Clearwater Marine Aquarium Offering Camps Throughout Holiday Season

CLEARWATER, FL – The holiday season is around the corner, and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium has announced its lineup for camps for vacationing schoolchildren.

The aquarium, known for its sea life hospital and its resident dolphins Winter and Hope, will host holiday-themed camps for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. A camp for spring break has also been scheduled.

Here are the 2016-17 Holiday Camps from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium:

Sea Monster Mash

Day and time: Saturday, Oct. 29 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Visit the “Fearwater Marine A-Scare-ium” for the Sea Monster Mash, a fun, spooky and educational event. Learn about vampire squid, goblin sharks, ghost shrimp and other deep sea creatures. Make “fish” slime at the goo-station, create an icky “bioluminescent” fish anatomy picture. Get entangled in the food web, play ghoulish games and feed creepy-crawly crustaceans. Participants are invited to come in costume.

Tickets are $10 and registration is required. Click here to register.

‘Sea of Thanks’ Thanksgiving Holiday Camps

Day and time: Nov. 21-23, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is offering three different day-long camps the three days before Thanksgiving. Participants can attend an individual camp or attend all three for a reduced price. The three camps are:

• Monday, Nov. 21 – Wonderful Whistles: Learn about Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and how they communicate with one another. Design your own signature whistle.
• Tuesday, Nov. 22 – Home Sweet Home: Learn about the wild dolphin population that calls the Clearwater Bay estuary home and take a boat tour of the bay (weather permitting).
• Wednesday, Nov. 23 – Funny family: Learn about the aquarium’s resident dolphins and other animals that are related to them and make a family tree to take home. After camp, tour Clearwater Marine Aquarium with your family with free admission up to three family members after 4 p.m.

Tickets are $75 for members and $90 for non-members for single days, and $$175 for members and $195 for non-members for the three-day Camp Combo. Registration is required. Click here to register.

Holiday Mini-Camps

Day and time: Dec. 21-23, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; Dec. 26-28, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

The aquarium will also host two three-day camps during the winter break focusing on Florida marine life and their cold-water cousins. Participants will discover how blubber and fur work to keep animals warm, prepare treats for rescued animals and spend time on the water seeing animal adaptions in action. Campers will also participate in a fish-feeding session, play educational games and make crafts.

Tickets are $75 for members and $90 for non-members for single days, and $$175 for members and $195 for non-members for the three-day Camp Combo. Activities in these camps are spread across the three days and individual events can’t be guaranteed to take place for individual camp attendees. Registration is required. Click here to register.

‘Spring into Science’ Spring Break Camp

Time and dates: March 13-17, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

This educational spring break camp will allow participants to be immersed in science exploration and experimentation centered on Clearwater Bay. Campers will board a Clearwater Marine Aquarium vessel and study the local ecosystem while participating in plankton tows and net pulls. Campers also will discover the properties of water, have hands-on practice using the scientific method and learn about other exhibits at the aquarium before they open to the public each day.

The camp is $240 for members and $280 for non-members. Registration is required. Click here to register.

For more information on these camps, visit www.seewinter.com.

Image via Walter, Flicker, used under Creative Commons