What's Up! Artwork that is entirely based on what’s above, igniting our imaginations, allowing us to create artwork from unique perspectives.

Does anything go together better than art and nature? We will use the beauty of Tower Grove Park and the work of naturalist artists like Andy Goldsworthy, Aldo Leopold, and Bob Ross to create nature centric artwork and installations throughout the park.

Join us for the Gardening @ Stuckmeyer's session of the 2024 Monroe County YMCA Summer Camp.

You will be out in the field during this course, developing your skills in nature observation and animal tracking in the context of modern ecology. You will become familiar with the details of the lives of local wildlife including coyotes, deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, weasels, mice, and bobcats. Topics and skills covered include local natural history, wildlife habitat assessment, clear print track identification, wildlife conservation, and the role of humans in today's ecosystems.

Roll up your sleeves, put on your makers cap, and get ready to create! This is our most hands-on camp! Together, campers will build a geodesic dome large enough to sit in. Who can build the strongest bridge? Can your bridge withstand the shake rattle and roll challenge? Explore the world of birds and beasts with bird feeder building and our super bug investigation. Speaking of birds, what did Hooty the owl have for dinner? A mouse? A Squirrel? A Frog? Kids will dissect owl pellets and reconstruct Hooty’s dinner. Enter the Mad Science chemistry lab and mix, mash, and brew concoctions to create cool sidewalk chalk and bath fizzers! Assemble and control pulleys, levers, catapults, simple machines, and megapinchers! Campers will discover the wonders of photography and make their own chromatography-dyed T-shirt. It’s a week packed with non-stop science fun!

Become a paw-some veterinarian! Camp participants will roleplay the key responsibilities in a vet office and learn how to care for their plush canine patients. These future veterinarians will learn how to remove ticks, perform a nose-to-tail exam, understand proper animal nutrition and hydration, decode dog body language, and more!

Join us as we play, drip, splash and visit waterparks! We will explore things that float, sail things in tubes...the possibilities are endless. We will visit a waterpark (or maybe two!), jump at GO JUMP in Chesterfield or Sky Zone, or maybe visit the Aquarium—and that’s just the beginning. It’s sure to be tons of fun!

Students entering 2nd - 6th grades can join educators at the Saint Louis Zoo for a fun-filled three-day session to learn about biodiversity hotspots, culminating in a Thursday evening program to end the week.

Students entering 2nd - 6th grades can join educators at the Saint Louis Zoo for a fun-filled four-day session to learn about biodiversity hotspots, culminating in a Thursday evening program to end the week.

Students entering 3rd - 4th grades can join educators at the Saint Louis Zoo for an adventure to discover the importance of predators in this amazing four-day session.

Children age 5 - entering 1st grade can join educators at the Saint Louis Zoo to jump into the mysteries of animals and use their detective skills in this fun-filled five-day session.

Children age 5 - entering 1st grade can join educators at the Saint Louis Zoo to jump into the mysteries of animals and use their detective skills in this fun-filled five-day session.

Unique and fun-filled summer arts camp taught by COCA's professional artists and teachers.

Unique and fun-filled summer arts camp taught by COCA's professional artists and teachers.

Unique and fun-filled summer arts camp taught by COCA's professional artists and teachers.