the Thursday before each camp.
Sessions | Hours | Non-Members* | Members* |
July 12 – Archaeology | 9-11 a.m. | $15 | $12 |
July 19 – Trees | 9-11 a.m. | $15 | $12 |
July 26 – Bees | 9-11 a.m. | $15 | $12 |
August 2 – Mushrooms | 9-11 a.m. | $15 | $12 |
Choose one or more sessions at registration:
Sign up now!* Prices are per participant
Not a Museum member? Find out about becoming a member or renewing your membership today!
Program Details
- While the museum is closed, we will be using the restroom facilities at UF’s Entomology and Nematology Department/Steinmetz Hall before our hike.
- Each session includes a themed 2-hour session filled with science investigations, outdoor explorations and activities led by scientists and educators.
- Camps are designed for children finishing grades K-6 and their family.
- Participants will be given activities to take home and continue the fun.
- This program is rain-or-shine, weather permitting.
- Each camp has a capacity of 20 participants. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Registration is $15 for non-members and $12 for members, per participant.
Camp Sessions
July 12 | Discover Archaeology
Take a journey through past to the present with Jen Green, archaeologist and curator of our South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography collection. Uncover how Florida’s native people thrived using their natural surroundings, learn about ancient tools, traditions, and the stories they tell about life long ago.
July 19 | Discover Trees
Decode the mysteries of our forests with Medelin Kant, a plant physiology graduate student from the University of Florida. Learn how trees communicate, adapt, and support entire ecosystems in ways you never imagined.
July 26 | Discover Bees
Take a peek into the secret lives of bees with Kaitlin Deutsch, a post-doctoral researcher at UF’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Find out how bees shape our environment and what we can do to protect them.
August 2 | Discover Mushrooms & Fungi
Take a closer look into the wild world of fungi with Matt Smith, curator of the University of Florida’s Fungal Collection. From glowing mushrooms to underground networks, discover how fungi are vital to life on Earth.