Summer Camps 2018

Join us for a wet, sandy, adventurous, fun-filled week! Check out 2018 camps at ptmsc.org/camps.

Online Registration:
To register your child for a PTMSC Summer Camp, please click on one of the camps below. You will be directed to the online registration form. Fill out this form once for each child per camp. Payment in full is requested upon completion of the online registration form.

PTMSC members receive $10 off each registration (use promo code MEMBER when registering). If you are not yet a member, we invite you to join today to enjoy this and many other members-only benefits!

Seal Pups Day Camp: 

Ages 3 - 4 | $100

Explore and learn about the beach and sea creatures. Activities will enhance the natural curiosity and vivid imagination of this age group. Campers will spend time outdoors and at the touch tanks with trained and attentive counselors.

• Session 1: June 25, 27 and 29 | M, W, F | 9:30 am - 12 pm 

• Session 2: August 6, 8 and 10 | M, W, F | 9:30 am - 12 pm

• Session 3: August 20, 22 and 24 | M, W, F | 9:30 am - 12 pm

Junior Explorers Day Camp: 

Ages 5 - 7 | $160

Spend a week exploring and discovering marine and coastal life, animals, plants, and secret spots. This half-day camp is all about fun, with activities in and around the Marine Science Center. It’s a great program for the younger camper who loves marine animals and exploring on the coast.

• Session 1: June 25 - 29 | 1-4 pm

• Session 2: August 6 - 10 | 1-4 pm

• Session 3: August 13 - 17 | 9 am - 12 pm

• Session 4: August 13 - 17 | 1-4 pm

Coastal Explorers Day Camp:

Ages 8 - 9 | $285

Ready, set, explore! Examine the varied coastal environments of beach, glacial bluff, forest, pond, and meadow. This is the perfect camp for nature-loving kids who want to explore it all! Using observation skills, campers discover how these places support life in the coastal ecosystem.

• Session 1: July 9 - 13 | 9 am - 4 pm

Marine Biology Day Camp:

Ages 10 - 12 | $285

Immerse yourself in Marine Biology! Campers engage in exciting classes, labs, and field programs. A few of the many captivating activities include: sieving through goopy sediments looking for brittle stars, pulling a seine net through eelgrass beds to learn where young fish hide and using microscopes to observe the plankton that supports all life in the sea.

• July 23 - 27 | 9 am - 4 pm

Marine Biology Afoot & Afloat:

Ages 11 - 13 | $415

Calling all budding Marine Biologists! This camp takes marine biology skills to the next level through hands-on activities. Students sail aboard Northwest Maritime Center vessels while doing scientific investigations. Ashore, students participate in intertidal surveys and labs in the touch tanks and exhibits. Campers work together as a team while learning to be stewards of the marine environment.

• July 16 - 20 | 9 am - 4 pm
• July 30 - August 3 | 9 am - 4 pm

Questions?

If you have questions about any aspect of camp, please email us at camps@ptmsc.org or call us at 360-385-5582 ext 120.

Scholarships are available to those who qualify.


PTMSC Cancellation Policy for Day Camp:

In the event that you can’t make it to camp, PTMSC is happy to refund 75% of the full cost of camp retaining a 25% cancellation fee provided the cancellation request is made at least 30 days prior to the start of camp. After that date, no refunds are made.

Maui Mamas

Last month, the day before I was set to travel to Maui for a vacation with my parents, I saw a post on Facebook shared by the Orca Network saying that “Big Mama,” a well-known humpback whale who visits the Salish Sea, was just spotted near Lahaina Maui.
https://www.facebook.com/salishseahumpbacks/posts/602006980140671

A few days later I found myself on a whale watching boat leaving from… you guessed it: Lahaina Maui! I had never seen whales from a boat and was buzzing with anticipation.

Photo by John Evanston

We couldn’t have been on the water for more than 10 minutes when we saw our first spout. We headed towards it, slowing to a stop a little more than 100 yards away -- which was as close as we could legally get to the whales. We saw a humpback whale breach once with a big splash, and then again.

After the second splash, out of the corner of my eye I saw something else: a little pickle shaped body, less than half the size of our first whale, breaching to my right. It breached once, then twice just like its mama. It had to be the cutest little whale I had ever seen!

Photo by Lily Evanston

The boat captain made fun of my mother and me for calling the baby “cute” and “little” because, of course, it was actually about three times my height.

After the show, the mother and calf swam closer together and came to inspect the humans, swimming right under our boat.

Photo by Lily Evanston

The interpreters on the boat didn’t identify the whales we saw, but on my trip I must have seen around 5 pairs of mother and baby humpback whales, and I like to think that one of those mamas may have been the one that people know in the Salish Sea as “Big Mama.”

These humpback whales spend their winters in Hawaii and their summers in Alaska, so we get to see some of them in the Salish Sea during their migration in the spring and fall. It is so amazing to me that these huge animals make this epic journey every year. I thought my travels were exhausting and I only had to take a shuttle from Silverdale to SeaTac and then nap on a plane.

I am honored that I got to encounter these majestic mamas in their winter waters. Now that spring has sprung in the Salish Sea, I’ll have to get out and see if I can find any familiar flukes!

Photo by John Evanston

Written by AmeriCorps Citizen Science Educator Lily Evanston.

Come Dream with Us!

This year's Tides of March Benefit Dinner and Auction celebrates a Salish Sea Reverie at The Commons at Fort Worden State Park.

Join the camaraderie on Saturday, March 17, starting at 5:00 p.m., as we raise funds to support the mission of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center: Inspiring Conservation of the Salish Sea!

Kelp Kelp Kelp!

When we think of a forest, a few things come to mind. Many of us think of trees, plants, animals and, massive amounts of biodiversity. Forests are highly productive ecosystems on land. However, forests exist in the sea as well.

Kelp forests are important ocean ecosystems which exist along coasts all over the world. Here in the Salish Sea we have these forests around us, as well. Just as the forests on land provide habitat, these ecosystems also provide habitat, food, and shelter for many marine species.

The Salish Sea has two types of canopy-forming kelp: giant kelp and bull kelp. Giant kelp grows on the western coast of Washington down to Baja California. It doesn’t extend past the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Giant kelp has a different anatomy than bull kelp and its forests are where you find sea otters.

Giant Kelp (https://jayded.weebly.com/interesting-facts.html)

Bull kelp grows in the Salish Sea, as well as the west coast, and you’ve probably seen it washed up on the beaches around Port Townsend. It is part of an ecosystem that plays an important role in keeping the Salish Sea so productive.

New Volunteer Information Session

Saturday | February 10 | 10 am - noon Natural History Exhibit Classroom Do you know someone interested in learning about volunteer opportunities with the Marine Science Center? Please let them know about our volunteer orientation!  If they have any questions or to RSVP, they can contact Gabriele at volunteer@ptmsc.org. You can also share the link to our website page on Volunteering at PTMSC. Thank you!

Harbor to Harbor Beach Clean Up

Saturday, February 24th 9-11:30am

Cleanup starts and end behind Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.
Bring your own gloves! 

Hosted by NWMC/OCEAN Program

Low Tide Walk at Night, Monday, February 26, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

When: Monday, February 26, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Low tide @ 7:11p.m. (-1.5 ft.)

Where: North Beach County Park, Port Townsend

Cost: FREE (donations accepted)

What: Find out what marine critters get up to after dark!

How: Join us for a guided low tide walk led by PTMSC staff and volunteers.

Bring: Weather-appropriate clothing, flashlight and/or headlamp!

Please RSVP to James Swanson
at jswanson@ptmsc.org or
call (360) 385-5582 x 115