Animal Haven: Cub Creek Science and Animal Camp

What Lori Martin started as a summer program with 10 campers at Babler State Park more than 25 years ago has grown into a 10-week-long summer camp on a 250-acre ranch in Rolla, Missouri. Cub Creek Science and Animal Camp now welcomes more than 250 campers each year and recently added an extension of its program in Jamaica. With more than 100 species of animals on the grounds, it’s not your typical camp experience.

Creative director Ari Farley has been with the camp since 2012, previously working as a counselor and animal caretaker in the off season and now serving as Cub Creek’s lead photographer while camp is in session. “Being a photographer has been my favorite position so far because I get to see campers grow up and get to know more than just those in my cabin.” The relationships at Cub Creek—both with the animals and the people—are a big part of its attraction. “The most important lesson kids take away from camp is their sense of self-worth,” Farley says. “They are most like themselves when they are supported and in a community of peers who share their interests, and with counselors and leadership staff who support their goals and aspirations.”

It’s safe to say the majority of campers, who range in age from 7 to 17, share a deep love of animals, and Cub Creek offers quite the variety. Except for a handful of ‘display only’ animals, campers are allowed to handle and interact up-close with more than 300 species, including lemurs, porcupines, sloths, wallabies, alpacas, miniature horses and more. “Campers will have an enriching experience regardless of whether they are animal lovers, but it is our hope that everyone leaves here with a new appreciation for animals and their importance in our ecosystem,” Farley says.

Beyond caring for the animals, campers are able to choose from countless activities during each session. From May 29 through Aug. 6, there are six single-week sessions and six multi-week sessions, when campers can stay two, four or all six weeks. “Each session is structured the same,” Farley explains. “We want everyone’s camp experience to be special and tailored to them, so campers are in complete control of what they do. They choose two courses to participate in every day of the week, from junior vet, when campers learn the basics of being a veterinarian, to ceramics, archery, crime science, and adopt-an-animal, when campers spend the week with an animal of their choice.” Along with these two courses, campers choose classes that change daily, like friendship bracelets and zipline. “Cub Creek has a five-element ropes course, an archery and rifle range, pottery studio, and even a fossil pit and gemstone quarry,” Farley says.

Along with the 1,600-square-foot, air-conditioned cabins with private bathrooms, Cub Creek is adding a brand-new 17,000-square-foot dining hall this year. And it is the third year for Animal Camp Jamaica (ACJ), a way for the Martins to share the culture and cuisine of one of their favorite vacation spots with teenagers age 14 to 18. Three experienced, lifeguard-certified counselors from Cub Creek are chosen as trip leaders for ACJ; they accompany campers on each outing of the 13-day trip. During their session, young adventurers snorkel every morning on the beach, kayak, interact with dolphins at Dolphin Cove, travel the island of Jamaica and climb Dunn’s River Falls. They stay in the camp’s gated, four-bedroom villa on 2 private acres and enjoy meals prepared by the villa’s personal cooks.

“I wish I had this experience when I was younger,” Farley says. “Camp is a place where kids can learn, be 100 percent themselves, conquer their fears and achieve their goals!”

Cub Creek Science and Animal Camp at Bear River Ranch in Rolla, Missouri, offers single-week and multi-week sessions from May 29 through Aug. 6 for campers age 7 to 17. For more information, call 573.458.2125 or visit mosciencecamp.com.

Photos courtesy of Cub Creek Science and Animal Camp