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Lussier Family Heritage Center

Registration

Registration will open in Winter 2025, check again soon.

Junior Naturalist Summer Camp

2024 Junior Naturalist Summer CampLooking for a fun-filled, adventurous summer outside? Join the Lussier Family Heritage Center’s Junior Naturalist Summer Camp in the heart of the Capital Springs Recreation Area. 

Youth cohorts, between ages 6 - 14, will practice being a naturalist, outdoor recreation, and discovering the world around them. By using exploration tools and curiosity we will learn more about our natural areas. Through biking, hiking, and canoeing, we will look high and low in water, prairies, and woodlands to gain a deeper understanding of the surrounding environment.

Junior Naturalist Benefits:

  • Explore your natural areas
  • Participate in recreation activities
  • Increase outdoor physical activity
  • Develop a sense of community with fellow campers
  • Learn about the environment through active experience
  • Build plant and wildlife ID skills
  • Explore outside in new ways!
Family Handbook
2024 Camp Brochure
2024 Spanish Brochure

 

Camp Details

Junior Naturalist activities will take place in William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park and surrounding Dane County Parks areas. Each camp will be one week long with a designated theme. Campers will be participating in a range of activities including scientific exploration, biking, plant and animal ID, canoeing, and more! This summer we are offering multiple summer camp sessions for ages 6 – 14. These sessions are happening concurrently so if you have children that fall into two different age groups, you can register them both for the same session so that you can drop them off and pick them up at the same time. There will be a maximum capacity of 12 campers in each camp group.

Drop-off and pick up will be at the Lussier Family Heritage Center (3101 Lake Farm Road, Madison) at the following times:

  • Drop-off: 8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
  • Pick-up: 3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  • Extended Care: available from 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. for an additional cost 

Cost: Pricing for camp starts at $300 a week. View the camp brochure to see pricing for each specific camp. Price reflected in brochure includes all field trip fees.

Additional Information:

  • Please be sure your child is dressed for the weather since we will be outside for the whole program. We will move indoors for serious weather events. 
  • More details on how to prepare for camp will be emailed in the family handbook prior to the start of camp.
  • Please read camp descriptions carefully to ensure your child will enjoy and is physical able to participate (for example, if the camp session includes biking, it will be expected that your child knows how to bike).
  • A person with or without disability, and with or without a reasonable modification, must meet the essential eligibility requirements for the program.

 

Fee Assistance

Lussier Family Heritage Center strives to provide educational opportunities for children of all income levels. Families may apply for fee assistance to supplement their tuition costs. An application does not guarantee a spot in Jr. Naturalist Camp. Applications are taken under consideration for either a full or partial scholarship. Fee assistance funds will begin being reviewed Feb. 1st and then on a first come, first serve basis. Applicants will be notified by email within 2 weeks of Feb 1st. 

If your application is approved, your child may be eligible for one week of fee assistance.

Sign up for our newsletter to get information about summer 2025 Junior Naturalist Camp and Fee Assistance when it is posted!

Newsletter

Registration Tutorial Videos

In order to make registration day as smooth as possible, decide which camps your child will attend and create a household account in our online registration system. Tutorial videos to help prepare for registration are linked below.

Create a Household Account
How to Register

 

FAQ

  • If you cancel your registration and notify us via email more than four weeks prior to the start of camp, you can receive a refund with a 10% reduction for administrative costs or transfer your registration payment to a donation for environmental education.
  • If you cancel your registration and notify us via email between 2 and 4 weeks prior to the start of your camp, you receive a 50% refund or transfer your registration payment to a donation for environmental education.
  • If you cancel your registration and notify us less than 2 weeks prior to the start of your camp, no refund will be granted. Your registration payment will automatically transfer to a donation for environmental education.

All cancellations must be made via email to heritagecenter@danecounty.gov.

Transfer/ Change Request

  • Transfer requests must be received at least 14 business days prior to the session start date, except for medical reasons (these will be handled on a case by case basis).
  • Requested summer camp session transfers must have open availability. If the session requested does not have availability and a participant still chooses to withdraw, the request is subject to the cancellation policy.
  • An approved transfer will incur a 10% change fee.
  • Transfers requests received less than 14 days of the program will be treated as a new registration.

Junior Naturalist is a childcare program, we would not cancel the program. Activities may change due to weather conditions.

We are offering financial assistance to Dane County residents with financial limitations that may prevent them from registering their child and/or dependent for a summer camp session. When registering, please fill out the requested information on tuition assistance. A brief explanation of why you are requesting financial assistance will need to be provided. Financial assistance will have a maximum allowance of one fee reduction/scholarship per year for each individual camper.