Animal Camp
Since 2003, Lawrence's original ANIMAL CAMP!
Same great camp experience now available through Pet World's sister company, the Nature Objective!
Super Early Registration opens March 15
Early Registration opens April 1
Open enrollment begins April 15!
Designed for adventurous third graders (ages 7-8-9) who love animals and aren't afraid to get dirty! Animal Camp is a week long, action-packed day camp that began in 2003 at Pet World in Lawrence, Kansas and has now been rehomed in Pet World's sister company, the Nature Objective. Same great program, same staff and company owners -- just operating under a new company name.
Kids learn about nature and animals, work and play with animals, and take field trips every day! We promise Animal Camp is unlike any camp your child has attended. Pick up and drop off is located near the Pooch Park at Pet World every day.
Friday is an all day outing at our private nature preserve including hiking, creeking, climbing, snake hunting, and lunch! The Friday field trip gives kids a glimpse of what they can look forward to with Wilderness Camp when they outgrow Animal Camp.
Due to popular demand, Animal Camp was revised in 2014 and expanded into three categories, adding Wilderness Camp for advanced level, returning campers. Since Animal Camp sells out quickly every year, we added the extra camp for returning campers to make room during the other weeks for more new kids!
NOTE for 7 year old children:
If your child is a very young 7 year old, fresh out of first grade, with a birthday not long before June, (or a first time day camper) you might seriously consider Pet World's Big Critter Camp first. If your child is an older 7 year old, soon to be 8, who has done a PW day camp before, or is adventurous and can easily handle an all day camp with 8 year olds, you might consider the first week of Animal Camp, instead.
Week 1 Animal Camp is specifically designed for first timers (but open to anyone). We suggest this week for younger kids, former campers who have completed a week of half day Critter Camp and are now ready for all day Animal Camp, or those who are completely new to the PW day camp experience. All Week 1 campers will receive detailed instruction since, usually, most everyone is new and usually age 7 or a young 8. (Returning campers will probably just stay with the group or maybe have a little extra free time during detailed instruction.)
Week 1 kids will learn about the animals at Pet World, beginning with small mammals and including birds, reptiles, and all the different PW animals! They’ll become expert handlers and impress their parents with their pet knowledge. Daily field trips will expose kids to nature in the great outdoors. We’ll start with smaller, local field trips then work our way up to an all day trip on Friday. We'll visit places like the ranger station, nature trails, and Sanders Mound at Clinton Lake, Prairie Park nature center, Mary’s Lake, the Baker Wetlands, and even make a trip to Sunfire Ceramics to paint keepsakes. On Friday we’ll spend the entire day at our secret nature preserve – home of the famous PW rescue tortoises!
Week 2 Animal Camp is essentially the same experience as Week 1 but with a mix of some new but mostly 8 and 9 year old returning campers who want one more summer of Animal Camp and are not quite ready for Wilderness Camp. Detailed instruction will be provided to new campers while returning campers enjoy extra free time. The topic of Focus Animals - a carefully selected favorite animal for in depth study - will be introduced during Week 1 but only available during Week 2. Kids will be free to choose their favorite pet as their Focus Animal and spend extra time each day playing with it and learning about it. Week 2 will have some of the same field trips as Week 1 with a little more extended time at the Tortoise Farm. Week 2 Animal Camp is recommended for older first timers or campers who are returning for the second time. Most kids are 8 or a young 9. If your child has already attended all day Animal Camp twice, we strongly recommend Wilderness Camp for third time campers (unless they are not able to spend all day outside).
2024 Animal Camp Week 1
Ages 7-8
Group 1 Mon-Fri 8:30am-3:30pm
Group 2 Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
JUNE 10-14, 2024 - $380 + $95 optional Friday field trip fee
Kids will be transported in a group of 10 via passenger van or groups of 3 in SUVs. As soon as one time slot exceeds six that will probably be the 10 child group and the other time slot will be limited to six. If you have friends in camp together, please note that on your enrollment form and we can seat them together.
Click here to ENROLL NOW in Week 1 Animal Camp
Enrollment Form will be activated at 10am, March 15
Please note:
2023- Wk 1 SOLD OUT March 17
2022 - Wk 1 SOLD OUT March 22
2021- Wk 1 SOLD OUT March 29
2020 - Wk 1 SOLD OUT March 26
2019 - Wk 1 SOLD OUT April 6
2024 Animal Camp Week 2
Ages 8-9
Group 1 Mon-Fri 8:30am-3:30pm
Group 2 Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
JUNE 17-21, 2024 - $380 + $95 optional Friday field trip fee
Kids will be transported in a group of 10 via passenger van or groups of 3 in SUVs. As soon as one time slot exceeds six that will probably be the 10 child group and the other time slot will be limited to six. If you have friends in camp together, please note that on your enrollment form and we can seat them together.
Click here to ENROLL NOW in Week 2 Animal Camp
Enrollment forms become active at 10am, March 15.
Please note:
2023 Wk 2 SOLD OUT March 15
2023 - Wk 2 SOLD OUT March 22
2021 - Wk 2 SOLD OUT March 30
2020 - Wk 2 SOLD OUT April 5
2019 - Wk 2 SOLD OUT April 20
Registration opens April 15*
*Early Registration opens April 1 (addl fee)
*Super Early Registration opens March 15 (addl fee)
Has your child already been through Animal Camp at least once? Were they obsessed with the private nature preserve?
Check out Wilderness Camp!
Campers hanging out in the creek at the tortoise farm.
Camper proudly showing off how muddy she got during camp!
Campers observing and handling newly hatched baby snakes.
Camp counselor showing campers a worm snake found while herping.
Campers holding PW's giant Burmese python, Goliath!
Spots are very limited in all camps. We can only have as many kids as we have seatbealts. Super Early Registration begins March 15 (additional fee), Early Registration begins April 1 (smaller addl fee) and open enrollment starts on April 15 (no additional fee).
If you're signing up with friends and neighbors, make sure you sign up for the same week!
Indoor, outdoor, rain or shine!
Includes camp shirt, laundry service M-R, snacks, free field trip transportation, and free, optional campfire lunch on Friday. (In the past kids could bring sack lunches from home or pay a $20 fee the first day of camp for full access to the PW kitchen for lunch.Because of COVID-19, unfortunately, the PW kitchen will not be open this summer and all participants will need to bring their own lunches from home. We hate this limitation and are SO SORRY for the parent inconvenience! We've added extra precautions to reduce the risk of spreading germs, including open car windows and face coverings for the kids and counselors during transport when adequate social distancing will not be possible. Kids can leave masks with us and overnight mask cleaning will be provided daily.
The Fine Print: Online registration forms are updated by 10am on March 15. Please check the year on the form before submitting or the price may be incorrect. Parents, please submit completed forms at your earliest convenience. We call our programs "summer camps" for convenience but actually they are classified as instructional, topic/task specific classes under K.S.A. 65-501 which are exempt from licensing requirements (similar to a sports training camp or Vacation Bible School). Our programs are private and sometimes used for childcare, however, because they are less than five weeks in duration, they are not classified as daycare. Even though licensing is not required, our instructors and leaders are fully trained in animal husbandry, local nature, certified in rescue, first aid, and CPR, and we maintain an adult to child ratio of 1 adult to 6 kids. Enrollment is limited because we keep our groups very small.
Open Enrollment
Registration with no additional fees is first come, first served, beginning when the store opens on APRIL 15 (tax day).
Early Enrollment
It's possible to pay an additional, early registration fee and register beginning March 15. Early, prepaid registrations are processed in the order received as long as they are accompanied by the early fee. First time camp parents can stop by in person and we'll help you through the process or you can enroll from your own computer. The numbers of available spots are updated every day from March 15 until all camps are sold out (which happens every year by mid May, except 2020, of course).