Island Skills What Every Island Kid Should Know
Summer Camp 2025
Each week of Island Skills camp has a unique theme and activities, but there are some things we do every week. We surf daily to practice for our famous Surf Paddling Competition on Friday mornings. In Sanibel Sea School style, every day includes beach time, games, macramé, and team bonding. Then there’s always artwork, journaling, seining and snorkeling. Our "Milk and Cookies Slideshow" takes place every Friday at the end of the day. Bring some delicious baked goodies and join us to experience your child's week of camp.
Island Skills Weeks Ages 6 to 13
$375/week
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Two Locations: Flagship & Homestead Campus
Psst… Your secret’s not safe with a whale shark; they have a really big mouth – four to five feet, in fact! Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea: six times the size of an adult human, eight times the weight of a great white shark, and the potential to be longer than a school bus. Despite their size, they have teeny tiny teeth and they eat some of the smallest marine creatures. These ocean giants glide through the water with their mouths wide open, sucking in mouthfuls of water and straining out plankton, small crustaceans, and schooling fish. Didn’t anyone ever teach them not to chew with their mouth open? We’ll experiment with ram feeding while swimming in the Gulf, pulling plankton tows, and building a life-size whale shark! And in Sanibel Sea School style, every day includes surfing, new friendships, macramé, and lots of games. It’s a whale shark world this week, and we’re lovin’ it!
Slowly stalking under a rock ledge, a lionfish emerges, opens its mouth, and shoots a paralyzing water rocket toward its unsuspecting prey. None the wiser, local fish are readily gobbled up by this stranger. While beautiful, lionfish have unfortunately made a scary impact on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. But how did these Indo-Pacific fish get here? And why are they a problem? We’ll answer these questions and more this week. Grab your masks and snorkels – the search for the lost lionfish is on! We’ll complete a lionfish dissection to analyze stomach contents and make beautiful jewelry from their fins. Get ready for “Lionfish Derby” and other games to understand the impact of marine invasives. And, of course, all of this investigating will call for lots of surfing breaks and fun on the beach.
*Half Day of Camp on the 4th of July*
Would you believe us if we told you fish can fly? Flying fish are superheroes of the sea, with the power to leap out of the water and glide through the air! If you’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing this marvel, you know how incredibly cool it is to see something built for water leap into the air and cruise along the surface. With their sleek bodies and powerful tails, flying fish can glide for up to 100 yards, skimming just above the waves like little airborne acrobats. This week, we have the craziest obstacle courses for campers to “fly” through; we’ll master skipping shells across the waves and experiment with the art of flight. And if we’re lucky, there might just be some flying fish soaring down Periwinkle Way this year in the 4th of July Parade… They might not have feathers, but these fish definitely know how to spread their wings and make a splash – just like Sanibel Sea School campers!
P.S. A little Sx3 fun fact – Flying Fish are one of Doc Bruce’s favorite sea creatures, so we must celebrate them for our 20th-anniversary camp!
Unlike many tribes in North America, the Calusa were unique in that they built tools out of shells, houses atop giant mounds, and foraged on the seas for food. Instead of living off the land, they lived off the ocean. And you know what? That’s what our mighty Sea Schoolers do, too! We’re going to live off the sea this week, just like every week of summer camp, but we’ll do it Calusa-style and go primitive. We will eat off of plates that we weave ourselves, build shelters on the beach, and fish with only our hands and nets. You’ll not want to miss this classic Sanibel Sea School camp. Step back in time with us; we’ll go back thousands of years to when the Calusa ruled the coast.
Imagine you’re a fish cruising along in the current… and all of a sudden… the sky goes dark. It’s like a blanket covering the sunlight. It could be none other than the manta ray! With wingspans that flirt with the ethereal, these gentle giants navigate the currents with their cavernous mouths and cephalic fins resembling outstretched wings. We’re lost in the magic of Manta Rays this week. And although we’re unlikely to see one close to shore, we’ll search for their relatives – snorkels in hand. We’ll learn about the differences between manta rays and their cousins, swim as the rays do, and gain an appreciation for their great migrations. You better believe we have the biggest, craziest, most extreme scavenger hunt planned for this week. It’s team Manta Ray, and we want you there!
The humble tunicate is believed to be the ancestor of all backboned animals. Larval tunicates look much more like back-boned animals than adults. Their larvae are tadpole-like and have a notochord, believed to be the earliest form of the vertebra. Anchored to rocks or swaying gently in the ebb and flow, they sport intricate tunics, translucent and ornate, as if nature herself has woven delicate robes for them. Tunicates are all around; you just have to know what you’re looking for! Sea squirts, sea pork, sea grape, and more. We’ll observe them under microscopes, experiment with slime, and play life cycle games. We can't wait to tune into summer mode and celebrate tunicates with you.
This week, we’re learning about one of the most fascinating circulatory systems on the planet. Drum roll, please… it belongs to the notorious living fossils: horseshoe crabs! While most animals have red blood, horseshoe crabs have blue blood. But that’s not all—their blood is also incredibly valuable in the world of science and medicine. It contains a special molecule that reacts to bacteria, making it a key ingredient in a test scientists use to detect harmful bacteria in vaccines, medical devices, and even drinking water. And here's the really cool part: horseshoe crab blood glows in the dark! Under ultraviolet light, their blood can emit a soft, eerie blue glow—an amazing natural phenomenon. Come join us to explore horseshoe crab habitat in the hopes of seeing one up close. We’ve got lots of experiments planned this week that will glow your mind. And what better way to understand this phenomenon than by searching for them under the stars during a favorite Sanibel Sea School tradition – a night snorkel!
What better animal to end our 20th summer camp with than our secret mascot?! Snook are sleek, powerful fish found in warm coastal waters, and they’re known for their impressive speed and agility! With their long, torpedo-shaped bodies and distinct black stripe running along their sides, snook are not only eye-catching but also amazing hunters. They’re experts at sneaking up on prey, often lurking near mangroves waiting for the perfect moment to strike. What’s really cool about snook is how adaptable they are—they can thrive in both saltwater and freshwater, depending on the season. This week, we’re going to dive into some fishy physics and will conduct our very own pressure experiments. We are going to play schooling games to learn how these fish stick together and stick together in our own school all week. We’re hooked on snook this week and we want you there!
Known for their incredible problem-solving abilities, dolphins can learn new tasks, communicate with each other, and even use tools. Their brains are large and highly developed, allowing them to perform complex behaviors like working together to catch fish or even using sponges to protect their snouts while foraging on the ocean floor. Dolphins communicate through a wide range of clicks, whistles, and body language, and studies show they even have names for each other. They can recognize themselves in mirrors, a sign of self-awareness. While we study these brainy mammals, we’ll learn about the central nervous system in animals. We’ll trick our brains and our senses to discover how perceptions differ from reality. We’ve got a couple of crazy dissections lined up, and of course, we’ll play in the waves just as the dolphins do!
Within every drop of ocean water, a secret, microscopic world of plankton is waiting to be discovered! They are often tiny, but their impact on the environment is gigantic. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are the foundation of the ocean’s food web. Phytoplankton use sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis and provide oxygen for the entire planet. Zooplankton feed on the phytoplankton and are, in turn, eaten by larger creatures like fish and whales. We’re giving these unsung heroes of the sea the spotlight this week. We’re going to design and build models to figure out the best way to control buoyancy, get out with a plankton tow to collect some, look at water samples under a microscope, and more. Get ready for an epic week of adventure as we zoom with the zooplankton and float with the phytoplankton. And it wouldn’t be plankton week without a Sanibel Sea School classic – the soul float!
*Half Day on 4th of July*
Armored with silver elegance, barracuda slice through the cerulean expanse, embodying the relentless spirit of apex predators. These torpedo-shaped hunters command the depths with an awe-inspiring and enigmatic presence. With razor-sharp teeth gleaming like shards of polished obsidian, barracudas strike fear into the hearts of smaller fish, their movements a masterful display of power. We’ll gain a deeper understanding of fish anatomy through a dissection this week and play games to understand predator-prey dynamics better. It will be a shiny week – sunshine, shimmering fish, and glistening salt on our skin. And, what would barracuda week be without a rousing game of an old Sea School favorite, Capture the Fish!
Hear ye, hear ye – the king has arrived! The King Crown Conch rules coastal waters with its stunning appearance. With a shell shaped like a royal crown, this conch is adorned with spiny, pointed ridges that give it a fierce yet beautiful look. We’re going to learn all about the majestic lives of these mollusks as we immerse ourselves in the intertidal, snorkels in hand. We’ll discover what they eat, how they move, and even what their egg cases look like. Get ready for “king of the raft” games and shell-inspired art projects. And we wonder who will get to crown themselves as the winners of our epic surf paddle race on Friday…
Unlike many tribes in North America, the Calusa were unique in that they built tools out of shells, houses atop giant mounds, and foraged on the seas for food. Instead of living off the land, they lived off the ocean. And you know what? That’s what our mighty Sea Schoolers do, too! We’re going to live off the sea this week, just like every week of summer camp, but we’ll do it Calusa-style and go primitive. We will eat off of plates that we weave ourselves, build shelters on the beach, and fish with only our hands and nets. You’ll not want to miss this classic Sanibel Sea School camp. Step back in time with us; we’ll go back thousands of years to when the Calusa ruled the coast.
Sea Stars belong to a group of animals called echinoderms, which also includes sea urchins and sand dollars. They are spiny or bumpy-skinned creatures whose bodies can usually be divided into five equal parts. For example, sea stars typically have five arms, but some species have more. Like 5, 10, 15, 20 – you get the picture. These creatures are known for their incredible ability to regenerate lost arms. If a sea star loses a limb, it can grow a new one, and in some cases, an entire new sea star can even grow from a single arm! This week, we’re on a quest to find Sanibel’s stars: the 9 armed, the two-spined, the gray sea star – the list goes on… We’ve got some silly tag games lined up and star-shaped tie-dye planned. We’re seeing stars this week, and we want you there!
This week is going to be otterly adorable! River otters are renowned for their sense of play: synchronized swimming, spirited games of chase, or tumbling together in the water. They’re just like Sea School campers! River otters rely on play to learn survival skills like fighting and hunting. Cloaked in sleek, chocolate-brown fur, they dart and weave with an infectious exuberance. We’ll do our best to find the elusive River Otter while exploring the Sanibel Slough. We’ll soul float on our backs, experiment with tools, and play games in true otter spirit. We have the cutest art project planned to make an otter come to life with coconuts. Catch us if you can this week!