Education and Training Career Cluster

The Park Ecology Program helps kids learn about nature and how to take care of the environment. We’ll explore plants, animals, and how everything in nature works together. You’ll get to do fun activities outside and learn how to keep our planet healthy.

What We’ll Learn:

Nature Basics: What is nature and how does it work? How do plants and animals live together? How can we protect the environment?

Outdoor Adventures: Finding cool plants and animals Testing water and soil Helping fix up natural spaces

Exploring and Sharing: Watching and recording what we see Thinking about what we learned Sharing our ideas with others

What You Need to Do to Earn Your Badge: Show Up and Join In: Come to the sessions and have fun with your friends.

Complete Activities: Finish all the fun projects and games.

Show What You Know: Identify plants and animals, take simple measurements, and tell us what you learned.

Final Project: Create something cool, like a poster or a drawing, to show what you’ve learned.

Work Together: Be a great teammate and help your friends.

When you do all these things, you’ll earn the Park Ecology Badge and show that you’re a nature expert!

This is a half day, multi-week, free after -school program geared toward students in grades 3-5.

Spend summer break under the sea and learn all about the fantastic animals at the Oklahoma Aquarium! Campers ages 7-11 will spend the day alongside aquarium staff learning about the animals and their care. With introductory microscopy, comprehensive behind-the-scenes tours, and opportunities to feed and handle animals, your camper will get a well-rounded introduction to wildlife biology and animal husbandry.

Your camper will experience:

Hands-on STEM activities

Before-hours all access to the OKAQ

Unique behind-the-scenes experiences

This is a full single day, fee-based summer program geared toward students in grades 2-6.

Splash into summer and discover what it takes to be a marine biologist at the Oklahoma Aquarium! Campers 12-18 years old will spend the day alongside aquarium staff and experience the daily schedule of one of our Biology Staff Members. They will participate in feeding exhibit animals, preparing food in our on-site kitchen, and even working in our chemistry lab. Your camper will receive a well-rounded experience of what it is like to work at the OKAQ!

Your camper will experience:

Hands-on STEM activities

Introduction to animal husbandry and wildlife biology

Before-hours all access to the OKAQ

This is a full single day, fee-based summer program geared toward students in grades 7-12.

Looking to encounter a week-long STEM-filled adventure? Join us for our brand new Deep Dive Discovery Camp! Campers 12-18 years old will spend a week with our education staff and experience an introduction to working as biologists and practicing research. Each day, they will learn about unique animal adaptations, conservation initiatives, aquarium animal care, and scientific research! Lastly, your camper will assemble their own research poster exhibiting a topic of their choice and can present it at their own end-of-camp symposium; all OKAQ staff and family are invited to join!

Your camper will experience:

Extensive behind-the-scenes tours

Intensive introduction to scientific research

Before-hours all access to the OKAQ

This is a full day, week-long, fee-based summer program geared toward students in grades 7-12.