Entering Grades 1 - 3

Cattail Marsh-FULL Call for Waiting List
July 9 – 13
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

What does a great Blue Heron eat for breakfast?   Where do turtles make their homes?  Your child will become immersed in the musical world of the Marsh by learning to look, listen, touch, and smell that unique ecosystem. We will visit with the Diamond Back Terrapins, horseshoe crabs, and fiddler crabs that live in the museum. We will listen for the call of of the Red-winged blackbird, Purple Martin, and Belted Kingfisher. We will learn to distinguish the footprints of raccoon, otter, heron and mallard, and make a set of our own prints. We'll sing about frogs, squirrels, and ducks, play to the beat of the music with rhythm instruments, and learn about instruments in the woodwind family.  
FEE: $115.00/CMMS members $100.00. There is an additional $25 materials fee for a take-home music kit.

Pirates & Scallywags FULL Call for waiting list
July 23 -  July 27
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Ahoy, Mates! Join our week long adventure as part of our scallywag crew.  For your week with us, you will wear pirate garb, eat pirate grub and do pirate work. What? Pirates worked? You bet they did.  Hunt for hidden treasure; stage a sea battle in the museum's newly constructed land-locked bugeye, swab the deck and sing sea chanties; head aboard to learn about local pirates, and sail the high seas of the Patuxent River on the "Jolly Roger" Wm. B. Tennison. Arrrgh! FEE: $110.00/CMMS members $90.00

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Entering Grades 4 - 6

Shark Attack!  FULL-Call for waiting List
July 16 - July 20
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Razor sharp teeth, feeding frenzies, and terror...But are sharks to be feared? They are important members of the ocean ecosystems. How are sharks different from other fish? How have sharks evolved over time? Why are sharks an endangered animal?  Together we will explore the truth about sharks by using the various exhibits at the Calvert Marine Museum, by looking for and then classifying shark teeth from local beaches, and by visiting the SharkPoole and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Join us for a week of exciting activities focused on the fish that frightens and fascinates us all. FEE: $130.00/CMMS members $115. 

Entering Grades 6 - 9

Build Your Own Canoe-FULL Call for Waiting List
Members Only
June 25 – June 30
July 9 – 13 (Boating Safety Course)
9:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Build a real boat you can take home! We will teach you to make your own 12-foot plywood canoe. During the week, you will master basic woodworking and finishing skills to make a boat that you can enjoy for years to come. Learn sailing skills when commanding radio-control model sailboats in the boat basin and practice some of the maritime skills needed to catch crabs during a cruise on the drake tail work boat. We'll take a break from boat building with a lunch cruise with your family members on the Wm. B. Tennison. At the Grand Finale on Saturday, you and the other campers will race your new canoes on the Patuxent River. Your family and friends are encouraged to join us at our own Regatta and celebrate with awards.

Students enrolled in this course will have a spot reserved in the July 9 – 13 Spirit of America Boating Safety Program for middle school students run by St. Mary's College of Maryland & the Sailing Center Chesapeake and sponsored by the National Water Safety Congress and the Spirit of America Foundation.  At the end of this week-long, you will receive the State of Maryland boating safety certificate.  For more information and to download enrollment forms, visit http://www.sailingcenterchesapeake.org/SailingCenter/SpiritOfAmerica/index.html

Open to members only. FEE: $250 for the two-week experience; scholarships available from the Conant Fund for eligible applicants. Call for information.

Jr. Paleontologists- FULL Call for waiting list.
June 25 – June 29
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Become a junior paleontologist, and hunt the beaches for fossil shark teeth, whale bones, and the shells of ancient snails and clams. Work with our professional paleontologists to uncover the mysteries of these ancient animals and the environments in which they lived. Learn collecting techniques and how to properly preserve your specimens. Keep a field journal, complete with your own drawings and observations. Travel to the Baltimore Aquarium to see modern versions of the ancient fossils you find.

FEE: $130/ CMMS members $115.00.  Location: Cove Point Lighthouse/Calvert Marine Museum.

Environmental Institute
July 30 – August 3
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Environmental Institute is designed for young people who have a strong curiosity about the natural environment and want to learn more through hands-on experience. The Calvert Marine Museum, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL), and Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust are combining forces to offer this exceptional opportunity. Participants will talk with CBL scientists who have collected base data on the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay for over 30 years. They will review the trends, and then do water sampling and analysis to see how their results match up. Using the recent experience of Tropical Storm Lee as a case study, they will work in teams to do research and fieldwork to learn about the causes and consequences of the dramatic changes that resulted in the Chesapeake Bay. They will map the shoreline from the Wm B. Tennison and visit a shoreline restoration project at Cove Point and a living shoreline. The institute will conclude with team presentations for friends, parents, and colleagues about their findings.

FEE: $50. The Environmental Institute is based on a competitive application process limited to 12 participants. The tuition is subsidized by a grant from the Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust.   Location: Calvert Marine Museum/ Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

To download applications please click here.

Jr. Docent Boot Camp
By invitation only
August 6 – August 10

This new initiative involves a two year commitment from middle school students to learn how to be museum docents. The program kicks off with a weeklong "boot camp" where each cohort gets initiated into the behind-the-scenes workings of a museum. To be considered for the Jr. Docent Program, click here for criteria and application procedures. Applications due May 1, 2012.