Everyone knows about the Dunes National Park, but did you know that they have an education partnership with the Dunes Learning Center? DLC is a place where students can interact with the environment around them and learn more about the park in the safest, most educational way possible. Not only does DLC do school trips, but they also offer camps over the summer. Day camps for kids ages five through eight, and then overnight camp for tweens and teens. Each offers activities, hikes, and new experiences fit for each age group. 

Day camp is divided into two different genres of camp. The first is Chellberg Farm Camp, which has two separate time slots. One for five to six year olds, then one for seven to eight year olds. Chellberg Farm Camp consists of hikes around Chellberg Farm and interacting with the farm animals that reside there as well. Crafts and games will also be part of the daily regime. During this camp, kids will get to understand the farm life and how Chellberg Farm is a big part of our area’s past. The other day camp offered is Critter Camp, which is for kids ages six through eight. At Critter Camp, kids will explore the National Park with Naturalists at DLC. Animal observation while hiking through the park, identifying plants, running down dunes to go play in the water are just a few activities that the kids will do while at camp. For more information, click here!

Overnight camp is very different from day camp. With it being an overnight camp, there’s much more time to explore the wonders hidden within our park. Though it does share one trait with the day camps, as it is also split up into two genres. One is Dunes Discovery Camp and the other is Dunes Adventure Teen Camp. Discover Camp is where tweens get to experience their first taste of overnight camping in cabins at DLC and participate in so many fun activities. A week of trail hikes, campfires, beach trips, and adventurous games topped off with a fun game of Coyote and a night spent underneath the stars at the end of the week. Each day of the week is a new activity that’s guided by the Naturalists and Park Rangers at the Park. Next is Teens Camp for teens aged fourteen to seventeen. Teens Camp is almost identical to Discover Camp, but with much more freedom and leniency. Campers will have a chance to participate in experiences such as nature photography, kayaking, crafts that utilize the nature around us, playing instruments, and much more. To register, click here.

Don’t hesitate to learn more about the flora and fauna around us with the amazing resource that’s right in front of you. Ask your parents to go to Dunes Camp and soon you’ll be the one telling them about the history of this area, instead of vice versa.