2020 Camp Offerings  - Available Feb 24, 2020

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Won’t you come join us? An adventurous week awaits our youngest campers as we explore the wild creatures that call Quarry Hill Park their home. Puppet shows, songs, art activities, and lots of time to explore outdoors will help kids get to know our natural neighbors in the park. Each day will be a new adventure ensuring a fun filled week

Campers must be 4 yrs.old by the start date of camp.
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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 
 

Calling all whiz kids who like to build things that float, fly and even explode! Think like a scientist and design like a real engineer as we set out on daily excursions in the park to conduct fun experiments. Building boats, engineering rockets and making things glow in the dark are just a few examples of the fun that awaits! The great outdoors will be our laboratory as we discover how nature puts science to cool use. Goggle up whiz kid... it’s going to be fun!

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Lace up your shoes, grab your gear and get ready for an expedition in Quarry Hill Park. We’ll safari in the savanna, creep in the cave, poke around the pond and frolic in the forest. Our mission is to find out what makes these intriguing places unique and to uncover what animals lurk in and around these mysterious habitats. Each day begins at our headquarters where we will investigate clues to the day’s destination. Then we’re off to the great outdoors to carry out our mission: Exploration. At the end of the day, log our discoveries in your mission journal and earn a badge.

Are you willing to accept the mission?

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Take a closer look at the fascinating world of plants while we hunt for the biggest trees in Quarry Hill, build natural shelters, canoe, and even make our own tasty treats ‘a la plant’ to eat. Tools in hand, we will unlock secrets to the forest, prairie, oak savanna, quarry, and pond in search of “S.W.A.M.P.  G.A.S.”

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Explore the wild side of Quarry Hill as you learn mammal tracking skills and capture live animals. Have fur-ology fun learning about our furry friends, the mammals, and their behavior! Campers will make mammal mazes for our resident mice and spy on the park’s nocturnal animals using outdoor trail cameras. All activities emphasize hands-on involvement and outdoor exploration. Campers will also canoe, hike and explore the sandstone cave.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Exercise, fresh air, adventure! Ride on city bike trails to study animals and plants as we explore local waterways and other natural areas. Campers must provide a bike, helmet, water bottle, and be able to sustain a biking speed of 1 mile in 8 minutes and a daily distance of 5-10 miles.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Trilobites, gastropods and crinoids, OH MY! Campers will learn about local geology as we travel in the Quarry Hill ‘Critter Coach’ to nearby fossil sites in search of ancient treasures! We’ll also spend some time rock climbing at Quarry Hill’s natural limestone climbing wall. Be ready for a rockin’ good time! Wear shoes that you can hike in.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

With camera in hand, venture to a unique location in the park each day! Campers will see nature through an all new lens when they photograph snakes, turtles, butterflies, flowers, moss, and fungus. Experiment with light during  a slow shutter speed ’flashlight painting’ session in the cave. Campers learn the basic elements of photography and photo editing using digital cameras and laptops provided by Quarry Hill. Campers are provided with a 4G USB flash drive to take their photos home.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Search for the slippery and scour for the scaly as you hone your herpetology skills through encounters with turtles, snakes, frogs and salamanders. Discover what makes a frog a toad, how long a turtle can hold its breath and whether salamanders really can regenerate body parts. Prepare to be amazed at the remarkable things these amphibians and reptiles can do as you catch the wild and handle the captive. Canoeing, fishing, rock climbing, and hiking will round out the week’s adventures. 

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Does “chicken of the woods” have feathers and what exactly is a duck potato? Find out in this wildly edible camp! Join us for an amazing introduction into the world of wild edibles, fire making, campfire cooking, plant pressing, fishing and more. Lace up your hiking boots as we scour the park for a harvest of nature’s bounty learning the history and science of foraging. With a focus on the identification of plants, their uses and wild lore from roots to flowers and everything in between we’ll sip on green smoothies and wild tea, feast on wild salads and campfire fish, and more. Take the forager pledge of safe, smart and sustainable harvest and get close to nature one bite at a time!

This camp is taught by an experienced forager, also certified in mushroom identification, preparation and handling, with over 10 years of professional experience teaching the art and science of wild edibles.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Explore the “wilder” side of Rochester by bike. Water and dry land adventures include fishing, canoeing, and fire starting. Bikers must provide a bike with at least 24” wheels and 3 speeds, sack lunch, water bottle, and helmet. To be up to the challenge, bikers should be able to sustain a bike speed to cover 1 mile in less than 6 minutes, and a daily distance of 10+ miles. 

Adventure Biker is an all day camp from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Offered the weeks of June 8, June 22, June 29, July 13, July 27, and Aug 10

NOTE - ADVENTURE BIKER WILL BE OFFERED THE WEEK OF JUNE 29 - JULY 3 - Session AB 6.1 - you will this session listed in the camp registration portal.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Digging deeper into photography composition techniques, campers will hike to little known reaches of the park for unique photo opportunities. Each day of camp poses a new photographic challenge with opportunity for collaborative editing and review. Digital cameras, computers, and editing software is provided by Quarry Hill. Each camper will receive a 4GB USB drive for photo storage.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

What lurks beneath our macroscopic view of nature in the microscopic world? Ant lion jaws, tiger swallowtail scales and waterbears, are just a few of the amazing things participants in this camp may discover on forays in the park. Back at the Nature Center campers will use microscopes and attached camera equipment to examine and record their discoveries. A group photo cd of some of the week’s highlights will be assembled and shared as we explore, collect and view the microscopic world of nature. Campers will also enjoy popular camp activities such as rock climbing and canoeing or kayaking. 

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Geo-caching is the high tech version of Hide and Seek. All around the world, people are hiding ‘geo-caches’ (think treasure chests without the gold or pirates) so other people can use their GPS to find them. During camp, we will learn how to use a hand-held GPS to find the geo-caches hidden in and around Quarry Hill Park. We may travel to other Rochester area parks, depending on geo-cache availability. Participants should expect to hike 1+ mile per day and be prepared for off-trail travel, such as walking through tall grasses or thick shrubs.

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Become a stream investigator! Be prepared to get wet as we catch and identify the various fish, crayfish, and other critters that live in area waters. We will also study the water itself to see how it effects the environment. Wade in to an adventure at our local streams & rivers. (Wear sandals with a strap or water shoes for this camp!)

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Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list. 

Slip on your adventurous shoes for this all-around, action packed camp! This week will offer experiences in slack lining, kayaking, fly-fishing, orienteering, fire starting, animal tagging, and more. So slip, slack, paddle-WACK, and throw a fish a fly - so much fun, why not give it all a try?

Expand to see camp session dates below.
Waiting lists are available for sessions that are full. No fee to register online for a waiting list.