There is something for everyone at Cub Creek Science Camp!

Courses are a week long activities that are offered one hour each day.  Each day, campers will enjoy a new hand-on project that focuses on the courses theme.  (We offer 26 courses at Cub Creek - This includes our six adopt and Animal courses.  Campers choose two courses for each week they are at camp.)

Classes are one hour, one time activities, that offer a very wide variety of choices.  Campers sign up for their classes at camp each evening (we offer over 150 different classes)

Below is a list of our COURSES

1. ABILITY AWARENESS:  It's all about awareness.  Play games blindfolded and decipher codes in Braille.  Lean how to fingerspell using sign language or navigate an obstacle course using a wheelchair.  By the end of this course, you will appreciate your won abilities as well as the unique abilities and talents of others.
2. ADOPT AN ANIMAL:  Animal Science - Choose your favorite animal and become its adoptive parent for the week.  As an adoptive parent you will (under the supervision of our Animal Specialists) learn about your animal, take responsibility for its care and handling and teach other campers about your adopted friend. Every adoptive parent will receive an "adoption certificate" and a photo of their adopted animal.  Choose your adopt an animal location based on the animal you wish to adopt. 
3. ANIMALS 101: Animal Science - If you can't get enough of animals then this is your course!  You will have the chance to get up close and personal with every animal at the Ranch.  You will hold snakes, feed our armadillo, play with the baby goats.  You will visit all our animal homes including the Barn, Wallaby Country, Bird Barn, Pentagon, Glider Pavilion, Animal Room, Reptile Room and The Habitats. 
4. ANIMAL SAFARI:  Field Biology -Explore the different parts of the Ranch and search for local wildlife including snakes, lizards, frogs, salamanders, deer, raccoon, fox and more.  You will be bringing along one of our digital cameras to record your findings and share with everyone back at base camp.
5. ARCHERY:  Physics - Archeology - If you love archery and want the opportunity to improve your skills then this is the course for you.  You will learn the basics, from how to hold and shoot a bow and arrow, to making your own arrow point and bowstring.
6. BOTANY:   Botany is the science that deals with plants.  Plants are all around us.  They can be used to make everything from clothes and food to medicine and perfume.  Without plants our planet could not survive.  Become a Botanist for a week and learn all about the mysteries of our common plants.
7. CHEMISTRY:  Chemistry is the science that deals with matter (what things are made of) - Mix, measure and pour while you create some fun stuff including: super balls, slime, and silly putty.
8. CRAFTS / NATURAL RESOURCES:  Dip your own candle, make detailed leather craft or spin a clay pot all while you learn about our world's valuable natural resources.
9. CRAFTS / ANTHROPOLOGY:  Anthropologists have been studying other cultures though their art for a very long time.  During this course you will learn to appreciate the time, skill and dedication of other cultures by learning some of their crafts including: jewelry, pottery and dream catchers.
10. CRIME SCIENCE:  Become a forensic scientist as you analyze the evidence gathered from a fictional crime scene.  From fake blood testing to fingerprints, handwriting analysis to mystery powders.  Work to gather clues and vote to convict the suspect in a mock jury.
11. CULINARY SCIENCE:  Do you love to cook?  Then this is the course for you.  Learn to bake ice cream that doesn't melt in the oven.  Try out some amazing experiments with eggs.  Grind whole wheat into flour to make delicious pancakes and top them with the butter you made by hand.  Chill out with your own concoction of home made ice cream or decorate a cake like the pro's.  If you want to amaze your family and friends with science you can eat, then come learn a few tricks from our kitchen.
12. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY:  Learn how to photograph animals with ease.  Photograph a nature alphabet.  Learn photo tricks to create funny pics (like your mom standing on your hand!)  Upload your photos and alter them in fun ways in the computer lab.  This is the ultimate course for the aspiring digital photographer.
13. ENTOMOLOGY:  Entomology is the science that studies insects - So, you think life is tough?  Try spending a day as an ant.  Watch a meal worm metamorphosis into a beetle or a caterpillar into a butterfly. Attract and identify nocturnal as well as diurnal insects.
14. GEOLOGY:  Geology is the science that studies the earth, rocks and minerals. - Calling all rock hounds.  If you are fascinated by the earth and what it's made of, then this is the course for you.  Learn how to classify different types of rocks and use geologists' methods for discovering their structure.  Everyone one will go home with their own rock collection.
15. JUNIOR VETERINARIAN:  Are you an animal nut?  Have you thought about becoming a veterinarian?  Then this is the course for you.  Learn all about caring for animals, what vets look for during a routine check up and how they treat the common and not so common ailments of our furred, feathered and scaled friends.
16. PARAMEDIC:  Oh no! Your friend has fallen out of your tree fort.  What should you do?  Okay, so it didn't really happen, but you will have fun learning how to handle a variety of emergency situations.  We have created a lot of simulated emergencies.  You will practice responding just like real paramedics.
17. PHYSICS:  Physics is the science that studies how and why things work. (the study of motion, matter and energy) - Learn how things work and why something won't work.  Take common household items apart and put them back together again.  Make your own flashlight and discover ways to harness your own strength.
18. POND STUDY:  Limnology is the science that deals with the study of ponds, lakes and streams. - Put on your boots, grab your collection nets and let's go explore the life in a pond.  During this course you will view life under a microscope, as well as all the plants and animals that call a pond (above, below or beside) their home. Be prepared to get wet and muddy and have loads of fun.
19. POOL SCIENCE:  Chemistry, Physics, Limnology - Learn all about your favorite summer hangout.  Everything from water chemistry to why some things float and others sink.  You will wear your bathing suit for this class and have lots of fun in and out of the water.
20. POTTERY:  Get muddy on the pottery wheel.  Learn coil, pinch and slab methods for hand building clay.  You will make a variety of great projects such as masks, mugs, and animal rattles to take home.
21. SURVIVAL SKILLS:  A plane crash leaves you lost in the woods.  How will you survive?  You will learn to prioritize your needs including food, water and shelter.  You will learn how make a fire, guild a shelter, find, trap and cook your wild cuisine and become self reliant in the wild.

Campers take part in two classes each day.  Below are brief descriptions of some of our classes.  Campers enjoy at least 10 different classes each week.  These classes include old camp favorites and many other activities found nowhere else but at Cub Creek Science Camp.  No matter what you choose, you are sure to have a BLAST!

1. Animal sketching:  Learn how to draw animals.
2. Animals - Reptiles and Amphibians: Hold a snake, feed a tortoise, catch a frog and learn all about these amazing cold blooded creatures and how they compare to one another.
3. Animals - Mammals: Hold a hedgehog, feed a wallaby, time a hamster as it races through its favorite maze.  You may even be lucky enough to see the birth of a baby goat.
4. Animals - Birds: Collect guinea fowl eggs and put them into the incubator,  talk to a parrot and listen as he talks back, run with an emu (the second largest bird in the world). Learn all about feathers and eggs and everything else that make birds unique in the animal kingdom.
5. Animals  - Invertebrates:  Scorpions, hermit crabs, millipedes, oh my! Get up close and personal with these unusual animals.
6. Adopt an Animal: Campers choose their favorite animal from our camp zoo to learn about and take care of for the class period.  If you didn't take Adopt an Animal as a course you can always choose to care for an animal one day at a time.
7. Animal Toys:  Learn how to use fruits, vegetables, wood scraps and other household objects to make great toys for your pets.  Discover why toys and playing are so important to the health of an animal.
8. Animals - Jr. Keeper:  Work side by side with one of the animal specialists and assist with the daily chores of keeping over 200 animals healthy and happy.
9. Animals - Edibles for animals:  You would be surprised how many healthy snacks you can collect for the animals at camp right from our own backyard.  It's amazing how a handful of edible greens can turn an ordinarily shy animal into an instant friend.
10. Animals - Grooming:  Learn how to bathe a pet, trim the feathers on a bird's wings, cut the nails of a dog or cat, and other ways to help keep animals clean, safe and parasite free.
11. Animals - Vaccinations and injections:  Learn how and why a vet would give a vaccination or other injection to an animal.
12. Archeology : Unearth ancient mysteries at a simulated dig site.
13. Archery: Will you hit the bulls eye?
14. Atlatl: Practice your skills with an ancient spear thrower.
15. Barn Animals: Learn all about the variety of animals that call our barn their home. (Goats, sheep, emus a llama and a donkey)
16. Beady Buddies: Make your favorite animal out of beads.
17. Brain Teasers: These puzzles and games are no match for the clever mind.
18. Camp Fire Cooking: Learn the tricks of cooking over an open fire.
19. Camper's Choice: Get at least 4 friends together and you can become the leader of your own activity.  (With a counselor along to assist.)
20. Cake Decorating:  Yes, there is even science involved in decorating cookies and cakes.  Make your masterpiece and then enjoy eating it when you are finished.
21. Candle Dipping: Dip your own candle the way pioneers did two hundred years ago.
22. Cartesian Divers: Magic or science?  You will have to decide.
23. Clay creations: Make a beautiful pen with unusual details and designs to take home.
24. Dance: Learn some great dance moves and even choreograph your own routine for our skit night.
25. Digital Photography: Learn to take pictures with a digital camera and then download and edit them on the computer.  Your picture may even be chosen to be posted on our web site.
26. Dream Catchers: Make one of these to hang above your bed to keep bad dreams away.
27. Electricity: Make a light bulb light up and an alarm sound all by creating simple circuits.
28. Electro Magnets: How do electro magnets work?  Make one of your own to take home.
29. Fire Starting: There are many ways to start a fire; we will teach three of the best.
30. Fishing:  Bluegill, bass or catfish. . . which will you catch?
31. Flint Knapping: Make your own arrow point.
32. Flower Identification: Learn to identify the common flowers around camp.  Make a flower press to take home.
33. Fossil Find: We will explore the creek bed for signs of ancient life.
34. Free Swim:  Cool off in the pool, play a game of Marco Polo, dive after the toypedo or just float on some pool toys.
35. Gasconade River Excursion:   Cool off in the Gasconade while you float down the river on an inner tube.
36. Giant Bubbles: Mix and measure until you discover the perfect bubble solution for creating HUGE 5 foot bubbles.
37. Hiking at the Ranch:    Explore the Ranch from top to bottom including our glades, deer trails and hidden camp sites.
38. Ice cream / Butter: Have fun making homemade butter and ice cream.
39. Insect Safari: We will collect, identify and release as many types of insects as we can.
40. Kitchen Chemistry: Conduct fun experiments with items found in almost everyone's kitchen.
41. Leather Craft: Learn how to stamp, carve and create with leather.
42. Magic: Learn the secrets behind some of the greatest magic tricks and how science is involved.
43. Marble Paper: Capture floating paint to create beautiful stationary.
44. Microscopic Life: Use a microscope to discover what can be living in a drop of water.
45. Ooblick: Have fun with this amazing goo.  Is it a solid or a liquid?  It can roll into a ball and ooze between your fingers.
46. Orienteering: Find a treasure using only a map and compass.
47. Owl Pellets: What do owls eat for dinner?  Discover your answer and a hidden skeleton as you dissect a real owl pellet.
48. Paper Making: Create new paper from trash.
49. pH: Are the things we eat and drink acids or bases? 
50. Physics of flight: Learn how birds and planes fly while you make and fly your own plane.  Build and launch your own rocket.
51. Plaster Casting: Capture an animal's track with plaster.
52. Potpourri: Make your own potpourri, lotions and perfumes.
53. Pottery: Make a sculpture, pot or vase from clay collected from a nearby streambed.
54. Rainbow in a Jar: Layer one liquid on top of another while creating a rainbow in a jar.
55. Rocketry: Build and launch your own rocket.
56. Rocks and Minerals: Start or expand your own rock collection while exploring our dry creek bed, glade and many trails.
57. Rope Making: Use an antique machine to spin bindea twine into a jump rope to take home.
58. Shelter Building:  Make your own shelter.  Learn what works and what doesn't.
59. Sign Language: Learn to communicate without using your voice.
60. Sink or Swim: Discover what and why things float or sink while having fun in the pool.
61. Slime Factory:  Create your own slime, ooze and flubber.
62. Spelunking:  Bring your lanterns and prepare to get muddy, while we explore a nearby cave.
63. Spy Science: Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?  Solve this and other mysteries using science and reasoning.
64. Terrific Trees: By the end of one hour you will be able to recognize 90% of the trees in our forests.  How many adults can do that?
65. Tie Dye: Be sure to bring a shirt from home to make a one of a kind memory of your camp experience.
66. Turtle Patrol:  Weigh, measure, mark and release locally caught box turtles as part of a scientific study.
67. Volcano:  Make your own volcano and watch it explode.
68. Water Chemistry: Learn how to test the health of water.  Will it support life?
69. Wild Edibles: Have you ever eaten cattail root, or drank rose hip tea?  What can and can't you eat in the wild? You'll know at the end of this class.

EVENING ACTIVITIES

Evenings are full of fun and laughter as campers come together for large group activities.  These activities may include:
 

1. Campfire - singing and roasting marshmallows.
2. Night Swim
3. Scavenger Hunt / Treasure Hunt
4. Camp Out - One night during the week all the boys sleep out and on a different night all the girls sleep out.  Campers may choose to stay in tents, hand made shelters or under the stars.
5. Native American Games
6. Skit Night and slide show (on the last night of each camp session)
7. Movie Night - Come to the Dining Hall.  You bring your pillow and we'll bring the popcorn and a great movie.
8. Carnival Night - Have you ever wanted to throw a pie in someone's face?  Well now is your chance.  You will enjoy cotton candy, face painting, carnival games and more.
9. Pajama Party - It's your party, so you and your cabin mates will decide what type of party to have.
10. Circle of Life - You will head to the cabins early for this evening activity, because the animals will be coming around to visit you in your cabin.
11. Project Cub Creek - Using your imagination, the props provide in a black trash bags and one volunteer counselor each cabin will dress their counselor for their debut on our camp runway.