With 13 years' experience running a family nature camp, the COA folks know what kind of activities appeal to kids. Which means that nearly every day we found ourselves poking, holding, petting, or otherwise touching something intriguing and often repulsive. The first night, bug man Tony Sohns shared a personal bestiary that included acid-oozing giant African millipedes, a venomous black widow spider, and pickled African dung beetles (providing much fodder for crowd-pleasing poop jokes). For a grand finale, he gathered us all in a darkened room and turned his black light on a scorpion, causing the once dark creature to radiate an eerie glow-in-the-dark green. Later in the week, the kids got to assemble a real minke whale skeleton, pet a stuffed beaver, and pluck slimy creatures from tide pools. On this last expedition, Alex captured a nudibranch, a sort of sea slug, which generated quite a stir for something that looked as though it belonged in a tissue.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated July 2005.