Camps at the Aquarium this summer.

Last year, a record number of 570 young people participated in the Aqua Fun, Aqua Zoo and Aqua Tots camps, according to the Aquarium's education and Aqua Camp coordinator Mrs. Mary Winchell.

Eleven teachers and their assistants, with the help of the BAMZ staff engaged children in activities that helped them understand a little bit more about the Bermuda environment and the animal kingdom, said Mrs. Winchell.

Aqua Camp tries to provide children with a stimulating fun-filled one week programme which helps lay the foundation of a conservation ethic that lasts a lifetime, she noted.

The programme, which has been in effect for about fifteen years, has grown to include a wider cross-section of students from the community.

"We want to reach everyone and our sponsors are allowing us to do this,'' said Mrs. Winchell. "Through their financial aid, we can offer anywhere from 20 to 40 free places each summer,'' she said.

To accommodate the growing number of students, an extra camp was set up in a tent in the zoo last year.

Also the Aqua Tots camp changed its venue to a full week of mornings for the pre-schoolers instead of an afternoon or morning per week for four weeks.

Said Mrs. Winchell: "This improved continuity and facilitated easier social interaction for the tots.'' As well, an after-camp-care programme was piloted last year at the request of some working parents, she said.

Students participated in a variety of programmes last year including exploring Admiral's Cave, snorkelling in Harrington Sound, microscope investigations of marine animals, animal husbandry in the zoo, painting T-shirts, nature games and activities at various locations, as well as studies of bees, turtles, corals, animal feeding, marine mammals, fish and marine invertebrates.

The purpose of the camps is to educate children on environmental issues. "We want to show them what's out there and teach them to preserve what we love,'' said Mrs. Winchell, adding that children are naturally very interested in the environment.

"Students get to experience the environment with its various components and understand how they all work together. Our aim is to get children to respect the components of our environment and see how we as humans fit in,'' she said.

Aqua Tots camp is designed for children aged four to five who will be starting primary school in September. They meet each morning from 9 a.m. to noon for one week. A different topic is covered in each session, which includes hands-on activities and arts and crafts work.

The Aqua Fun qua Zoo camps present stimulating activities related to Bermuda's wild life and the Aquarium, Museum and Zoo's exhibits to primary school children in a week long programme for each year, P1 to P7, in July or August.

Projects include snorkelling (for older children), investigating creatures on the shore, use of microscopes, field trips, arts and craft work and some animal husbandry for older children.

The Aqua Fun qua Zoo programme is designed so that a child can attend for seven years and not experience too much repetition.

The application deadline for the Aqua Camps this year was March 5. "But keep the programme in mind for next year,'' noted Mrs. Winchell.