Science & Discovery Center


  • Please, go to www.sciencediscoverycenter.org to register.
  • Camp costs vary.
  • All camp registrations are on a first come, first served basis.
  • Registration is not complete until all registration fees are processed.
  • Space is limited. Register early.
  • A limited number of financial camperships are available to families in need.
    • Applications are available on our website.
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Once Upon a Time (Ages 4-6)

@Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning

Come get lost inside a good book! Jump into your favorite stories with a storybook read-along, and then create artwork or solve stem challenges based on what we read! Can you build a gumdrop house for your little pig? Do you know the lifecycle of a butterfly? Join us for some fun stories and harness your creativity to become young engineers!
*Child must have turned 4 years old and able to bathroom independently prior to attending camp.

Camp Curiosity (Grades K-1)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads

What's in the box? Why do balloons float? Do you know what makes a rainbow? Join us for a week of discovery and exploration as we answer these questions and more! Campers will explore light refraction, experiment with balloons, use their senses to uncover secrets, and spend a week finding the answers to some of world's greatest questions!

Storybook Adventures (Grades K-1)

@Erwin Valley School, Painted Post

There's so much to discover both inside and out of a good book's cover! Dive into some of your favorite stories and bring them to life! Make the perfect bed for Goldilocks. Help the Three Billy Goats Gruff cross the bridge and stay safe from the trolls. Does buttered bread land more often butter side up, or butter side down? Let's find out! Each morning we will set the theme for the day with a read-aloud story, followed by some fun, hands-on activities.

Nature Navigators (Grades 1-3)

@Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning

Discover the wonders of the natural world in a week of exploration at the Spencer Crest Nature and Research Center! Daily nature walks will allow campers to get outside and explore acres of trails and ponds. Campers will explore everything from plant life through creating nature portraits, leaf rubbing and nature painting, to solar energy by creating a solar oven and sun printing. Nature Navigators allows campers to experience nature first hand and foster a sense of wonder for the world around them!

Mad Scientist Training Academy I (Grades 1-3)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads

Roll up your sleeves and come make a mess with us! This week campers will get a little messy while experimenting with chemical reactions. Campers will make sticky, slimy, fizzy and fluffy stuff out of everyday materials. Have fun making fluffy slime, squish painting, creating some messy art projects, gummy worms and more.

The Art of Color (Grades 1-3)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads(Session 1)
or
Erwin Valley School, Painted Post(Session 2)

Everyone knows what their favorite color is, but do you know where colors come from and how colors are created? Campers will get to be part artists, part scientists, investigating color theory through light and pigment. Campers will create their own artist's color wheels, witness color mixing through marbling paper, and conduct color-changing flower science experiments. We will explore the science of color by investigating rainbows, exploring chromatography, color mixing, painting, and more!

Clever Contraptions (Grades 1-3)

@Erwin Valley School, Painted Post

Campers will discover, experiment, and explore the world of engineering while creating Clever Contraptions! This week of fun-filled, hands-on activities focuses on simple machines, circuits, optical illusions and more. Campers will use the engineering design process as they build looming towers, craft stick catapults, paper roller coasters, windmills and even cleverer contraptions that allow campers to build, create and invent, all while using their imagination!

Mad Scientist Training Academy II (Grades 1-3)

@Erwin Valley School, Painted Post

Prepare to have your mind blown as you experiment with the chemistry, physics and tools behind some of our favorite chemical reaction. Campers will make sticky, slimy, fizzy and fluffy stuff out of simple materials. We will make some gooey slime, create some fun eruptions and a lot more messy fun things this week!

Blast Off (Grades 1-3)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads

3…2…1…Blast off! Get ready to launch to the moon and beyond in this fun-filled week of all things space! Launch stomp rockets, build a lander to get your astronauts safely back to Earth and discover different parts of the galaxy. Along the way, we'll make discoveries, explore gravity, learn about the planets, and figure out why the International Space Station rotates!

Outdoor Art (Grades 4-6)

@Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning

Nature can inspire art and provide the tools to make it - join us for a week of art influenced by the outdoors! Hike through the trails at Spencer Crest Nature and Research Center and get inspired by the beauty of nature. Turn your creative ideas into different kinds of art projects. Campers will experiment making colors from natural ingredients, use the sun to create one of a kind prints, paint an outdoor scene and try your hand at weaving with things found outside.

Out of This World (Grades 4-6)

@Corning Community College

Everything space: learn about the Apollo moon landing, build and launch your own rocket. We’ll play team Jeopardy where all the questions are about space, we’ll make a computer model of the Solar System where the planets orbit correctly, and make a model that explains the phases of the Moon.

Homemade Science (Grades 4-6)

@Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning

Budding scientists will conduct hands-on experiments during this fun-filled week using things you can find in your very own house! Campers will create chemical reactions with lemon volcanoes, make your own slushy in a bag, make ink float, create bouncing bubbles, make an egg glow in the dark and more during this exciting camp.

The Great Outdoors (Grades 4-6)

@Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning

Join us for a fun-filled week of outdoor exploration. Campers will embrace the world around them with a week of nature science, exploration and art. Daily walks will allow campers to observe plant, animal and insect life and play nature-related observation games. We will learn about local plant life and pigments through creating nature portraits, leaf rubbing and nature painting. Build bird feeders, small animal helters, create sun prints and art projects from nature.

Baking (Grades 4-6)

@Corning-Painted Post High School

What do cookies, bread and cake all have in common? Measurements and chemistry! We will be kneading, rolling, scooping, measuring and having fun while discovering the science behind baking. Find out how to make bread rise, what makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie and end the week with a baking and decorating challenge!

Cooking (Grades 4-6)

@Corning-Painted Post High School

Cook up some science and join us for a week of cooking fun! Campers will learn how cooking and science go hand-in-hand while they prepare and taste recipes for a different snack, meal or dessert each day. Learn to mix, measure, follow and write your own original recipes! Test your creative recipes by cooking and tasting each new dish. On Friday, compete in a pie-making contest to wrap up this fun-filled week!

Make It Move (Grades 4-6)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads

Put your imagination and creativity to work! Campers learn basic engineering concepts while creating all kinds of contraptions that move! During this camp, your young engineer will design creative machines of their own, including a marble run and a cardboard automaton. We will explore flight with gliders and speed with Co2 cars. Campers participate in building challenges to create simple machines that fly, speed, and race using basic materials, tips from famous inventors, and most importantly, their minds!

Fizzy, Messy, Slimy (Grades 4-6)

@Arnot Mall, Horseheads

Grab some goggles and get ready to get messy during this week of chemistry experiments in all their slimy, messy, foamy, fizzy, colorful fun! Campers will learn a surprising use for red cabbage, make gummy worms, discover how electroplating works and, of course, make color changing slime! Come celebrate the science of making a mess!