Caldwell Zoo summer camp offers fun, education and behind-the-scenes look for kids

Published 11:00 am Sunday, June 30, 2019

Tanis Manor, 10, said she wants to work with animals when she grows up. She wants to interact with them and learn more about them.

As a part of her 10th birthday present, she got to explore her curiosity this past week in a first-time visit to a summer camp at Caldwell Zoo in Tyler.

Tanis said crafting papier-mache toys for the animals was one of her favorite activities at the camp.

“Some of the animals like to smash the papier-mache, and the poppers is pretty much a paper towel roll with newspaper stuffed in both ends with birdseed and stuff that will make the animals happy when they pull it open,” she said.

Caldwell Zoo Senior Education Specialist Beth Jones was the same age as Tanis when she started attending the camps, and she stuck with them through the years, which eventually led to a job at the zoo. Jones, 24, is now on the other side as an educator.

“Because I learned so much of being outside, being inquisitive (and) exploring nature — as I got older, I realized I could do the same for other kids and be that goofy, fun adult that makes the world exciting,” she said.

On Friday, the older campers played a game, running around using their clasped hands like an elephant trunk to hit a beach ball during “elephant soccer,” a game Jones played herself at camp years ago.

“Why do you come to zoo camp? Because it’s awesome,” she said. “It’s really fun. You see more of the zoo than you can just coming with your family, and you walk away with really random knowledge that sticks with you.”

The younger campers, ages 4 and 5, gathered in a circle to watch Buddy the ferret. Separated from Buddy by a small fence, some children giggled and some flinched, but all were observant as the ferret walked around and occasionally tried to burrow.

The camp educators taught the campers all sorts of facts about Buddy and answered any questions the kids had. One girl asked, “Why is he so sweet?”

Some of the older campers talked about their favorites. Calee Tilton, 12, said her favorite is Sox the fox, and Caleb Hernandez, 11, is a fan of Murray the tortoise. The two have attended the camps multiple times.

“I have a lot of fun,” Caleb said. “I like it all.”

As for her first zoo camp experience, Tanis said her birthday present was worth it and had a message for parents who are thinking about sending their kids to the camp.

“If their kids like animals, this is really going to be a camp that they’re going to like because we go near animals and we go behind the scenes where other people wouldn’t be able to go,” she said.

The Caldwell Zoo hosts various weeklong camps throughout the summer for children ages 4 to 13.

Visit here for more information.