Summer Campers Make Waves at the Beach

Today was filled with sand, sun and fun for the Ocean Explorers! The summer campers enjoyed a morning at the beach and an afternoon of craft making. This is what they had to say:

Alexia, "My favorite time of the day was when we went to the beach because I got to play the game dogs with Abbi and Arianna."

Jonathon, "Today my favorite part was the waves at the beach."

Zackery, "I had a fun day at the beach. I got to play with animals and I created a fish."

L.J., "My favorite part about today was jumping the waves at the beach."

Spencer, "My favorite part of the day was going behind the scenes."

Arianna, "My favorite parts about today were going to the beach and practicing the skit."

Melissa, "My favorite part of today was when we went to the touch tank because I got to touch the stingrays."

Cameron, "My favorite part of the day was when we were at the beach because it was fun."

Alyssa, "My favorite part of the day was the beach! The waves were awesome and it was fun finding animals. I am sad tomorrow is our last day."

Sydney, "My favorite thing today was going to the beach. It was fun because I got to play with my friend the whole time. My friend and I made a hole and caught tons of little sand fleas. That was my favorite thing."

Teddy, "My favorite part of my day was the beach because I learned a new way to body surf. "

Kerrigan, "My favorite part of the day was the beach! The waves were awesome. It was fun. I can't wait for tomorrow."

Laura, "My favorite part of the day was when we were playing at the beach and it was raining."

Maddie, "Today my favorite part was the movie. We watched Lorax. It was so awesome!"

Frog Calls!

Today the campers learned about communication and how frogs call. Read about their fun day.

Kerrigan: Today I learned about animal communication. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Jonathon: Frogs are the churpiest animal that communicate.

Alyssa: Today, we learned about frogs and their sounds. Like how they call to each other. I can't wait for what's in store tomorrow!

Maddie: Today we learned how frogs call.

LJ: Today we learned about different frog calls.

Lindsey: Today, I learned how frogs use noises and sounds with their mouths.

Melissa: Today I learned how frogs call their mates.

Sydney: Today I learned about how frogs communicate. They communicate with sounds. It depends on what frog it is for its sound. We played a game and my sound was for a spring peeper. I had to go around the room saying, "peep peep" to see who was my partner. That's what we did.

Ted: I learned that frogs make different noises to communicate or attract mates.

Cameron: We learned that frogs make noises. We had a great time at the beach!

Spencer: I learned about frog calls!

Alexia: I learned about frog calls and other animal calls.

Abby: I learned about hearing and that frogs call their mates.

Arianna: Today we went to the beach and we learned about frog communication.

Laura: I learned that different types of frogs have different calls. Some of them sound very weird.

Zachary: I learned about how animals talk to each other. I went swimming in the ocean and we made clay frogs.

Week Six, Day Two

Canoe was the word of the day! Campers/bloggers share their experiences.

Kerrigan: Today, I learned how to canoe. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Abbi: Today I went canoeing. It was so cool! We canoed to Zeke's Island. We also learned about snakes. Did you k now that a snake's tongue is split? It also smells with its tongue.

Johnathan: I learned about some unloveable animals with bad reputations.

Teddy: Today I learned about how to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator.

Maddie: Today I learned how to canoe. I am really good at holding the paddle.

Zachary: I learned about some animals and played at an island and canoed there.

Sydney: Today we learned how to canoe. It was so much fun. The counselors taught us how to turn forward, left, right and back. Some safety tips were if you're in the middle don't go and scoot or try and look at something or you will tip over the canoe. That's what I learned today.

Alyssa: Today we went canoeing. I learned how to steer and how to turn. I also learned that you must not panic in a bad situation and that you must sit in the middle or the canoe will tip over.

Arianna: Today was awesome! We went to Zeke's Island. We canoed there. Today we learned also learned about smelling. Yesterday it was about sight.

Lindsey: Today we went canoeing. Today I learned more about canoeing and more about snakes and alligators.

Spencer: My favorite part was to canoe to Zeke's Island. I also learned about smelling.

Cameron: Today we went canoeing. We had a great time. We learned that snakes tongues are split so they can smell on both sides.

LJ: Today I learned how to canoe better.

Laura: Today at camp I learned how to canoe. It was so much fun because we got to go to Zeke's Island. It was really fun!

Melissa: Today I learned that Aquarium camp gets more fun every year!

New Campers Ready for FUN!

Week six brings more Ocean Explorers (ages 10-12) to the Aquarium for summer camp. Despite the heat, the campers enjoyed their first day. Read more below.

Kerrigan: My favorite part of the day was going to the salt marsh, but I did not like the long walk. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Maddie: Today my favorite part was when we had arts and crafts. We made pictures and filled them with colorful sand. It was so much fun.

Lindsey: Today, we went to the salt marsh and went crabbing. I used a seine net and caught a shrimp. It had a white and orange tint. It was very cool. That was my favorite part of the day. :)

Alyssa: Today, my favorite part was arts and crafts. I also liked the salt marsh, but I didn't like the long walk. I can't wait for tomorrow!

LJ: My favorite part of today was going to the salt marsh and catching blue crab.

Arianna: My favorite part about today was seeing the animals. I love animals.

Spencer: My favorite part was going to the auditorium for the movie.

Laura: My favorite part of today was going to the salt marsh and casting on the line. Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything, but it was fun anyway! :)

Zachary: We went to a nursery habitat. We got to hold a snake and turtle and had a good lunch and did sand art.

Jonathon: I liked everything including the snake.

Cameron: My favorite part of the day was when we went crabbing. We didn't catch anything, but caught the biggest mullet ever.

Melissa: My favorite part of the day was when we saw the corn snake. It was really cool. The patterns and colors of the snake were awesome!

Sydney: Today my favorite part of the day was the salt marsh. In the salt marsh we got to try and catch a fish in a net. We also had a piece of wood with string to catch. We only caught one shrimp. But it was really fun.

Abbi: My favorite part of today was when I went to the salt marsh. We did not catch any crabs but we did catch a mullet, it was huge. I also caught a shrimp.

Teddy: I'm Teddy and I had a blast on Monday. I learned how to cast a fishing net. I caught two fish in one cast and I then had a great experience people can't take back.

Week Five: Last Day!

The campers say goodbye to the Aquarium today, but not before telling us a bit more about their experiences!

Jalen: What I learned today was that dolphin use echolocation to find their food. It's so cool because I thought only bats did it.

Tanner: The thing that i learned is that there are megalodon teeth in the fossil pit.

Speed: I learned that sea turtles don't only eat jellyfish.

Elena: I liked learning how to canoe this week and learning about different animals senses.

Jeremiah: I liked all of the fun activities that we did this week and learned a lot about senses.

Robbie: My favorite part about today was learning about how small sea horses are when they are born.

Wade: I learned how to canoe and how to play a new game about dolphin echolocation.

And perhaps Connor summed it up best...

Connor: Today as well as all week, i learned how to have an ultra fun aquarium camp with fun games and more. To all reading this, I hope they could have the same great experience as me!

Week Five, Day Four

Connor: Today we learned about touch and how useful it is...sticking our hands in slime along the way.

Jalen: My favorite thing today was how to use a cast net on Zeke's Island and on my first try, I caught a fish!

Jeremiah: Canoeing was my favorite because we went to an island and I learned how to canoe!

Robbie: My favorite part was learning to throw a cast net and catching fish.

Speed: I learned that the water can get really deep at the Zeke's Island water hole we swam in!

Wade: We learned how to canoe and how to throw a cast net.

Tanner: Today I learned how to canoe. Canoeing was the most thing we did all week in my opinion.

Elena: I learned what you can catch in the water hole at Zeke's Island and it was also fun to swim in.

Week Five, Day Three

Connor: My favorite part of today was going to the beach because the waves were HUGE! Surf’s up!

Wade: I liked today because we made clay frogs.

Jeremiah: I liked it because we went to the beach.

Speed: My favorite part of the day was when we made our clay frogs because mine is really weird.

Jalen: My favorite thing today was seeing the sand tiger sharks.

Tanner: My favorite part of today was going to the beach.

Eleana: I liked the beach. It was fun.

Robbie: My favorite parts of the day were making frogs and being at the beach.

Week Five, Day Two

Today campers enjoyed the beach, meeting a snake and looking for the elusive peppermint beetle.

Robbie: I liked all of it, going to the beach, making cooking and looking for a new species of bugs.

Tanner: My favorite activity we did today was going to the beach because it was fun.

Elena: Making cooking was fun!

Connor: Today my favorite part was possibly seeing one of the new species: the peppermint beetle!

Speed: I found out there’s a new kind of bug called the peppermint beetle.

Jalen: My favorite thing I learned was how snakes smell.

Wade: I learned there’s a new bug called the peppermint beetle.
Jeremiah: I liked the cookies because we got to make them by ourselves.

Week Five Campers Arrive!

The Aquarium welcomed more summer campers for its fifth week of camp. Read about what they did on their first day!

Week Five, Day One

Jeremiah: I liked the salt marsh because we caught crabs and fish.

Wade: I like going to the salt marsh and getting crabs.

Tanner: My favorite part of today was getting to see Wilson. Wilson is a wood duck and the reason I like him is because he is very cool.

Robbie: My favorite part of today was catching crabs (fish too), watching Wilson and doing sand art.

Jalen: I liked the alligators because of the way they hiss.

Connor: My favorite part of today is seeing Wilson because he was so funny in so many ways. He’d jump on you, then squawk; then turn around and he’d just do so many funny things!

Elena: Wilson the duck was fun because it was just fun and cool.

Speed: My favorite part was the marsh because I caught crab and 3 fish.

Week Four, Day Four

Sea turtles and sand! ^ A camper learns how to make sea turtle tracks in the sand.

Lexi: Today we learned about sea turtles! We also went to the beach…the waves were big! We played a sea turtle game!

Alana: I learned the ways we harm animals and how to stop them.

Camden: Today I learned about reptiles and how to tell an alligator and a crocodile apart.

Tommy: I learned how to tell alligators from crocodiles.

Jacob: Today we learned about reptiles and how sea turtles have different tracks. We saw an alligator, snake, and a box turtle. The alligator was a baby, he was so small.

Hudson: The best part about today was that we got to touch reptiles like snakes and turtles. Today we also went to the beach.

Mary Margaret: Today I learned how to tell a crocodile from an alligator. Crocs have long pointy noses and alligators have rounder ones.

Walt: Today I learned how to make a leatherback track. It was really cool.

Ben: I learned that sea turtles have small brains.

Erin: Today I learned about reptiles. My favorite was the sea turtles. I even met an alligator.

Maddie: Today I learned how to make different turtle tracks. It was so much fun!!

Yasmine: Today I learned the characteristics of reptiles, amphibians and other animals.

Hannah: Today I learned the reptiles carry sicknesses. I had lots of fun. We saw a snake, alligator, and 3 turtles.

Leah: Today I learned how alligators and crocodiles are different, like in their color.

Jenna: Today I learned about different kinds of turtle tracks and we got to make them in the sand. I had a great day.

Alex: I watched a movie about alligators. I learned that a crocodile is more independent than an alligator.