Marine Science Summer Camps on the North Fork and Nearby

May 15, 2026

For kids who love aquatic animals, science, and hands-on activities, we found eight marine-focused summer programs on and near the North Fork. They range from short aquarium sessions to week-long camps focused on fieldwork, coastal exploration, and conservation projects.

Long Island Aquarium: Sea Squirt & Shark Bait

Riverhead

Long Island Aquarium has two short morning programs in late June for the youngest campers. Sea Squirt is for toddlers ages 2 to 3 and includes sensory play, animal exploration, and time in the interactive salt marsh. Shark Bait, for ages 4 to 5, adds experiments, crafts, and games.

Sea Squirt, ages 2 to 3, runs June 22 to 23, 9:00 to 11:30 am. Shark Bait, ages 4 to 5, runs June 24 to 26, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Long Island Aquarium Summer Adventure Days

Riverhead

Summer Adventure Days is a week-long aquarium camp with programs for different age groups. Younger campers explore themes like pirates, rays, sharks, insects, birds, reptiles, and local habitats. Older campers can join more specialized weeks, such as Shark Week, Sea Lion Scouts, Adventurers, and Junior Aquarist.

Each week offers different activities. Campers might feed stingrays, meet aquarium animals, visit the bug lab, watch a shark dissection, snorkel in Shark Reef Lagoon, kayak on the Peconic River, or learn about aquarium care with coral, fish, and tank projects. All programs for ages 6 to 12 include a ride on the Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat.

Ages 6 to 16, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Select weekly programs run from June 29 to August 14.

Turtleback Summer Program

Mattituck

Turtleback is an outdoor conservation camp in Mattituck focused on local species. Each week has a different theme, like horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins, endangered shorebirds, marine mammals, and other local wildlife.

Campers spend their days outside doing nature study, conservation projects, games, art, and meeting guest visitors connected to the week's theme. This year, the camp takes place at Veterans Memorial Park and Bailie Beach.

Ages 5 to 12, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Nine weekly sessions run June 29 through August 28. A CIT program is available for returning campers ages 13 to 15.

Peconic Dunes Sea Adventures at Cedar Beach

Southold

Sea Adventures is a full-day camp at Cedar Beach, run by Cornell Cooperative Extension. Campers learn about coastal science through beach and water activities, touch tanks, experiments, and shoreline exploration.

Each week, activities might include shark dissections, kayaking, paddleboarding, ocean-themed art, and field trips.

Entering grades 2 to 8, with LIT and CIT options for older students. Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. Eight weekly sessions run June 29 to August 21.

Quogue Wildlife Refuge Summer Ecology

Quogue

The Summer Ecology Program at Quogue Wildlife Refuge is a morning camp where kids explore habitats and ecosystems. Campers spend the week at the refuge, visiting their Chocolate Pudding Pond, Fairy Dell, and the Mud Trail.

The marine connection comes on Thursday, when the group goes to Dune Road in East Quogue to seine in Shinnecock Bay.

Entering grades 2 to 6, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Weekly sessions run June 29 through August 28.

Tiana Bayside Summer Programs

Hampton Bays

Tiana Bayside is based at a marine education center in Hampton Bays, between Tiana Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

There are three programs to choose from. Bayside Adventures is the most science-focused. Campers seine for fish and invertebrates, set up their own tank for the week to learn animal care, run experiments, and help CCE restore shellfish beds and coastal habitats. ArtSea combines marine science with studio art, so kids paint, draw, or sculpt while exploring the shoreline. Seahorse Art & Science is for older kids and centers on seahorse biology, ecology, and behavior. Campers seine to catch, measure, and photograph seahorses for CCE's Seahorse Conservation Initiative, join eelgrass restoration, and create seahorse-inspired art.

Ages 7 to 14, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Bayside Adventures, ArtSea, and Seahorse Art & Science run in select sessions from July 13 to August 28.

Pond Keepers Field Program at PCS

Cutchogue

Pond Keepers is a half-day field science program from Peconic Community School, created with the Citizen Science Learning Center and The Artist's Nest. Instead of staying in one place, campers spend the week visiting local water habitats, from freshwater lakes to Sound beaches.

The program combines environmental science with observation and art. Campers check water conditions, study what they find in each habitat, and use notes, images, and maps to understand the surrounding ecosystem. A scientist and an artist run it together, giving the camp both a research focus and a visual, hands-on side.

Grades 4 to 7, Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. The program runs July 27 to 31.

NY Marine Rescue Center Workshop

Riverhead

For middle schoolers who are especially interested in marine animals, the New York Marine Rescue Center offers a three-day workshop at the Long Island Aquarium. The program covers marine animal rescue, rehabilitation, and release.

Students take part in hands-on projects, labs, lectures, and mock strandings, giving them a closer look at how marine rescue works behind the scenes.