Campers get up close and personal with marine life at Florida Aquarium this summer
Florida Aquarium summer camp
Children have the opportunity to spend the summer with sea life at the Florida Aquarium.
TAMPA, Fla. - Each week is a different theme for children attending summer camp at the Florida Aquarium.
"(There's) time out in the aquarium visiting all of the animals, maybe getting a little behind the scenes peeks at different things," explained Tristan Ware, director of learning at the Florida Aquarium. "We do different experiments, arts and crafts; we go out to the splash pad and get some time out in the water to cool off. They also get to make lots of new friends."
The summer camp is also broken down into age groups and interest-specific learning.
"Our summer camps are held in our learning center which is comprised of five spaces," said Ware.
There is the "Florida Backyard" which is geared towards the younger age groups. The room has a tree in it as part of the design to make it look more like being outside.
For the science set, there is a designated lab for conducting experiments and learning.
For the environmentally conscious, there is the "Green Room" which is a conservation-focused room. Then, there is the "Coastal Room" that looks like you're at the beach complete with a sandy shoreline. The final room is the "Ocean Room" which is like you're diving down deep in the ocean depths.
"It's a lot of fun," said Ware. "The kids like those spaces."
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Each area allows for animal ambassador interactions.
"Most of our campers, if they want to, can touch a lot of the animals that come visit," explained Ware. "Some of them are not touchable, but are easy to observe, and they get to as a lot of questions about them."
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The goal is to have a great experience with marine life and to learn something along the way.
"Kids have an opportunity in the summer to explore marine science here with us," shared Ware.
The Florida Aquarium is located at 701 Channelside Drive in downtown Tampa's Channelside District.
Click here to learn more about or register your child for summer camp at the Florida Aquarium or call (813) 273-4000.
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