Camp Dates
November 25, 26, 27
December 30, 31
January 2, 3
Registration opens Sept. 16 for all members, Sept. 23 for non-members
Hours
Drop Off: 8:45 – 9:15 a.m.
3/4 Day Pick Up: 1:45 – 2:00 p.m.
Full Day Pick Up: 3:45 – 4:15 p.m.
Before camp programming*: 7:30 – 7:45 a.m.
*Before Camp Programming is a separate purchase. For full details, please see our Camp Policies.
Costs
Full Day Camp – $90/day
3/4 Day Camp* – $80/day
Before Camp Programming – $15/day
*All four-year-old topics are 3/4 day camps. Full day camps start at 5 years of age.
For our school-break camps, camp is offered as day-long experiences built around different themes. Activities and interactions are tailored to your camper’s age. Each day will offer different experiences, and campers will have the opportunity every day to either feed the giraffes or ride the carousel. Join us for a single day or mix and match as many as you wish!
This season, all offerings for our four-year-old campers will be 3/4 day offerings. Each group will be supervised at a decreased ratio of 1 staff member for every 6 campers, instead of our standard 8. This lower ratio ensures more support and direct camper/staff interactions for all of our youngest campers. These groups will still visit all the same areas of the Zoo as our full day campers, including feeding giraffes and riding the carousel.
Topics
Nature is everywhere whether it is a rain forest, a desert, an ocean, a savanna, or even in your backyard of Texas. The animals of our Zoo have all their needs met, but their wild cousins must survive in all kinds of environments. Each day, campers will identify what it takes to survive in different habitats and complete survival challenges to see how much of a Zoo-vivor they have become!
- 4-year-olds – Home is where the heart is! A safe home is also important for survival. What makes a happy home for an animal? Whether it’s a treetop retreat for orangutans or ground burrow for mongoose, campers will discover the surprising ways in which animal homes are just like theirs as they visit animals around the Zoo. As a reminder, camp for all 4-year-olds ends at 1:45 pm.
- 5- and 6-year-olds – Home is where the heart is! A safe home is also important for survival. What makes a happy home for an animal? Whether it’s a treetop retreat for orangutans or ground burrow for mongoose, campers will discover the surprising ways in which animal homes are just like theirs as they visit animals around the Zoo.
- 7- to 9-year-olds – Animals are masters of extreme survival and you can learn how they do it! From frigid mountain tops to the scorching heat of the desert, animals like bears and meerkats have amazing adaptations to survive when the weather is a challenge. Campers will practice their skills to survive in the wild!
- 10- to 14-year-olds – Field biologists travel to diverse regions of the world to study nature’s unique and resilient animals like giant anteaters and king cobras. Each day, campers will immerse themselves in the lives of our wildlife-saving partners to learn about the variety of challenges they face to protect our wildlife. Campers will flex their problem-solving skills as they work through a series of real-world situations and better understand the survivavl strategies of animals and scientists alike!
Animals are amazing! From our gorillas building elaborate nests, cheetahs running fast, a snake smelling with its tongue or flamingos dancing, the animals of the Houston Zoo have tons of talent! Each day, campers will discover a new group of talented Zoo animals and then test their skills in a camper to camper competition.
- 4-year-olds – Get ready to sing like a siamang and dance like whooping cranes! Song and dance are important to many animals and how they communicate. We will meet the musical animals of the Zoo and learn about their special rituals as we create our own rhythm and movements! As a reminder, camp for all 4-year-olds ends at 1:45 pm.
- 5- and 6-year-olds – Get ready to sing like a siamang and dance like whooping cranes! Song and dance are important to many animals and how they communicate. We will meet the musical animals of the Zoo and learn about their special rituals as we create our own rhythm and movements!
- 7- to 9-year-olds – Powerful, playful and on the prowl! Nature is full of impressive animal Olympians –from the tiniest heavy-weight lifting ants to graceful gibbons in the trees. Campers will get moving in active and energetic exploration of animal strength and finesse.
- 10- to 14-year-olds – An impressive array of animals like elephants and American alligators function as ecosystem engineers –building useful habitats for others and creating ornate structures that emulate man-made sculptures and art. Campers will investigate the ways that animals modify their environments and will then create their own nature-inspired designs and solutions to everyday conservation issues.
Parent Information
Camp Communication is by Email. Check your email for a receipt! Please be sure you are receiving email from Camp Zoofari by checking your SPAM settings in your email. If registering for someone else, be sure to forward them all emails. Camp Zoofari communicates up to the start of camp via email. If you do not receive a receipt via email, please contact our office at education@houstonzoo.org to ensure you receive communications.
Highlights from Camp Zoofari
Parent Comments
“This is one of the absolute best camps in the city. I feel that the kids learn so much and are very well cared for. I truly have zero complaints! I loved the addition of pictures this year so we could see some of what our kids did. I also loved the suggested questions each day that we could ask them.”
“It was a fantastic experience. Staff was so great and enthusiastic!”
“I think both of our kids were completely engaged and learned so much – some of the things they told us would just blow us away.”
“Your wonderful staff! She is greeted by name enthusiastically coming and going. Her counselors have taken the time to get to know her and have personalized interactions with her daily. She feels valued, listened to, and cared for at Zoofari.”
“All the camp leaders are very friendly and activities well organized. This was our first year but my son said this was his favorite camp by far.”
“LOVE the before/aftercare!!!! Huge thanks for adding that.”
Campers Made a Difference
Every camper had the opportunity to partner with Houston Zoo in saving wildlife.
- 73% of the campers pledged to use a reusable water bottle during camp and the rest of the summer to help Take Action to save sea turtles.
- 4392 single-use plastic bottles were avoided by campers bringing and refilling bottles in the Brown Conservation Education Center refill stations.
- Ten campers donated cell phones or their own money to the Zoo to help protect gorilla habitat.
- Campers recycled their lunch trash! 17% of camper’s total waste at lunch was recycling.
