The best time of the year is officially here — summertime! This summer marks 20 years of childhood memories, learning, laughter, and, of course, ocean love at Sanibel Sea School. We are bringing back the best camp themes to help us celebrate, kicking off with Whale Shark Week: All Shark, No Bite. 

“As the sun sets a little later and the tide rolls in a little warmer, we are thrilled to welcome the first week of Summer Camp 2025!” said Sanibel Sea School Director Shannon Rivard. “There’s nothing quite like this season — it’s when our campus buzzes with laughter, discoveries, and the unmistakable joy of young ocean explorers. It’s buckets full of shells, mangrove mud between our toes, new friends made while learning to tie macrame, and so much more.”

Last week, campers learned all about these gentle ocean giants through experiments while swimming in the Gulf, doing shark dissections, tie-dying, and so much more. Campers immersed themselves in the world of whale sharks, from examining their main diet, plankton, under the microscope, to playing games that replicated their feeding style — kids walked away knowing all about the largest fish in the ocean!

“The first week of summer camp has certainly been one for the books!” said Camp Coordinator Annie Clinton. “We’ve all made new friends, found some fascinating creatures — including an up-close encounter with a dolphin! And, of course, learned so many new things along the way. I had an absolute blast, and I know the campers did as well.”

Sanibel Sea School offers week-long, day camps for kids, ages 4-13, and for teens, ages 13-17. Some spots are still available this summer.

Check here for openings >>>

To celebrate our 20th anniversary we are bringing back some of our most memorable camp weeks in reimagined ways. In 2017, during our last Whale Shark Week campers made a life-sized whale shark on the beach. This year, we repeated the camp tradition by making a 60 foot whale shark with our Island Skills group.

And in Sanibel Sea School style, every day included surfing, new friendships, macramé, and lots of games. Our first week of summer camp started with a splash and we can’t wait to make even more memories!