Educational and unforgettable!
NEW! COVID-19 update
We’re thrilled to announce that we will be offering a virtual summer camp in 2021! Please read below for full details.
NOTE: The DLC is still temporarily closed to visitors effective Friday, March 13, 2020. In accordance with Duke policy, 2021 summer camp programs will be offered virtually, but not onsite. To learn more about the Lemur Center’s response to Covid-19, please visit our coronavirus response FAQ.
VIRTUAL Leaping Lemurs Summer Science Camp
While we will miss having campers onsite, we are so excited to announce our new virtual Leaping Lemurs Summer Science Camp! Our virtual camp is open to rising 4th-6th graders, and we’re incorporating all of the best parts of our in-person camp. Campers can spend the full week learning about lemur science, conservation, fossils, and more, or choose from the available days for a more curated experience. Each day we will take a deep-dive into a different aspect of the DLC, including live lemur time, DLC staff interaction, tons of behind-the-scenes peeks, and plenty of activities to get campers away from their computer screens in between live sessions.
Going virtual has made us get pretty creative, so we’re excited to announce some great new features:
Registration open to 4th- through 6th-grade students anywhere in the United States
LIVE lemur viewing on Zoom chats with your counselors EVERY DAY!
11:00 AM EST starting time for each day, so west coast lemur lovers can join in on the fun!
A mailed package of activity supplies AND gifts from the Lemur Landing gift shop for each day of camp
Optional single-day registration
We’ve kept our virtual programming packed full of engaging educational content – for a list of the STEM curriculum standards we’ll cover, click here!
Duration:
Monday-Friday 11:00 AM EST – 3:00 PM EST (exact dates TBA): You can choose to register your camper for the full week or just for their favorite day(s). We’ve got the schedule broken down into themes for each day, so you and your camper can decide what’s the best fit!
Daily Themes:
Monday – Going Wild for Lemurs! We’ll start the week with a deep-dive into lemur basics, including fun facts about species, habitats, and adaptations. We will meet all of the lemurs living at the DLC and learn what makes them, well, lemurs! We will also learn all about Madagascar habitats and compare them to our own home habitats for some outdoor fun!
Tuesday – How to Be a Lemur Keeper: Calling all future animal caretakers! On Tuesday, we’ll experience a day in the life of a lemur keeper at the DLC, while exploring all of the important aspects of keeping wild animals safe and healthy. Campers will get a behind-the-scenes look at how we care for the lemurs, while engaging in broader discussions about why wild animals are kept in human care.
Wednesday – Enrichment Extravaganza: Primates love to play, and nobody knows that better than Enrichment Technician Kate at the DLC. We’ll learn all about why enrichment is such an important part of animal care, and see how Kate keeps the lemurs busy and entertained. With tons of fun enrichment playtime to watch and ways to make your own enrichment at home, campers will learn the importance of play—and have fun doing it!
Thursday – We Do Science: The primary purpose of the DLC is to learn about lemurs and protect them in the wild. Over 50 years of ground-breaking research on lemurs have made us experts, but there is always more to learn! We’ll sharpen our skills as scientists by asking questions and designing research projects, talking to researchers about their work at the DLC and in Madagascar, and even getting hands-on with some of the science going on at the DLC right now!
Friday – Fossil Frenzy: Go back in time with DLC fossil experts Matt Borths, Ph.D., and Karie Whitman at the DLC’s Division of Fossil Primates! We’ll dig deep to find out what makes a primate a primate and how lemurs have changed since they first showed up in the fossil record. Campers will use our 3D fossil database to virtually explore real fossils in our collection and meet some of Madagascar’s oldest and biggest lemur species!
Age Range:
Rising 4th- through 6th-grade students: At this time, we are only able to offer this virtual camp to this specific age range. In order to comply with the Minors at Duke Program policies, we ask that parents please do not register children outside of this age range in the camp.
Fees:
Full week (5-day) registration: $150 + tax per household*
Single day registration: $35 + tax per day per household*
*Since we understand that you may have more than one 4th-, 5th-, or 6th-grader living under one roof, and that they may not have separate screens to log in from, we are charging only one registration fee per household. That means that two campers living in the same household can log in on the same computer/tablet/phone to participate together.
Registration details – COMING SOON!
Registration will open soon for our first-ever virtual Leaping Lemurs Summer Science Camp! Check back here or follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see when we open registration.
We will NOT be offering any on-site camp programs in 2021.
Questions?
If you have questions or would like to receive more information, please email the Education Department at primate@duke.edu. They’ll be happy to help!
