After taking a year off due to health concerns, the Tennessee Aquarium will host redesigned summer camp programs in partnership with Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center this summer.
“We feel confident that we can provide a safe experience for children, primarily because of our partnership with Reflection Riding,” says Dr. Brooke Gorman, the aquarium’s director of science education.
The two organizations will offer camps for children ages 5-14 June 7-July 30. Online registration for members of either the Aquarium or Reflection Riding is open at tnaqua.org/educate/summer-camp. General registration begins March 1.
Campers will be dropped off and picked up at the Aquarium, but many camp activities will take place on Reflection Riding’s 317-acre campus at the foot of Lookout Mountain.
Hosting this year’s camps at the aquarium and in outdoor spaces will help to maintain safe physical distancing in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and the Hamilton County Health Department, the aquarium says in a news release.
The camps are designed around the theme of “Wet and Wild.’ Environmental educators from both organizations will guide children to learn about plants and animals that live in “wet and wild” places, as well as the “wet and wild” side of their own backyards.
Campers will also interact with professional wildlife managers, animal care staff, horticulturists and other specialists.
In addition to general camps, some weekly sessions with fewer campers will hone in on a specific topic, such as caring for animals, pollinators and developing skills as a naturalist.
Capacity limits and requirements for masking or vaccinations, if available for children, will be based on public health recommendations and the prevalence of cases in the Chattanooga area.
If additional restrictions on indoor gatherings are put in place, the camp will revert to an all-outdoor event on the Reflection Riding campus.
Camp fees are $250-$325 for members and $280-$375 for non-members.
Source: Tennessee Aquarium