Busch Gardens offers 'best kept secret' in 20+ years of summer camp

TAMPA, Fla. - One of Tampa’s oldest and most loved attractions has a program you’ve likely never heard of. 

The amusement park is known for its animals and thrills, but this year they’re hoping you will learn more about their Summer Camp Programs.

READ: Five new chimps swing into Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

"So many people don’t know that we do camps here at all. We have been doing them for over 20 years," explains Summer Camp Education Supervisor Jenna Seymour. 

One of the Bay Area’s best-kept summer secrets is Busch Garden’s Summer Day Camps and Resident Camps, giving kids of all ages a chance to get a close look at the wildlife and the coaster.

Activities include at least one up-close animal encounter every day. 

"For our kindergarten ones of course, we do age-appropriate rides, some crafts and different things…once [sic] they start getting a little bit older, into the middle school and high school range, we’re going to start doing a little bit more about the physics of our roller coasters and the thrills."

Middle and high schoolers have the option to spend the night and register for resident camp.

"We have a land & sea that’s not only going to be here at Busch Gardens but is going to take you to Sea World as well and spend the night."

Older campers, 10th through 12th graders, have the option to spend the summer learning what it’s like being a Busch Gardens zookeeper. 

"We’re going to get [sic] them up at 6-o-clock in the morning and send [sic] them right out to see exactly what it’s like to work in a zoo and see if that’s what [sic] they want to do for a living," says Seymour. "We get them out working in the zoo areas right alongside our zookeepers to see exactly what it’s like to be a zookeeper. They’re working right alongside. We don’t sugarcoat that for them at all. They’re seeing exactly what it is and what we do every day."

Busch Gardens also offers a counselor-in-training program for older campers that can double as volunteer hours, if school approved.

After a morning of working in the zoo, resident campers usually get to spend the afternoon having fun. 

"They get front-of-the-line access to all of the rides, the shows that we go and see, and we’re going to do some other behind the scenes in our animal areas as well."

Seymour says, no matter their interest, there’s a Busch Gardens summer camp for every student. 

"We have a camp for everybody here. They really want to get educational and fun and that’s what we do here at Busch Gardens."

Registration is open now.

For more information and pricing, click here.