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Welcome!
Camp Information
City by the Sea Museum invites children of all ages to explore their coastal environment! Please see the camp dates and descriptions below. Spring break registration is now open. Summer camp registration will open after March.
How to Register & Pay: Credit card payments can be made via PayPal on the right hand side of this page. Cash and check payments can be made in person at 401 Commerce St.
Families registering multiple children for camp and are NOT museum members have a discounted rate of $10 off their subsequent children. Families who ARE members of the museum have a discounted rate as shown below in the descriptions. Additional children in the same household will receive $20 off. Contact us if you are interested in becoming a museum member.
Scholarship Information: A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available on a case by case basis. Please let us know on your registration form if you would like to be considered, and we will contact you by email.
REserve your child's spot in Spring Break Camp 2023!
To register please fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/9bw6VrSnvBbLPXsJ6
After you complete the google form above, a staff member will be in contact with you to confirm there is space in the camp. Once you hear from us, please either pay by card using the button below or with cash or check at 401 Commerce St.
When paying online please respond to the prompt on what you are paying for with "Spring break camp 2023, [insert name of camper(s)]"
Spring Break Camp 2023
SPRING BREAK COASTAL ECOLOGY CAMP, 3rd - 5th
Session 1 - February 27-March 3
Session 2 - March 13-17
Time: 9 a.m.-noon
Ages: 3rd-5th grade
Limited to 20 children
Full price: $100, Members price $75
Location: Palacios Education Pavilion, 693 S Bay Blvd, Palacios, TX 77465 with a Thursday field trip to PMAR Marine Education Center, 100 Marine Center Dr., Palacios, TX 77465
Explore coastal ecology through games, art, mindfulness and science activities. This year's theme is celebrating birds and will include creating art for the Matagorda Bay BirdFest! Field trips include seining with the Matagorda County Coastal & Marine Resources Extension Agent, beach cleanups, touring the PMAR mobile oyster hatchery, birding on the nature trail at the PMAR Marine Education Center and a dockside visit to La Petite Belle, a replica of a historic French ship.
Camps made possible by funding from the Trull Foundation. Mindfulness activities are funded by HSCC Supplemental Grant. Camp locations are provided by City of Palacios and PMAR. Art activities for Bird Fest supported by MARSH.
Our Partners For SPring Break Camp
Summer Camp 2023
Nature Neighbors, K - 3
CoAstal Conservation Camp, 7th - 10th
Nature Neighbors, K - 3
Date: June 6-9
Time: 10 a.m.-noon
Ages: Going into grades K-3
Limited to 10 children
Full price: $65, Members price: $45
Location: Palacios Education Pavilion, 693 S Bay Blvd, Palacios, TX 77465
Plants and animals are our neighbors on the coast and they have basic needs for surviving and thriving, just like we do! Each camp day will focus on a different basic need shared by people, plants, and animals such as food, water, air, and shelter. Campers will observe live animals and plants. They will dissect a fruit and plant seeds to learn about plant lifecycles. Campers will also play hermit-crab musical chairs, search for shells, and build sandcastles while learning about animal homes. Storytime, games, art, and outside exploration will be included every day.
Ocean Observers, 4th-6th
CoAstal Conservation Camp, 7th - 10th
Nature Neighbors, K - 3
Date: June 12-16
Time: 9 a.m.-noon
Ages: Going into grades 4-6
Limited to 20 children
Full price: $100, Members price $75
Location: Palacios Education Pavilion, 693 S Bay Blvd, Palacios, TX 77465
Campers in the Ocean Observers camp will investigate their world through interactive experiments, games, and outdoor explorations. They will learn about how the ocean influences patterns in the weather, climate, and land. Campers will photograph clouds, measure the saltiness and temperature of water in the bay. In addition, they will search all around for coastal animals and plants, in the sky, on land, and underwater. They will use binoculars to spot birds along the beach, seek plants on the shore and use a seine net to sample fish living in the bay.
CoAstal Conservation Camp, 7th - 10th
CoAstal Conservation Camp, 7th - 10th
CoAstal Conservation Camp, 7th - 10th
Date: July 11- July 15
Time: 1-4 pm
Ages: Going into grades 7-10
Limited to 20 youth
Full price: $100, Members price $75
Location: Palacios Education Pavilion, 693 S Bay Blvd, Palacios, TX 77465
Did you know you can turn your cell phone into a data-collecting device to monitor birds, plants, and litter? During this camp, participants will learn about the benefits provided by coastal ecosystems, and successful examples of youth taking action to keep these ecosystems healthy. Activities include bagging oyster shells for reef restoration, monitoring water quality, seining for fish in the bay, painting, birding, and cleaning the beach.
Meet Your Camp Guide
Kayla Clark, MA And Museum Education Specialist
Kayla Clark is a naturalist and an environmental educator who previously taught at the Alabama 4-H Science School, the New York Aquarium, and the University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium. She also worked as the public programs coordinator for UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant before moving to Palacios. She has a B.A. in Sociology from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and an M.A. in Biology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In her role at the museum, Kayla enjoys engaging children and families in celebrating the ecosystem of which they are a part. She uses art, scientific inquiry, storytelling, and games to connect learners of all ages with nature in their local places. Kayla has assisted with field research that enriches her science teaching, including surveys of gray whales, conch, lionfish, soft corals, shorebirds, seagrass, black gill in shrimp, marine debris, and phytoplankton.
