Summer is that wonderful time when the academic community takes a deep breath to unwind from the past school year and prepare for the coming one. At UGA, summer is also time for camp! The university hosts numerous day-long and multi-day programs for youth from as young as age 6 to those in college. See the websites below for more information and registration deadlines.
Dawg Camp
The Student Leadership Center at UGA sponsors a series of summer programs called DawgCamp for incoming first-year students. With several options to choose from, there is something for every new UGA student: Discovery-a weekend full of spirit about UGA with 200 of your soon-to-be best friends, Adventure-a weeklong trek through the wilderness with 15 of your newest classmates, and Classic City-your chance to serve the Athens community before you even move here! Research has shown that Dawg Camp programs have helped create a greater sense of UGA community and assisted students in developing campus networks. Dawg Camp participants are more involved on campus and in leadership positions than students who did not participate; additionally, Dawg Campers are more satisfied with their college experience in general.
Georgia Bulldog Summer Camps
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Cheerleading, and Golf camps are held at UGA to help youth hone their skills in time for next season.
UGA Summer Music Camps
Vocal and instrumental instruction for children ages 6-12 and summer marching band camp give budding musicians an opportunity to explore and develop their talents.
Summer Academy at UGA
The Summer Academy at the University of Georgia (SAUGA) offers a rich schedule of intellectually stimulating short courses and fun activities to keep the minds and bodies of rising 6th through 10th graders active during the summer. Programs are divided into one- or two-week camps with varying themes. All SAUGA camps run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Animal Science in Action
Aspiring animal scientists have the unique opportunity to study animal agriculture as never before. Rising high school juniors and seniors are invited to participate in this two-day program where “hands-on” means getting “down and dirty.” Nutrition, genetics, reproduction, biotechnology, and management of horses, beef and dairy cows, sheep, and swine are explored during this fun-filled camp on June 9-10.
Georgia Plant Science Scholars (GAPSS)
Designed to introduce high school students to the opportunities available in plant sciences, GAPSS is sponsored by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences departments of Crop & Soil Sciences, Horticulture, and Plant Pathology and the Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Each summer, students spend two and half days at UGA, touring the campus and participating in hands-on science experiments with UGA faculty and staff.
Poultry Science Scholars Program
The state of Georgia raises more poultry than any other state in the U.S. In fact, if Georgia were a country, it would be the 4th largest producer of poultry in the world. Three fun-filled days await high school juniors and senior students as they investigate Georgia’s largest agricultural industry. This is an excellent, “hands-on” opportunity for students interested in veterinary medicine, biology or science.
Georgia 4-H
Georgia 4-H is all about exploring, discovering, encouraging, and challenging. As a program of the Cooperative Extension Service in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Georgia 4-H has summer camps at the facilities in Wahsega, Truitt-Fulton, Rock Eagle, Tybee Island and Jekyll Island.
State Botanical Garden of Georgia
Each year the State Botanical Garden offers a variety of educational programs and events: lectures, workshops, short courses, nature walks, and special events. Subjects include horticulture, botany, gardening, botanical art, garden design, and a range of other related topics.
UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium
Summer Camps
The Summer Marine Science Camp (SMSC) program allows kids to grow up learning about the Georgia coast. Camps for kids aged 6-15 provide a range of age and academically appropriate science opportunities. Returning this summer is COAST QUEST, a residential parent-child camp for middle school students. All SMSC sessions emphasize “doing science, not viewing science” in marine science and coastal ecology.
Coast Quest is a 5-day residential parent-child team experience studying Georgia’s coastal ecosystems. Students and their parents are engaged in activities that emphasize hands on-learning in the lab and in the field. Participants focus their experiences on watershed related topics as they visit Wassaw Island, travel by boat through estuaries, spend a day aboard the R.V. Sea Dawg for “Studies at Sea”, and patrol the night beach for nesting loggerhead sea turtles.