Camper Chronicles: Day 2

Day two of Circle of Life themed summer camp was exciting and humorous for the Ocean Explorers. They learned all about crabs by going crabbing, and having an animal encounter with a hermit crab. They seem to love their camp experience! Enjoy reading what they had to say.

Zachary, “The best part of my day at camp was when we went crabbing. I caught a blue crab.”

Scott, “My favorite thing was crabbing. The funniest thing was the hermit crab trying to flip over. My favorite animal is a crab. I think summer camp rocks.”

Nathan, “Going crabbing was my favorite time today. So far this camp is awesome.”

Alex, “I really like this camp. The counselors are great.”

Mikaela, “I have the best counselors in the world. Their names are Andy and Jenny.”

Jonathan, “I liked fishing, swimming, and this is the best camp in the world.”

Most campers enjoyed crabbing the most today, but Tate got a good laugh out of the hermit crab encounter, which Ms. Renee projected on an overhead screen. This is what he had to say.

Tate, “What the funniest thing that happened was when Ms. Renee stuck her eyeball in the overhead projector, and when the hermit crab went to the bathroom on the screen.”

Camper Chronicles: Day 1 starts the Circle of Life

The start of summer camp this week marked a new chapter of the Camper Chronicles, with the focus on the animal circle of life. The first day of camp for the Ocean Explorers was adventurous, after learned about invertebrates, the campers set off to the Rocky Outcrop to search for the creatures. This is what they had to say about their journey. Enjoy!

Jonathan, “I learned that a blobby purple animal we found is a rubbery bryozoans.”

Alex, “I learned the life of a jellyfish.”

Nathan, “I learned that rubbery bryozoans are real. I learned that moon jellies don’t sting.”

Mikaela, “I learned that crabs are invertebrates.”

Zachary, “Today I learned that certain types of jellyfish don’t sting you. One type of jellyfish that don’t sting you are moon jellyfish. We got to pet a moon jellyfish.”

Tate, “I learned about the rubbery bryozoan, which is a blobby gooey animal.”

Scott, “I learned that the moon jellyfish do not sting. I also learned about other invertebrates, and I learned that jellyfish bring the food right to their stomach.”

Stay tuned for tomorrow when the Ocean Explorers continue their guest writing for the Camper Chronicles!

Camper Chronicles: Day five

The last day of camp was bittersweet for last week’s summer campers. As they wrapped up time at the Aquarium, they reflected on their adventures. Here is what they had to say about their experiences.

Teddy, “Today we went on a tour/scavenger hunt for critters in the aquarium.”

Spencer, “Today was the best day of the week because we did a scavenger hunt.”

Ben, “I liked everything at camp. The coolest thing was the sea turtle.”

Maddie, “My favorite thing about camp is that there are so many nice people. Every day I laugh so hard I forget what I am laughing at. I love Aquarium camp.”

Rachel, “This whole week has been very exciting and a great experience for me. The going behind the scenes, and being able to look at the animals up close. I think that I’ll never be able to look at the aquarium the same again.”

Max, “This week we did a lot of things in camp. We did everything from going to the beach to going behind the scenes. I have learned a lot about animal senses and a lot about myself. Aquarium camp rocks.”

Melissa, “This past week has been very fun. We went on a bunch of adventures that I really enjoyed. My favorite thing we did all week was going behind the scenes. It was awesome.”

Ashley, “Today we had cake and ice cream, it was very good!!!”

Stay tuned for a new round of Camper Chronicles this week with all new guest writers.

Camper Chronicles Day Four: The Animal Encounters

The campers have been introduced to several interesting animals throughout the week. For the blog today they wrote about their favorite animal. Enjoy reading what they had to say!

Teddy, “I never knew a snake can smell through his tongue.”

Rachel, “My favorite animal in the aquarium is Luna the albino alligator. She is so cool being albino, and also having red eyes.”

Maddie, “Today my favorite animal I got to see was the sea anemone. When I put my finger in it, it would close up. It’s a really cool creature.”

Melissa, “Today I learned that mosquitoes find you by smelling the carbon dioxide you breathe out. So cool!

Max, “One interesting fact that I learned is that non-venomous snakes have solid colored eyes and venomous snakes have slits in their eyes.”

Ben, “I learned that sea turtles go lay their eggs where they were born.”

Other campers just enjoy splashing around in the water.....

Spencer, “The best part was going to the BEACH!”

Camper Chronicles: Day Three

Day three of camp and the Ocean Explorers spent the morning at the beach, then took a behind the scenes tour and did crafts.

Enjoy reading about their experiences below.

Maddie: "My favorite part of the day was the craft. We made picture frames out of the shells we collected at the beach. It was so fun."

Melissa: "My favorite part of the day was when we went to the beach and found shells. It was so fun relaxing and playing in the ocean!"

Ashley: "We went to the beach and made picture frames!"

Teddy: "Today, I went to the beach and played in the water."

Rachel: "The best thing today was going to the beach. The waves were huge and pushed us over. We also found tiny hermit crabs."

Max: "On the 3rd day of camp we went 'behind the scenes' in saltwater quarantine. We saw many cool fish."

Ben: "The coolest thing was the saltwater quarantine."

Spencer: "The best part today was making picture frames and decorating them with seashells."

Camper Chronicles: Day Two

Summer campers at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher are learning much, meeting new friends and having fun! Below are their day two blog entries.

Rachel: "The best part of today was canoeing to Zeke's Island. I got to be on the front of the canoe and killed myself rowing in the heat. On the island, we swam and saw a little shark.

Ashley: "The height of my day was that we saw a cute baby shark on Zeke's Island. It couldn't have been more than a week old!"

Teddy: "The best part of the day was when we used our sense of smell to see what kind of jelly bean we are eating."

Maddie: "My favorite part of the day was when we went canoeing and swam at Zeke's Island. We swam in the tide pools and saw a baby shark. It was awesome."

Max: "On the 2nd day of camp, we made snakes out of toilet paper rolls. I had a lot of fun making mine with feathers and crazy designs."

Melissa: "The most fun thing that happened to me today was when we did the jellybean activity. It was so fun to do and it was very, very funny."

Ben: "The coolest thing that happened was that we caught a shark and let it go."

Spencer: "The best thing that happened today was practicing our taste by eating jellybeans."

Camper Chronicles: Day One

Summer camp is under way at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, and the kids are all smiles. The second week of camp began on Monday with an inside day full of fun! This year instead of journal time, the Ocean Explorers, ages 10-12, will be guest authors on the blog. Each day they are asked to write a few sentences about their day or experience…we hope you enjoy Camper Chronicles!

Teddy wrote, “Today I saw the coolest thing. In the conservatory there is an Albino Alligator.”

Maddie wrote, “The funniest thing that happened to me today was when we went to meet Wilson the Wood Duck. I was kind of scared when she told us that we were going to be feeding him. I was sitting down and suddenly he ran at me and chased me.”

Ben wrote, “What I think about summer camp. I really like it here at summer, especially Luna the Albino Alligator.”

Melissa wrote, “My favorite activity in summer camp was when we met Wilson the Wood Duck. He ate out of my hand and pecked me! It was so funny!”

Rachel wrote, “The funniest thing that happened today was when we went blue crab fishing at the saltwater marsh. When I was pulling in the rig I fell forward, but I put my hands forward before I landed in the mud. The mud was so black that it could be ink.”

Spencer wrote, “The best thing that happened today was having popsicles.”

Max wrote, “On the first day of camp I saw many amazing animals. My two favorites were Luna the albino alligator, and Wilson the Wood Duck. We got a sticker from Luna, and we got to feed Wilson out of our hands.”

Stay tuned for more fun filled quotes written by the Ocean Explorers on the Camper Chronicles.