Camps

Public Programs offer a variety of opportunities for children to come to camp. Throughout the year, during those times that school is out for a holiday, we offer C-Days and Youth Adventure Days. These one-day camps consist of various activities and a fieldtrip relating to the topic for that particular day. We also have Winter Break Camp for two weeks during the winter holiday. Also during the school year, public programs offers a Spring Break Camp full of fun filled activities for ages 5-12. Of course, we can't forget about summer! During Summer Camp, the ANSC gives children ages 3-16 the opportunities to engage in hands-on activities, swim at Deep Eddy and Barton Springs Pools, go on many adventures, learn about anything from insects to camping, or learning how to be a leader by becoming a counselor in training. All staff is over the age of 18 and attends an in depth training on vehicle driving procedures, age appropriate activities, and safety procedures. All counselors must have current CPR and 1st Aid Certification, and swim counselors must obtain anywhere from Community Water Safety Certification to Waterfront Lifeguard Certification, depending on which camp they are counselors for. 

Kids & Families

Interested in learning about poisonous animals, how a paleontologist figures out how dinosaur bones fit together, or want to go on an adventure with your family? Well, join us for our kid and family programs. Our kid programs consist of a variety of topics from what it takes to take care of the animals here at the ANSC with the Jr. Wildlife Keepers, to discovering the ANSC at night at one of our Critter Camp-In's! Ages vary with the specific program. Come spend some quality time with your family while learning facts about different stars in our planetarium and hearing Greek myths at a Star Party. We also offer activities for the adventurous family such as canoeing at night and experiencing what it is like to venture into one of Austin's local wild caves.

Preschool

Start your preschooler early in getting to know his or her environment and all the wonders that can be found there! Whether you are interested in coming a couple of times a month, or weekly to our Nature's Way Preschool, the ANSC is the place to introduce your preschooler to natural wonders. Preschool programs consist of Preschool Mornings, which are hour long programs where not only does your preschooler get to learn, but you get to come and enjoy the activities with your child. Topics cover butterflies, animals, nature hikes, dinosaurs, and much more! Nature's Way Preschool is an onsite preschool consisting of four teachers working at small ratios of 1 teacher per 8 children. There are a variety of class schedules to choose from. Our amazing teachers open up the imaginations of young children by covering such topics as dirt, recycling, oceans, physics, outer space, gardening, and much more! Teachers are consistent in using hands-on discovery techniques that allow the children to think and discover on their own!

Adults

We offer a variety of programs for adults to learn more about science and nature topics. This spring for the adventurous adults, we are offering caving in a local wild cave, and introductory rock climbing on the Barton Creek Greenbelt. For those that have more time, spend an entire weekend learning more about the Birds and Bats of the Texas Hill Country with a local teacher from Dripping Springs who has studied and researched this topic for many years. If you don't have time to make it on a long weekend trip, the Capital Area Master Naturalists are having a Speaker Series on the last Wednesday of each month, for more information on topics, please call the Capital Area Master Naturalists hotline at (512) 389-8555.

For more information, please see our Natural Selections Brochure

• Natural Selections Summer 2012
• Natural Selections Winter 2011/2012