3rd grade camps

For campers entering 3rd grade in fall 2026

Time Travelers

Full day: 9am–4pm

Offered weeks 1-3, 6-7

Jump through history as you explore a new time period each day and experience the lives of Iowa’s first farmers. Help with farm chores in 1900, make ice cream 1870s-style, tell a folk story in the pioneer days, and cook fry bread!

	Theme	Activity Highlights
Monday	Setting the Stage	Visit Tangen Home and do laundry, make trinket boxes, Victorian era gardening
Tuesday	Pioneer Days	Visit 1850 Pioneer Farm, dip candles, shop at Museum Store
Wednesday	Heritage Day	Visit Flynn Mansion, visit Broom Works and make a cake tester, learn to play Victorian games
Thursday	The Ioway	Visit 1700 Ioway Farm, cook fry bread, creek walk
Friday	Town Day	Visit Print Shop, learn art of paper quilling, make ice cream

Activities subject to change. On creek day your camper will get wet and muddy. Bring a towel or plastic bag for the car.

Technology Through the Years

Full day: 9am–4pm

Offered weeks 4-6, 8-10

What is technology? Come and explore that question! Spend the week learning about very early technologies and seeing how technology has evolved through time. Use creativity to come up with technology of your own to help with certain tasks.

Special note for weeks 4 and 5: Leading up to July 4th, all camps will include special activities relating to the celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

	Theme	Activity Highlights
Monday	Simple Technology	What is technology, design technology for gardening
Tuesday	Moving to Iowa	Visit 1850 Pioneer Farm, go fishing, make ice cream
Wednesday	Businesses Tech	Visit town businesses, simple machine activities, shop in Museum Store
Thursday	1900 Era Farm Tech	Learn about Henry Ford and George Washington Carver, assembly line activity, creek walk
Friday	Tech in the Home	Visit Flynn Mansion and Tangen Home

Activities subject to change. On creek day your camper will get wet and muddy. Bring a towel or plastic bag for the car.

Farm Scene Investigators (2nd–3rd grades)

Full day: 9am–4pm

Offered week 11

During this 3-day camp, investigate what has been happening on the farm. Learn how farm families take care of the land around them as well as their crops and livestock. Explore the nature around you and solve the mystery of where the food in the grocery store comes from.

On Wednesday, celebrate with your special guests during a “Farm Mystery Party.”

This camp has no creek walk.

	Theme	Activity Highlights
Monday	How Does Nature Grow?	Learn about parts of a plant, make recycled crafts like flowers out of plastic and plantable paper, learn how a greenhouse works
Tuesday	Farm Animals	Visit the 1900 Farm and do chores, play farm and animal themed games
Wednesday	Where Does Food Come From?	Make food and decorations for the party, 3:15 “Farm Mystery Party”

List represents activities campers will do during the week. Use this to prepare your camper and have follow-up discussions. Activities subject to change.

Wait list

If a camp session is full, you may ask to be placed on a wait list.
Be sure to indicate the name of the camp(s) and the date(s) you want.

Group Requests

When we have multiple camps of the same grade level, we cannot guarantee your child will be placed with friends. However, we will make every effort to accommodate up to two requests. Please keep the following in mind:
• Campers must be registered for the same camp, in the same week, and be in the same grade.
• Camp is about making friends. When large groups of friends are together, other campers can feel left out. We will split requests larger than 3 friends.