Watershed Expeditions at Home

• Camp in a Box provides fun, meaningful activities for campers. Camp in a Box includes 10 activities over the course of four weeks that are science based, screen-free, encourage outdoor time, and minimize demands on parents. 
• Each camper that registers will receive a Camp in a Box in the mail the first week of July with all the materials and instructions for individual watershed exploration. In the box, campers will receive written instructions on how to do each activity. 
• Camp in a Box will include everything you need to keep your camper engaged: activities, crafts, and STEM projects. Instruction for these activities will be age-appropriate and connected to a theme for each week. 

Campers beware: grown-ups will be tempted to borrow these Camp in a Box supplies!

• Virtual camp is the digitally-interactive aspect of Watershed Expedition that brings the peer social experience of being at camp directly to your home. 
• Virtual camp will be conducted entirely through Zoom video chat. Our instructors will lead your camper through a variety of activities that take place during pre-determined Zoom dates and times. Please see below for more information about when each session is happening.
• Zoom session sizes will remain at a 1:10 ratio to ensure each camper will receive an adequate amount of attention.

Our goal is to bring our incredible staff, instruction, and the community you love at Missouri River Relief to your home! We believe our families and campers need camp more than ever. Please consider enjoying this program with siblings or registering with friends and participate as a small group in your neighborhood.

Watershed Expedition is designed for rising 4th-7th graders and rising 8th-12th graders. Each grade level range will receive age-appropriate instruction and activities. Each grade level range will also have separate virtual camp experiences. Also, this is a virtual camp so regardless of where you live, you can participate! 

Watershed Expeditions will happen in the month of July from July 5th to July 30st 2021. Our virtual camp will meet once a week via “Zoom” video chat and at registration, you will have the option to select your preferred date from the following options:

Rising 4th-7th Grader - Session 1

• Wednesday Morning: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CST
• Dates: July 7^th, 14^th, 21^st and 28^th

Rising 4th-7th Grader - Session 2

• Wednesday Afternoon: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CST
• Dates: July 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th

Rising 4th -7th Grader - Session 3

• Thursday Morning: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CST
• Dates: July 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th

Rising 8th -12th Grader - Session 4

• Thursday Afternoon: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CST
• Dates: July 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th

Each week’s activities will focus on a certain topic pertaining to explore the campers local watershed.

Week 1: Exploring Your Watershed (July 5^th-9^th)

• • Camp in a Box Activities: Botanical Sun Print, Scavenger Hunt, and Bird Feeder
  • Virtual Camp Activities: Welcome, Expectations, Watershed Olympics, Get to Know Each Other, Share Discoveries and Community Time.

Week 2: Making a Difference in Your Watershed (July 12^th-16^th)

• • Camp in a Box Activities: Local Neighborhood Cleanup, Boat Building and Message in a Bottle (i.e. Pen Pal with Another Camper)
  • Virtual Camp Activities: Watershed Olympics, Meet a Trash Warrior, Message in a Bottle Collection and Community Time.

Week 3: Telling the Story of Your Watershed (July 19^th-23^rd)

• • Camp in a Box Activities: Comic Strip, Watercolor & Nature Rubbing, and Sew a Critter
  • Virtual Camp Activities: Watershed Olympics, Meet a Watershed Artist, Discuss Watershed Project, and Community Time.

Week 4: Connecting Others to Your Watershed (July 26^th-30^th)

• • Camp in a Box Activities: Watershed Project
  • Virtual Camp Activities: Final Watershed Olympics, Share Watershed Project, Reflection, Celebration and Community Time.

What is the Watershed Olympics? Watershed Olympics is a series of team building activities used to enhance social relations and often involve collaborative tasks.  Each week’s activities will build on each other. 

What is Community Time? Each week we have built in the opportunity for campers to “hang out” with each other; to share discoveries, tell stories about their adventures, or ask for additional feedback on their activities. Community time provides a unique opportunity for all the campers to be able to socialize and make new friendships. 

What is the Watershed Project? During the Watershed Expedition, campers will identify an issue that in some way affects their local watershed. Campers will then learn how to use art to tell the story of their issue and each student will have the option to share their story in our last virtual camp. At the end of Watershed Expeditions campers will understand watersheds near and far. 

What if My Camper Does Not Like “Art”? We are using the word “art” very loosely for this project. Campers will be able to select their own medium which could include video, photography, graphic design, paint, comic strips, or sculpture. Guidance and encouragement will be provided to each camper throughout their project. 

Tuition costs $50 per camper and includes instruction and supplies for 10 activities over the course of four weeks, access to weekly virtual camp “Zoom” video chat and priority access to Camp Director, Kristen Schulte, for any questions.

Camp in a Box will be shipped to the address provided in your registration form. Our shipping fee is built into the tuition of the program. We will ship all Camp in a Box supplies the last week of June. Please allow 3-5 business days for shipping.