The University of Nebraska State Museum’s Discovery Day Camp program is poised for another full summer. This year, the museum is offering half-day and full-day camp options for students in grades K-8.
The camps are hands-on experiences where campers can explore a variety of natural history and science topics through engaging activities. Each camp is led by a museum educator, with opportunities to engage with museum researchers and guest speakers.
“Our name includes ‘discovery’ because our main goal is to leave campers with awe-inspiring moments through hands-on experiences that invoke curiosity and a desire to learn more, even after a camp is finished,” said Ann Spilker, extended learning coordinator for the NU State Museum. “We’re offering a variety of camp lengths and topics because we know the summer season can get busy and hectic and we wanted parents and guardians to have a variety of options.”
Part of the Discovery Day Camp program’s uniqueness is its collaboration between the museum’s education team and collection staff and researchers. Campers get to look behind the scenes at specimens from the museum’s research collections and meet scientists in a variety of fields. Also, because the museum exists in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, some campers may get to visit other places on campus, such as the Student Observatory, Hebets Lab (studying arachnids) and Richards Hall (ceramics). Day camps also value outdoor play and will give campers chances to get outside and explore. Finally, Discovery Day Camps’ 1-to-10 instructor-to-camper ratio ensures quality interaction for all students.
“Too often, children can feel lost in the shuffle in massive groups during programs,” Spilker said. “Here we want campers to have positive experiences where they can get guidance, build meaningful relationships and have fun, while learning with different games and activities.”
This year’s themes include Art in Science, Water Explorers, What’s Bugging You, Curious Curators and Paleobotany.
Registration is open for all summer Discovery Day Camp programs. The NU State Museum is offering a $20 per camp discount to all Husker faculty and staff. To receive the discount, faculty and staff should book non-member camps using their UNL email address and apply the code “TuskerSummer25” at checkout. The discount is valid through June 30. Camp registration and program details are available here.
