*Session full, wait list only.*
Ages 11-13

Are you a current or aspiring junior counselor between the ages of 11-13 looking for leadership skills? Join us for Leadership Training Camp! Hitchcock Nature Camp’s newest program is back in summer 2015 – this time for two weeks! This camp is designed to give 11-13 year-olds a summer camp experience that includes outdoor adventures, team building and nature mentoring skills. Over the course of the two weeks, campers will work with instructors Peter Lamdin and Katie Koerten to develop confidence being a team member, leading a group, and mentoring young children, all culminating in a camping overnight! This camp is for young people looking to develop leadership and outdoor skills, whether it’s to take along with them as a junior counselor in another camp later in the summer, or just for an adventurous camp experience!

*Session full for both age groups, wait list only.*
Ages 6-7 & 8-10

Come fine-tune your senses and sharpen your nature observation skills. Campers will learn how to silently fox-walk through the forest and camouflage themselves so they can’t be seen. We will learn about the animals around us and their strategies for survival in the wild. With field trips, live animal observations, predator/prey games and songs we’ll discover how all living things, including us, depend on each other. By the end of this session, you might just feel a bit more at home in the wild!

Ages 6-7 & 8-10

Who are the only animals that have feathers? Birds, of course! This session we will take flight to learn about a bird’s life, from egg to adult. From hummingbird to ostrich, campers will discover how birds are adapted to the lives they lead. We’ll travel to meadow, forest, wetland and farm to explore the birds that call these places home. We’ll learn about what people can do to protect our feathered neighbors. Outdoor adventures, free play, songs and games are part of every day as we soar through the avian world!

*Session full for both age groups, wait list only.*
Ages 6-7 & 8-10

Do you love watching energy flow from one thing to another, like in marble runs, water walls and falling dominoes? Then you will love Rube Goldberg Machine week! We will spend this camp session collaborating and building Rube Goldberg machines – contraptions that perform a simple task in the most complicated way possible. In both individual and group settings, campers will get to experiment with everyday objects to create Rube Goldberg machines and complete challenges. While this session has a physical science focus, we will still hike outside and play active running games each day. All campers will have field trips, and Young Naturalists will have sprinkler time and Explorers will have pool time as in other sessions.

Help us carve pumpkins for the Enchanted Forest, a fun family community service event.

Join local bird expert Scott Surner for this special fall birding course. There will be an evening class component to prepare for each following field trip. Evening classes will be held at the Hitchcock Center. For all field trips bring binoculars and guides, food and water and dress for the weather. Carpooling will be arranged in class. Space is limited.

Join local bird expert Scott Surner for this special fall birding course. There will be an evening class component to prepare for each following field trip. Evening classes will be held at the Hitchcock Center. For all field trips bring binoculars and guides, food and water and dress for the weather. Carpooling will be arranged in class. Space is limited.

At our construction site 1st Friday of each month 12:30 - 1:00 Open to all, no registration required. Park and meet in the Red Barn parking lot at Hampshire College. Locate it on the map.

Do you just wanna play outside? Do you love mud puddles and muck, climbing trees and making friends? Need more outdoor recess in your life? Then Nature Play Afterschool at the Hitchcock Center is for you! Each Wednesday afterschool we play outside in rain or shine, building shelters, playing games and exploring the woods. Bus transportation is available from Amherst schools.

Join local bird expert Scott Surner for this special fall birding course. There will be an evening class component to prepare for each following field trip. Evening classes will be held at the Hitchcock Center. For all field trips bring binoculars and guides, food and water and dress for the weather. Carpooling will be arranged in class. Space is limited.