Our Teen Camps often span several ages and grade levels. Please pay attention to programs with specific age or grade requirements!

*Attention* The majority of our programs are divided up using grade level. Grade level refers to the level your camper will be entering into in the upcoming fall. 

Junior Lifeguard

Junior Lifeguarding (Ages 12–14)

👉 Note specific age range

$300  |

The Junior Lifeguarding program is open to preteens and teens ages 12-14 with high-level swimming ability. A swim test will be given the first day. The focus of the program is to give participants an introduction to the basic skills of lifeguarding, including hands-only CPR, first aid, rescue techniques, recognizing and responding to emergency situations, and the responsibilities of lifeguarding. This class will prepare the participant for American Red Cross Lifeguard Training (but is NOT the certification course). Class is one week long, Monday through Friday. Participants will receive a whistle and a Junior Lifeguard T-shirt.  

a camper practices CPR on a dummy by the Rec Pool.
Offerings 

Week 1

AQUAT1

June 24-28

Week 3 AQUAT3 July 8-12
Week 5 AQUAT5 July 22-26
Week 7 AQUAT7 August 5-9

 

 

Music Composition Workshops

Music Composition Workshop (Grades 7-12)

👉 Note specific grade range
1:30pm – 5:30pm
 $300 |

This workshop is designed for students in middle and high school interested in composition in any of its forms, including songwriting, classical or jazz composition, electronic music, and film or video game scoring. Through experimentation, guided listening, group discussion, improvisation, and practical composition exercises we will explore the techniques and mindsets behind composition in all its forms. At the end of the week, there will be a reading session and workshop of each participant’s own original music. In addition, there will be opportunities for student composers who play an instrument to take an active role in playing pieces composed during the workshop.

Prerequisite: Students must be able to read standard Western music notation.

Co-leads: Peter Chatterjee, Max Gibson

Bio:

Peter Chatterjee-

Peter Chatterjee is a Bay Area-based composer, arranger, and conductor. He holds a Bachelor of Music in jazz composition and in film scoring from Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music in composition from California State University, Northridge.  As a composer and arranger, he has recently been focused on the interplay between concert and jazz compositional techniques and on creating sonic worlds where live and electronic instruments coalesce and merge. In addition to composing, Peter is also active in education. Teaching in middle school, university, and community settings, he focuses on developing musical interest through active exploration and open musical experimentation. Peter is currently a Ph.D. student in music composition and theory at University of California, Davis, where he studies with Laurie San Martin.

Max Gibson-

Max Gibson is a British-Irish composer, performer, writer, improviser, and educator currently splitting his time between Birmingham, UK, and Northern California. His output includes works for instruments, voices, electronics, sound art, film, theatre, and multimedia, and his works have been performed and presented internationally in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, the USA, and across the UK. His teachers and mentors have included Pablo Ortiz, Mika Pelo, Rolf Hind, Ron Kuivila, Paula Matthusen, Howard Skempton, Michael Zev Gordon, and Michael Finnissy. He is pursuing a PhD in Composition and Theory, with emphases in Environmental Humanities and Studies in Performance and Practice, at the University of California, Davis.

Offerings

Week 7

MUSWS1

August 5-9

Week 8 MUSWS2 August 12-16

Bio Boot Camps

Brought to you by the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the UCD Museum of Wildlife & Fish Biology

Bio Boot Camp - Coastal (Grades 7–9)

Applications for 2024 will be available in mid-January!
​​​​​​Modified schedule, see below
$475

Together with the UCD Museum of Wildlife & Fish Biology and Campus Recreation we launched Bio Boot Camp in 2011, a camp for junior high aged students who are interested in the natural sciences. There is limited enrollment and so we ask that the students themselves be part of the enrollment process. This is a full day camp from 8:30 am-5:30 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday based at UC Davis. Then on Thursday morning we travel to UC Davis Bodega Bay Field Station on the coast. We return to Davis on Friday afternoon. (Monday, June 19th is the federal holiday Juneteenth and so camp this year will start the following day.) 

Bio Boot Camp overview
We get to know each other, play games, explore the UC Davis campus, and go behind the scenes at the two host museums: the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology. We go deep into standard museum practices from collecting data to preparing specimens including invertebrates and vertebrates. This can be hands-on or observational based on individual student's preferences. We also spend time outside mucking around in local streams, catching insects, observing birds and exploring nature with guest scientists. Bring a change of clothes and a sense of adventure! Thursday morning the vans get loaded with campers and gear and we visit the Bodega Bay UC Reserve and Field Station to compare the nature and biodiversity of the Central Valley to the California coast. We stay at the field station and eat in the dining hall. We put into practice everything we learned at camp and we have a lot of fun while doing it.

Transportation (vans), 3 dining hall meals (Thursday night dinner, Friday morning breakfast and lunch), and housing (a large communal bunk house with bunk beds) are provided. This camp has an enrollment of 12 students and 2 instructors.

Offerings
Week 0* (There will not be camp on Juneteenth 6/19) BBCCT0 June 17-21

Bio Boot 2.0 (Grades 10–12)

Applications for 2024 will be available in mid-January!
​​​​​​Modified schedule, see below

$1200

Together the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UCD Museum of Wildlife & Fish Biology, and Campus Recreation launched Bio Boot Camp 2.0 in 2013 after much enthusiasm from Bio Boot Campers who graduated out of the junior high program. The camp spans 7 days and 6 nights, so Sunday at 2:00 pm to Saturday at 2:00 pm. Pick-up and drop-off will be at the museums on the UC Davis Campus. The first day the students drive up to the mountains in vans to get to know the ecology of the Sierra and each other and settle in at the UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station outside of Truckee, CA . There the campers will conduct a group project and mini individual project and explore the area and discuss college and career paths. However, this is still camp, so there are wandering hikes, exploring Lake Tahoe, silly games, and a lot of fun throughout. We will be stopping at the UC Davis campus on Friday for part of the day to tour the museums and the campus before traveling to UC Davis Quail Ridge Field Station outside of Winters, CA for the last night of camp. Campers will get to compare the Sierra to the Central Valley, prepare for their presentations  and have their costumed dinner party. Transportation (vans), housing (cabins for 6 nights and open "safari" group tents for the last night) and food will be provided (we do our best to accommodate diverse dietary needs), but campers will be expected to help prepare group meals and clean-up after themselves. This camp has an enrollment of 10 students and 3 instructors.

Offerings
Week 8 BBCTT8 August 11-17

*NOTE: Week 2 (July 1-5) will NOT have camp programming scheduled for Thursday, July 4th. The price will be prorated during registration.