OSEP Summer Program Registration

How to Register for a Class

Click on the title of the class for which you would like to register.
Select the register button and fill in the required information. If registering for more than on class, you must register for each class individually.
Once you submit your registration form a window with the payment link will appear. Please click the payment link to complete your registration and payment.
If you have any problems or concerns please call/text or email Carole Lester at 760-914-3722 or carole.lester@ucsb.edu

We kindly ask that students only register for camp if they are able to attend all five days. This ensures that each participant can fully engage in the activities and experience the camp to its fullest, making the most of the learning and fun offered throughout the entire week.

Please note that we will not be able to issue any refunds for camp registrations after May 15th, 2025.

Scholarships

Scholarship awards are limited, based upon need, available funds and number of qualifying applicants. Please contact Carole Lester – carole.lester@ucsb.edu, 760-914-3722 for an application and if you have any questions.

2025 Summer Programs

Registration opens March 28 at 5PM

Click on the + sign to the right of the Class title to Register

The grade level listed is the grade student is entering in Fall 2025

Fantastic Fish – $135
Dates: June 16 to June 20
Times: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Grade(s): 1-2
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Kathi Kirkeby

Come learn about the amazing world of fish. We will learn all about fish and their underwater world. Do fish ever sleep? How do they breath under all that water? Were there any fish here a long time ago? These are all questions we will explore through art, books, hands on
experiments and more. Come join our ichthyoid (fish like) adventure at Valentine!

Registration is open

Involving Dissolving (DUAL LANGUAGE) – $135
Dates: June 23 to June 27
Times: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Grade(s): 3
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Shelly Escobar

Must be proficient in Spanish/English at 2nd/3rd grade level; admission subject to the instructor. Come see what happens when we mix powders with liquids, play with evaporation, and create crystallized masterpieces. Will everything we mix dissolve? We’ll use resources at Valentine, read stories, and create chemical reactions involving dissolving during this week of scientific exploration. Please note, non-toxic materials will be used.

Camp is Full. Register for waitlist

Hurray for Habitats! -$135
Dates: July 7 to July 11
Times: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Grade(s): 1-2
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Judy Burgenbauch

Owls, mule deer, rabbits, coyotes, bugs and bees all make their homes at Valentine. We will observe animals or evidence of animals that live in the high desert and/or riparian zones of the Eastern Sierra. As young scientists, we will record our findings and observations on our Habitat Boards. If you like to hike, explore, play games, and do outdoor science activities, then come join this expedition

Camp is full. Register for waitlist

Sensory Safari – $135
Dates: July 7 to July 11
Times: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Grade(s): 1-2
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Ana Danielson

In this class, we’re going on an awesome adventure to connect with nature! We’ll use cool mindfulness tricks to really feel the world around us with our five senses. Get ready to explore the outdoors in a whole new way, discovering how our minds and bodies react to everything we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Let’s have fun and learn about the magic of nature together!

Camp Closed

Mountain Math Magic – $135
Dates: July 14 to July 18
Times: 1:30m – 4:30 pm
Grade(s): 3-4
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Thea Franceschi

Through activities engaging with nature in the beautiful Valentine Reserve, we will learn how math and nature intersect. By playing math games, discovering patterns, and exploring the reserve, we will understand how math can explain the beauty and complexity of nature. Over the week, your math skills will improve, along with your understanding of math in the natural world.

Camp is full. Register for waitlist

A Bug’s Life – $135
Dates: July 14 to July 18
Times: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Grade(s): 1-2
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Anna Strathman

Come explore the unbee-lievable lives of bugs here at Valentine Camp! Search for our many-legged friends in this excell-ant program and learn why they are so important. Have you ever wondered what the world looks like for insects?Come on this artful arthropod adventure and become a young entomologist by exploring nature’s smallest neighbors – BUGS! We’ll embark on a bug safari through fields, forests, and water in search of a bug’s life.

Camp is Full. Register for waitlist

Painting in Nature – $180
Dates: July 21 to July 25
Times: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Grade(s): 5-6
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Annie Barrett

Learn basic acrylic painting surrounded by the beauty of Valentine Reserve. Through a series of fun and easy projects and exercises the students will work up to creating a beautiful painting. They will also have lots of time to explore Valentine.

Camp is Full. Register for waitlist

Wild Island Adventure – $135
Dates: July 21 to July 25
Times: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Grade(s): 4-5
Location: SNARL
Teacher: Carole Lester

Get ready for a week on the Wild Islands at SNARL. From the water we drink to the oceans that circle the Earth, liquids are everywhere. We will explore the properties of water and the wetlands surrounding the islands by observing the creatures that live there and discovering how liquids do what they do. Come prepared to get wild and wet as you learn all about our most precious resources.

Camp is Full. Register for Waitlist

Aquatic Adventures in the Eastern Sierra – $270
Dates: July 28 to August 01
Times: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Grade(s): 7-9
Location: SNARL
Teacher: Sandi Roll

Come with us as we learn about the wildly diverse Sierra Nevada aquatic world. We will visit and survey lakes, streams, and hot and cold springs. We will observe a variety of flora and fauna that live near and in the water. This camp will introduce you to biotic and abiotic sampling and analysis techniques. Hands-on experience collecting and analyzing samples from the phenomenal aquatic realms in our backyard.

Registration is open

Beautiful Bats – $144
Dates: August 04 to August 07 (no class on Friday 8/8)
Times: 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Grade(s): 2-3
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Michelle Kubiak

Bats are familiar to nearly everyone, yet most people have never seen one up close. Are bats dangerous? Do bats get tangled in your hair? Folktales and fantasy are all part of people’s ideas about bats. In this class you will learn the truth about bats is more astonishing than any of the stories about them.

Camp is full. Register for waitlist

Animal Adventure – $180
Dates: July 28th to August 1st
Times: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Grade(s): 3rd/4th
Location: Valentine Camp
Teacher: Tatum Sandvigen

Ready to become an animal expert? In this camp, we’ll have a blast discovering all about the cool animals around us! We’ll watch animals in action, hunt for animal clues, paint your favorite creatures, learn how animals survive in the wild, and so much more! There’s no better place to learn about animals than where they live, and Valentine Reserve is the perfect spot for all our animal adventures!

Registration is open