Everything You Need to Know About Greg Landry’s Marine Science Camp
If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know I’m a sucker for a good, thorough curriculum company that I can entrust my kids’ learning to. Greg Landry provides just that! From elementary science classes to high school labs, he’s our go-to science guy!
That’s why I was THRILLED when we were invited to attend his marine science camp in Dauphin Island, Alabama!
You can read all about Greg Landry’s Marine Science Camp here:
All Your Questions Answered
Day 1
Day 2
Camp Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
But for now, I wanted to answer some of the questions that I had when preparing for Marine Science Camp.
Everything You Need to Know About Greg Landry’s Marine Science Camp
While our situation is different because I attended the camp with my child, there were still several questions that I wanted answers to! Today, I’m filling you in on all the details.
Who is in charge?
The marine science camp is put on by Professor Greg Landry and his wife, Nancy. You may know Greg from the homeschool science classes he teaches at College Prep Science. He’s a veteran homeschool dad and a former college professor, with years of camp experience.
There are also “house moms.” These moms are vetted and have passed rigorous background checks. Each mom not only has to pass a background check but also has to morally align with the camp. They answer questions about their faith, community and more.
Miss JJ was our other “house mom” and she was the one who kept things rolling. She is a woman of faith, with a no-nonsense approach. She’s funny, friendly and an amazing role model. (Not just to the girls but for me, too!)
The house moms are with the girls 24/7. They attend classes with them, sleep in the same house, eat meals, the whole she-bang!
What do your days look like?
The camp is broken into what I call “lab days” and “fun days.” (Although to be totally honest, the lab days were some of the funnest days of my life!)
On lab days, you go to a morning class, lunch at the cafeteria, afternoon class then home for dinner. After dinner, the girls do a lesson with Mr. Landry, followed by their 15 minutes of “phone time.”
After that, they begin showering and working on their lab books. Some nights, we took a walk on the beach, depending on the weather.
At 9:00, we all gathered in the living room for our nightly small group. This is where we really got to know each other. Each night, we went around the circle, telling about ourselves, our family, our faith, our future plans, etc.
Lights are out at 10:00. Whether you’ve brushed your teeth, made your bed, packed your bag for tomorrow or not, those lights are going out at 10!
The girls were allowed to stay up as late as they’d like reading, but they had to use a small reading light. They couldn’t talk or disturb the other girls who were trying to sleep.
But honestly, when my head hit the pillow, I was OUT! We stayed so busy during the day that we were all ready for bed by 10:00!
How’s the food?
I’d be lying if I said this isn’t the first question that popped into my head when we started talking about attending the camp. I’m not a really picky eater but I didn’t want to be eating dry turkey and sauerkraut everyday for a week.
Lucky for me, that was the furthest thing from what I was served!
Miss Nancy made sure to keep plenty (and I do mean PLENTY!) of food in the house! We always had access to fresh fruits (grapes, oranges, apples, watermelon, etc.) yogurt, popcorn, pretzels and other quick and easy snacks. We could eat as much as our little hearts desired.
But mealtime…oh my! Meals were simply amazing.
- Sunday night, just after we arrived, we ate pizza from a local restaurant. It was delicious, as expected.
- On our lab days, we ate breakfast and dinners at the house and lunch at the Sea Lab cafeteria.
- The breakfasts at home consisted of multiple breakfast casseroles, cereal, oatmeal, plenty of fresh fruit, toast, bagels with cream cheese, biscuits and jelly, etc.
- On lab days, we ate lunch in the Sea Lab cafeteria. This food was “meh.” Not great, but totally edible. The first day we had our choice of hamburgers or chicken sandwiches. The second day was spaghetti and the third day was chicken strips. But to be totally honest, the salad bar was the hit of the show! I just filled up on their yummy salad and made it my main dish. (I also cut my chicken into pieces and ate it on my salad. So good!)
- Dinner on lab days was always a casserole-type dish, bought from a local restaurant. One day, we had the most amazing ravioli and baked spaghetti, complete with salad and Miss Nancy’s famous garlic bread. Another day, we had Mexican casserole and chicken dressing bake. It was SO good! And the third day, we ate lasagna. The dinners were the highlight of the day. There was always so much food and something for everyone!
The non-lab days were packed full of yummy meals:
- Breakfasts were eaten at restaurants: The Lighthouse Bakery and The Pirate’s Bar and Grill. Both have plenty of delicious foods to choose from!
- For lunch, we ordered deli sandwiches from the bakery one day and ate at Dockside the other day.
- The non-lab day dinners were my favorite. On Thursday, we went out for a “fancy” meal. Mr. Landry encouraged the girls to order whatever they wanted! They had appetizers, fancy non-alcoholic drinks, expensive entrees and desserts! They loved this and took full advantage of it!
- Friday night, we ordered fresh shrimp boil from Skinner’s restaurant. It was the perfect touch for our seaside trip! Many of the girls had never had fresh shrimp before and got to try it for the first time.
- We ate at 2 different ice cream shops throughout the week! And once, Mr. Landry let the girls go into the gas station and buy snacks of their own. (Have I mentioned how generous he is!?!)
Where will we stay?
We stayed in a stunning 5 bedroom house, right on the beach of Dauphin Island, AL! It was complete with 4 bathrooms, a large living room, kitchen and beautiful deck.
What should I bring?
Once you sign up for camp, Greg will send you a packing list. We used a lot of the stuff on the list but some of the items I stressed over are the things I could’ve survived without.
What I would definitely bring:
- jacket/overshirt
- walking shoes
- Chapstick
- sunscreen
- water bottles
- ponytail holders
- feminine hygiene products
- Bible
- markers/highlighters
- $20 for souvenirs
What I wouldn’t stress about:
- alarm clock
- watch
- books to read
- games to play
- shoes for the marsh (they have some there that you can use, if needed)
- snacks
- notebooks
Is it safe?
There was never a single instant where I felt even the slightest bit unsafe and I am a worrier. The house is secure. The girls are safely transported to and from the lab on golf carts (with seatbelts!) They stay in groups and look out for each other.
As long as your child is following the rules, you have no reason to worry about their safety.
How will we get there?
I wondered how people from all over the country would send their kids to camp. We had girls from Nebraska, Texas, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and New Jersey!
Drive:
We drove 12 hours! Some older teens drove themselves and other families dropped their kids off and went back home for the week.
Fly:
Some kids flew alone while others’ parents flew with them then caught a plane back home. Either way, the Landry’s will pick them up at the airport and transport them back to the Mobile Airport when camp is over. (Plus Miss Nancy will send plenty of snacks for the plane ride!)
Vacation:
Several of the families chose to bring their kids to camp then stick around the area and take a weeklong vacation.
Do we need to bring extra money to Marine Science Camp?
Nope, not unless you want to! We did take a quick trip to the local souvenir shop but if I were sending my kid, I would only give them about $20-$30. You can get a Dauphin Island hat and shirt set for $25, plenty of jewelry, magnets, keepsakes and more for under $20.
What type of credit will my child earn?
Some of the kids were at camp JUST to earn their high school science lab credit while others were just there for the experience.
The Marine Science campers will earn one semester of transcript credit for marine science with labs.
Will my kid be on their phone the whole time?
Nope, absolutely not. The phones are taken away on the first day and kept securely away from the campers. This allows the kids to focus on creating memories, learning and focus on building friendships with other campers.
The kids are allowed to have their phones for only 15 minutes each night. They can call their parents, take photos or check their email.
The 15 minute limit is strictly enforced, so parents should be ready and waiting for the phone call each night.
Will my kids be bored?
No way. They won’t have time to be bored! We seriously stayed busy from 6:30 am until 10:00 at night. I barely had time to call my husband to check in each day!
The days will pass by faster than you can imagine! Between the hands-on learning, fun meals and getting to know the other campers, your kids won’t even have time to miss you, let alone be bored!
Greg Landry’s Marine Science Camp was some of the most fun days of my life, so there’s no doubt your kids will love it and come home with once-in-a-lifetime experiences and memories to last a lifetime!
