Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and more—they’ve all changed life on our planet over and over again. Discover how people and ecosystems have responded to extreme events throughout geologic time. Construct model lava flows, asteroid impacts, and volcanoes. Build a model city and put it to the test with a mega-quake-tsunami challenge.
Learn more about Extreme Events.
A summer camp adventure 66 million years in the making! Piece together prehistoric evidence as you investigate how dinosaurs lived and why they died. Extract DNA from modern-day relatives of dinosaurs. Take a hike through the museum and nearby Schenley Park to compare today’s world to that of the dinosaurs. Build a habitat, complete with life-size dinosaur murals, to transform your classroom into Jurassic Planet.
Learn more about Jurassic Planet.
Explore the world of Super Mario and find out how it compares to our natural world. Adventure into the museum and meet the inspirations for your favorite turtle and dinosaur characters. Create STEM-based “power-up” projects, and dive into the natural biomes that match up to favorite game worlds. Design and race your own model go-kart and complete a Mario-inspired obstacle course in this week of next-level fun!
Learn more about Mario's Natural World.
Do you have an eye for detail? Do you like to puzzle through patterns? Join this micro-adventure to unearth some of the smallest specimens on display in the museum. Analyze patterns and make connections between cultural artifacts and the natural world. Learn how your brain decodes fine detail by experimenting with light and color. Dissect a real cow eyeball using age-appropriate tools and techniques.
Learn more about Camouflage Chaos.
Search for salamanders, set up insect traps, and “fish” for microplankton on biology expeditions. Soar to new heights as you study seed dispersal. Find animals in different ecosystems on hikes through nearby Schenley Park. Investigate woodlands and streams farther afield on an extended day field trip to Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center.
Learn more about Eco Adventure.
Invent your very own creature and bring it to life through comics, paintings, and wearable sculptures of monster proportions. Insert kaiju into unexpected places, construct mixed-up beasts, and become inspired by the creatures inhabiting the art galleries and lurking in the dioramas and Hall of Dinosaurs at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Learn more about Cryptids and Other Made-Up Things.
Calling all explorers! Build your nature skills to have fun while staying safe in the great outdoors. Get prepared and find out what to bring on your outdoor adventures. Learn first aid, how to recognize when someone needs help, and what you can do to assist right away. Practice filtering water, learn how to safely start a fire, and build a shelter in nature. Hike the Powdermill trails to play out wilderness survival scenarios and build your safety skills.
Learn more about Outdoor Skills.
Alliances are hard to maintain in any galaxy. Deepen your understanding of the Star Wars universe by comparing intergalactic cultures to their counterparts on planet Earth. Discover how environmental factors impact cultural development, and design your own world, complete with its own society! Join with existing peoples of the Star Wars universe and see if you can preserve the “Alliance” in a mock council meeting. Help us, “Padawans”—you’re our only hope!
Learn more about Star Warriors: Alliances.
Roll up your sleeves and prepare to get messy! Make mystery solutions that fizz, pop, and explode. Discover why objects glow in the dark and make fluorescent crystals. Explore the science behind the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Dive into mysteries of the mind and dissect a sheep’s brain. Learn forensic science techniques and use them to solve a museum mystery.
Learn more about Super Scientist.
Campers, let’s get crafty! With the great outdoors as your inspiration, explore concepts of art intersecting with nature in a series of fun projects that celebrate sustainability. Search for natural pigments in nature and use sustainable harvesting practices to collect materials from the forest. Create sculptures with seeds from native wildflowers, make bird feeder crafts, and find out how to make art that makes an impact.
Learn more about Art in Nature.
Develop your own modular worlds inspired by popular toys and games like Legos and Minecraft. Bring digital creations to life by constructing pixelated structures in three dimensions. Use Lego figures to create stop-motion animation and pull distinctive prints from the bubbled surface of each brick. Explore spaces around Oakland and work with your team to recreate their materials and silhouettes in Minecraft.
Learn more about Building with Blocks.
Level up your knowledge of rocks as you examine gems, minerals, rocks, and fossils in the lab and throughout the museum. Learn the tools of the geologists’ trade on a rock walk in Schenley Park, and tour the natural wonders of Laurel Caverns on a day trip. Discover surprising ways we use rocks and minerals in everyday life. Experiment with the rock cycle and observe everyday items made from rocks and minerals, plus start your own collection to take home.
Learn more about Geology Rocks.
Plunge into experiments about the physics and chemistry of water as you develop your own mega-bubble solution. Test solutions for acids and bases, and get cracking with ice. Challenge yourself with boat building, buoyancy tests, and water balloon drops. Hike through Schenley Park to investigate aquatic habitats in the Panther Hollow Watershed and take a dip in nearby Schenley Swimming Pool.
Learn more about Aquatic Adventures.
Apply left-brained thinking to a right-brained activity for unexpected results. Observe works of art in the galleries for ideas, hypothesize some "what-ifs,” then head to the lab for experimentation. Ink, graphite, rubber bands, straws, paint brushes, paper, wood, plastic—let materials take you on a scientific drawing journey. Record your process and results in your sketchbook and make a series of pieces based on your findings.
Learn more about Drawing Studio.
Explore the world of massive plant eaters, vicious carnivores, ancient insects, and prehistoric plants! Discover dinosaurs and the world they lived in with hands-on activities including digging for fossils and making a fossil cast. Work in teams to piece together evidence from the past to identify fossils of plants, animals, and more. Use real tools like a paleontologist to mold mystery fossil pieces together. Investigate how modern animals compare to dinosaurs and other animals from millions of years ago.
Learn more about Fossil Investigators.
Get out in nature and learn how to protect it as you become an environmental champion. Learn about land stewardship, why it’s important, and ways you can practice it. Trek through the forest to identify and safely remove invasive species. Explore the benefits of native plants and gain hands-on experience maintaining Powdermill’s native gardens. Discover ways to preserve natural areas while keeping them accessible for exploration.
Learn more about Living with the Land.
Abracadabra! Impress your friends and family with science experiments that are so cool they seem like magic! Conduct hands-on experiments that boggle the mind as you turn a penny into gold or silver. Blow up a balloon without ever touching it, watch ice melt without leaving a puddle, and make Styrofoam disappear before your very eyes. Discover the importance of animals and plants in the history of magic.
Learn more about Magic in the Making.
Discover the role nature plays in telling great stories in books, fables, and myths. Investigate how animals, plants, birds, and insects spark ideas for fascinating tales and creepy cryptids. Explore the forest and trails to gain inspiration and find out what makes a memorable story. Work with your new camp friends to rehearse and perform a play all about the environment.
Learn more about Mountain Myths and Forest Fables.
Look to photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris’s body of work in our new archives to help compose studio portraits and venture outdoors to tell stories through still images of our neighborhood. Experiment with camera-less methods like cyanotype and reconfigure images from magazines, old photographs, and reproductions of works in our collection to create something new.
Learn more about Photography Studio.
Skunks, spiders, and snakes – oh my! Explore what makes misunderstood animals so important in their ecosystems. Separate fact from fiction and learn about the survival skills of amazing creatures of all sizes. Get an up-close look as you dissect a real squid using age-appropriate tools and techniques. Work with your fellow campers to create an awareness campaign for your favorite misunderstood critter, and observe animals in their habitats on a trip to Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium.
Learn more about The Good, The Bad, & The Misunderstood.