Summer Camps

2019 Summer Camp Schedule

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At the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC), our summer camps allow burgeoning young scientists and adventurers to spend a week exploring beaches, uncovering treasures hidden in our exhibits, playing games, making crafts, and hiking through beautiful Fort Worden State Park.

Our science campers come back year after year and many of our past campers return again as camp counselors. Join us for a wet, sandy, adventurous, fun-filled week!

PTMSC members receive $10 off each registration (use promo code MEMBER). If you are not yet a member, we invite you to join today to enjoy this and many other members-only benefits!

MARINE BIOLOGY AFOOT & AFLOAT

9 am - 4 pm
Monday - Friday
Ages 11 - 13
$415

Calling all budding Marine Biologists! This camp takes marine biology skills to the next level through hands-on activities. Students sail aboard Northwest Maritime Center vessels while doing scientific investigations. Ashore, students participate in intertidal surveys and labs in the touch tanks and exhibits. Campers work together as a team while learning to be stewards of the marine environment.

new this year!
Longboat Explorations

9 am - 4 pm
Tuesday - Friday
Ages 13-15

Want to take a deeper dive into the Salish Sea this summer? Learn about marine ecology and conservation on the water, and visit areas accessible only by boat while collecting scientific data aboard the Northwest Maritime Center’s historic longboats on two day-long expeditions in this camp. Note: On Wednesday and Thursday, camp starts at the NWMC.

SEAL PUPS

9:30 am - 12 noon

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Ages 3 - 4
$100

Explore and learn about the beach and sea creatures. Activities will enhance the natural curiosity and vivid imagination of this age group. Campers will spend time outdoors and at the touch tanks with trained and attentive counselors.

JUNIOR EXPLORERS

9 am - noon OR 1 pm - 4 pm
Monday - Friday
Ages 5 - 7

Spend a week exploring and discovering marine and coastal life, animals, plants, and secret spots. This half-day camp is all about fun, with activities in and around the Marine Science Center. It’s a great program for the younger camper who loves marine animals and exploring.

COASTAL EXPLORERS

9 am - 4 pm
Monday - Friday
Ages 8 - 9

Ready, set, explore! Examine the varied coastal environments of beach, glacial bluff, forest, pond, and meadow. This is the perfect camp for nature-loving kids who want to explore it all! Using observation skills, campers discover how these places support life in the coastal ecosystem.

MARINE BIOLOGY

9 am - 4 pm
Monday - Friday
Ages 10 - 12

Immerse yourself in Marine Biology! Campers engage in exciting classes, labs, and field programs. A few of the many captivating activities include: sieving through goopy sediments looking for brittle stars, articulating a gray whale skeleton, and using microscopes to observe the plankton that supports all life in the sea.

new this summer!
Art camp: art in nature

10 am - 3 pm
Monday - Friday
4th-8th graders

What better place to experience the wondrous and awesome intersection of nature and art than at Port Townsend School of The Arts and Port Townsend Marine Science Center on the beautiful Fort Worden campus? Your young artist - together with naturalists from Jefferson Land Trust and Port Townsend Marine Science Center - will explore the amazing flora and fauna that make up our immediate environment, and PtSA artists will continue that exploration in the studio with art projects that deepen the relationship to and understanding of these ecosystems, while providing means for self-expression. The week culminates with a Friday afternoon Student Art Show at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center Aquarium! This is an exciting collaboration with our partners, Jefferson Land Trust and Marine Science Center, and we think it will be a very special experience for your young artist.
Note: This camp is run by PtSA, so you must be a PtSA member to receive a registration discount.

If you have questions about any aspect of camp, please email us at camps@ptmsc.org or call us at 360-385-5582 ext 120.

Scholarships are available to those who qualify. To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this Google Form.

Camp Counselor Application: Interested in being a camp counselor this summer? Find more information on the application form here! The application due date has been extended to June 18th.

PTMSC Cancellation Policy for Day Camp:

In the event that you can’t make it to camp, PTMSC is happy to refund 75% of the full cost of camp retaining a 25% cancellation fee provided the cancellation request is made at least 30 days prior to the start of camp. After that date, no refunds are made.