Programs & Availability

Myrick Center
Summer Camp Programs

 

The Brandywine and Red Clay Valley Associations’ 318-acre Myrick Conservation Center offers unique, outdoor opportunities for children ages 4-16.

Each program focuses on a particular theme, but all children will leave the Center with a better understanding of, and an appreciation for, the natural world. 

The Myrick Conservation Center Summer Camp Program, now in its twenty-third year, is pleased to offer this collection of outstanding nature camps! 

Programs meet at the Myrick Center’s Browning Barn from 9AM to 3PM, unless otherwise noted in the program description.  The 4 & 5 year olds will meet from 9AM to 11:30 or 12:30 to 3PM.  Several programs feature overnight camping trips that generally take place on Thursday evenings.  To maximize fun and safety we limit our programs to 10 to 15 participants. 

Select an age group to view applicable programs:


Preschool Programs – Ages 4 & 5

Berries, Seeds and Sprouts

June 22 – June 26 Session is FULL
July 13 – July 17 Session is FULL

Do you love plants?  Come along on nature walks to discover many types of trees, leaves, flowers and seeds.  We’ll look for tiny saplings near the giant White Oak tree and visit the garden and greenhouse to water the seedlings and look for sprouting vegetables.  You’ll taste yummy berries and sweet vegetables from the garden!  $95 members / $145 nonmembers

 

Coyote Pups

August 3 – August 7 (AM)
August 3 – August 7 (PM)
 

Coyote, the trickster, seems to always be hiding.  You can play along in a game of hide-and-seek, too!  You can also help to search the farm fields and woods for signs of mammals, like coyote tracks and walnuts left half-eaten by squirrels.  This camp is all about animals and their babies! $95 members / $145 nonmembers

 

Sense and Sensibilities

July 6 – July 10 
July 27 – July 31 Session is FULL

Don’t forget your tools for this week’s exploration!  Your senses will allow you to discover the Myrick Center’s many wonders.  Listen to the sounds of green frogs at the pond.  Feel the cool, mossy rocks at the stream.  Follow the deer tracks through the wetlands.  Smell the plants in the herb garden and taste the vegetables from our organic garden.  $95 members / $145 nonmembers

 

Water World

July 20 – July 24 (AM) AM Session is FULL
July 20 – July 24 (PM) PM Session is FULL

There’s water in the pond and in the stream.  There’s water underground and even water in the air!  Learn about our watery world by exploring all of the places water can be found at the Myrick Center.  You’ll play water games and get really wet every day!  $95 members / $145 nonmembers

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Ages 6 & 7

 

Dinosaurs, Past and Present

June 22 – June 26
July 27 – July 31

Do you want to know more about dinosaurs?  Did you know that dinosaurs were giant reptiles?  That means they have living relatives!  Come learn about their distant family members and dig for fossils.  You’ll be sure to meet a reptile and get an up close look at amphibians and birds of the area while having fun with dinosaur discoveries!  $155 members / $205 nonmembers

 

Earth Art

July 27 – July 31 Session is FULL

Join us for nature-inspired, hands-on, creative projects to express the beauty of the great outdoors!  We’ll be using our imagination while watercolor painting, drawing and working with clay.  Seek artistic ideas in the brilliant colors of the organic garden, the lush green plant life around the pond, and the coolness of the woods! $165 members / $215 nonmembers

 

Mudventures

July 13 – July 17 Session is FULL
August 3 – August 7 Session is FULL

 

Mix mud and adventure together for a fun-filled time!  Get to know nature like never before by looking for things like salamanders, squishy egg masses, animal scat and owl barf!  You’ll visit the Barn at Springbrook Farm to meet the animals and help them cool off.  Enjoy cooling off yourself by walking through the creek and splashing in the sprinkler!  $170 members / $220 nonmembers

 

Cattails and Animal Tales

July 6 – July 10
July 20 – July 24 Session is FULL

Storytelling about animals is a time-tested pleasure.  Listen to stories told by a professional storyteller and spend the week searching for animal signs and learning about plants and the pond at the Myrick Center.  You’ll even see some animal tails by visiting the Barn at Springbrook Farm.  And, you’ll never guess what cattails were used for by the Lenape Indians... $180 members / $230 nonmembers

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Ages 8 & 9

 

Creek Craziness

NEW SESSION - JUST OPENED!

*June 22 - June 26* Several Openings Available!

June 22 – June 26
August 3 – August 7 Session is FULL

If you love the water, this is a week you can’t miss!  You’ll go tubing down the Brandywine, play in Rock Run, a beautiful stream at BVA’s Saalbach Farm and visit French Creek State Park for a swim at their pool. $260 members / $310 nonmembers

 

My Side of the Myrick Center

July 13 – July 17 Session is FULL
July 20 – July 24 Session is FULL

Would you be able to survive at the Myrick Center with nothing but a penknife, a flint and steel set, a ball of cord and an ax?  Just like Sam Gribley in the famous book My Side of the Mountain, you will seek adventure and learn how to survive in the wilderness.  You’ll build a shelter, track animals, identify edible plants and learn how to make a fire. $175 members / $225 nonmembers

 

Ecoventures

July 13 – July 17 Session is FULL

Many ecoventures await you!  You’ll spend the week paired up with the BOLT campers (13-15 year olds) as you play games, go tubing on the Brandywine, climbing at Vertical Extreme Rock Gym and fishing at a nearby pond.  You’ll have fun experiencing all of these things with your new friends.  $275 members / $325 nonmembers

 

Treasure Hunters

July 6 – July 10
July 27 – July 31

Become a modern-day pirate as you go in search of a treasure or surprise every day of the week.  You’ll do the Myrick Center Quest, go letterboxing, geocaching and orienteering.  Be prepared to tube and run, but you’ll never know what will be around the next corner! $245 members / $295 nonmembers

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Ages 10-12

 

Vertical Adventures

July 20 – July 24 

Discover what lies below the ground when you climb through, over, around and further into a deep, dark cave.  Push yourself to new limits as you participate in a local ropes course earlier in the week.  Learn to get past your fears of the dark by visiting Indian Echo Caverns on Wednesday.  Leave for a wild caving trip, led by an experienced spelunker, on Thursday morning.  Camp overnight, and return on Friday.  Pick up is at 4:00 PM on Wednesday and 3:00 PM on Friday. $360 members / $410 nonmembers

 

Extreme Survival

July 13 – July 17 Session is FULL
August 3 – August 7 Session is FULL

If you think Survivorman, Les Stroud, is cool, then you’ll think it’s even cooler to practice learning to survive in nature for yourself.  Learn to build a shelter, make a fire, and find wild plant foods.  You’ll try your hand at archery, learn how to throw a tomahawk, canoe on the Brandywine, visit a survival camp at Saalbach Farm and camp overnight on Thursday at the Myrick Center.  Your family and friends will be calling you Survivor(wo)man by the end of this week!  Pick up is at 11:00 AM on Friday. $270 members / $320 nonmembers

 

By Land and Water

June 22 – June 26
July 6 – July 10

This will be an adventure-filled week of exploring the Brandywine watershed by canoe, kayak and bike!  Kayak the day away at Marsh Creek State Park.  Take a bike ride along the Struble Trail and canoe the Brandywine Creek.  You must bring your own bike and helmet on the Struble Trail day.  $335 members /$385 nonmembers

 

Hawks and Rocks on the AT

July 27 – July 31

This is your chance to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail (AT)!  The AT is 2,175 miles of trails that connect Georgia to Maine.  You’ll have an opportunity to hike a small section of the Pennsylvania portion of the AT, see the spectacular “blue rocks” glacial deposit, visit Hawk Mountain and camp nearby on Thursday night.  Earlier in the week you’ll take a bird hike with an experienced birder at the Myrick Center and go kayaking to silently sneak up on some water birds.  You may even see a bald eagle!  Pick up is at 3:00 PM on Friday. $355 members / $405 nonmembers

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Ages 11-15

Short and Sweet Adventures

June 29 - July 1 (Monday-Wednesday) 

These three days will get you pumped up for the approaching holiday weekend!  Monday you’ll go for a canoe trip on the Brandywine.  Tuesday, you’ll leave for the spectacular Jim Thorpe, PA for a white water rafting trip and overnight camping.  Wednesday you’ll go on a hike before returning to the Myrick Center.  Pick up is at 5:00 PM on Wednesday. $310 members / $360 nonmembers

  

Something Fishy

July 20 – July 24

If you like to fish, or want to learn how to fish, this is the week for you!  Learn about different types of equipment and how to use it while exploring some great freshwater and saltwater fishing spots. You will learn the art and science of fly casting and how to tie your own flies.  You’ll fish at a local pond and in the Brandywine Creek.  On Thursday you’ll head to coastal Delaware for an overnight camping and saltwater fishing expedition.  You’ll fish off a pier, in the surf and aboard a chartered fishing boat in the Delaware Bay for some inshore fishing.  Along the way, learn about saltwater and freshwater ecosystems and fish biology.  Even if you participated last year, there’s ALWAYS more to learn!  Your guide for this unique journey will be an avid outdoorsman and naturalist, BVA/RCVA’s own Managing Director, Jim Jordan.  Pick up is at 5:00 PM on Friday.  $470 members/$520 nonmembers

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Ages 13-15

 

 

BOLT for the Outdoors

July 6 – 10 & July 13 – 17 (2 week program)

Is it lightening? Is it a canine superhero? Is it a rock band?  Google BOLT and you’ll find anything but what it really is: the BVA/RCVA’s “Basic Outdoor Leadership Training!”  Can you light a one-match fire? Swamp and rescue a canoe? Be part of a team climb? Make an authentic S’more over a campfire? Learn outdoor and leadership skills while building your own team during week one.  You’ll go to a local ropes course, develop and perfect your canoe skills on the Brandywine and spend Thursday night camping out at the Myrick Center.  In week two, you’ll put these skills into action by working with the 8-9 year old Ecoventure camp.  You’ll cheer on your new friends as they climb at the rock gym, help to bait their hooks as they fish at a local pond and help guide them down the Brandywine in tubes as you canoe alongside.  This training will provide you with a certificate of completion telling schools and future employers that you are an Outdoor Leader protecting the planet, leading by example and teaching future stewards how to do the same.  Talk about a superhero!  Pick up on Friday, July 10th is at 11:00 AM. $595 members / $645 nonmembers

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