Join us at Four Points Youth Camp for the "Santa Cruz Coastal Explorers Academy," a dynamic week-long curriculum rooted in Place-Based Education that deeply connects campers to the local ecosystem through a rotation of Art, STEM, Theater, and Field Games. To foster specific developmental needs, campers are divided into distinct "Ecological Units" ranging from the Western Snowy Plovers (ages 5-6) to the Mavericks (ages 11-12). The program takes students on an educational journey through Santa Cruz’s most iconic landscapes, exploring the symbiotic "Giants of the Forest" (Redwoods and Banana Slugs), the physics of "Surf City USA," and the biodiversity of "Tidal Treasures" in the intertidal zone. Hands-on projects include engineering fog catchers and model roller coasters, mapping Monarch butterfly migrations, and creating surfboard art, all designed to balance high-cognitive STEM learning with high-energy physical play.