Campers set sail at the Ocean Institute summer camp in Dana Point

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a summertime series featuring youth camps in Orange County.

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While school may be out for the summer, learning doesn’t have to stop.

A variety of summer camps at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor offer children, ages 5 to 13, a chance to learn about marine life in a fun and up close way as they set sail off the Southern California coast with a chance to see whales and dolphins, dissect marine animals in a science lab and explore the local tide pools, learning about the various creatures that live there.

“Our camps are designed to keep kids curious by turning Southern California’s coastline into their classroom,” said Isabela Farinella, a growth marketing manager at the Ocean Institute.

“Rather than simply learning about marine science from a textbook, campers step aboard research vessels, conduct real scientific investigations, explore local ecosystems, interact with marine animals, and experience maritime history firsthand,” Farinella went on to explain.

The youngest campers, those ages 5 or 6, attend the Sea Squirts camp, a weeklong adventure where they interact with marine animals in various tanks and pools on the Ocean Institute grounds. Campers do daily ocean-themed crafts, activities, games and a treasure hunt.

The 6- and 7-year-old campers attend Neptune’s Mysteries, where the young scientists are challenged to solve “mysteries sent from King Neptune.” The camp brings a new mystery to solve each day as they embark on a marine mammal cruise aboard the research vessel Sea Explorer and visit the tide pools in the Dana Point State Marine Conservation Area.

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The Buccaneer Adventure camp, for kids 7 and 8, helps campers imagine life as a pirate as they learn the ropes to survive at sea with dockside activities on the historic tall ship, The Spirit of Dana Point, and venture out into the open ocean aboard the Sea Explorer. Campers learn the maritime arts of sail handling, rowing, storytelling and enjoy “dress like a pirate day.”

Ocean Discovery camp, for those ages 8 and 9, asks questions such as: What adaptations help animals survive in their habitats? What does it take to care for sea creatures? And what does the inside of a fish look like? Campers explore animal habitats and ecosystems through hands-on science labs and head out on a 2-hour whale-watching trip.

What happens to ships lost at sea? At Shipwreck Hunters camp, for kids 9 through 11, campers get to problem solve and uncover mysteries as they are challenged to become maritime archaeologists, exploring a different shipwreck off the coast each day of the camp, making observations and testing questions while aboard both the Spirit of Dana Point and the Sea Explorer.

For the Ocean Institute’s oldest summer campers, ages 11 to 13, participants attend the Coastal Explorers camp. The week-long adventure camp is filled with scientific investigations and animal interactions, including visits to the tide pools in the Dana Point State Marine Conservation Area. Campers head out to sea aboard the Spirit of Dana Point, do catch-and-release fishing aboard the Sea Explorer, and tour Dana Point Harbor on kayaks.

“We hope these immersive experiences spark a lifelong curiosity about the ocean,” Farinella said, “while helping children build confidence, ask questions, and see themselves as future scientists, explorers, and ocean stewards.”

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More information can be found at oceaninstitute.org/summer-camp.