Adventure Camp

Adventure Camp was a reality-based American television series on Discovery Kids, filmed at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa and inspired by the actual SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Adventure Camps. The show was unscripted, with campers engaging in genuine camp activities like diving into the SeaWorld shark tank and cleaning animal enclosures on the veldt at Busch Gardens Tampa. After its original run, reruns aired on The Hub until March 25, 2012.

The series followed eight kids—four from the United States and four from the United Kingdom—as they traveled to Florida for adventures including feeding orcas at SeaWorld and cleaning up after animals at Busch Gardens. Premiering in March 2008 on Discovery Kids, the show featured exciting, thrilling, and sometimes gross experiences. Each day, a camper who demonstrated a quality like teamwork received a necklace and the chance to join an extra-special adventure the next day. All campers were given necklaces and told that earning 20 beads by the trip’s end would grant a close animal encounter, which turned out to be swimming with dolphins. Domonique was the only camper who did not earn enough beads, but Melissa gave two of her own beads to Domonique. The counselors then allowed Melissa to earn the two missing beads by participating in a manatee release.

In Season 1, each of the eight campers was assigned an animal to care for throughout the camp. It is not recorded who took over care for Brandon’s animal after he left in episode 7.

A second season, also airing on Discovery Kids in 2008, featured another group of four U.S. and four U.K. kids, with counselors Bill Street and Kelly Deidring. Each episode highlighted a quality word such as respect or tolerance, and the counselors awarded a necklace to the camper who best embodied that word that day. That camper then chose another camper to join them on a special experience. At the season’s end, Warren won the final challenge and kept the necklace permanently.

For Season 2’s animal care, each camper drew a slip of paper with two animal names. The two campers who drew the same animals had to care for those animals together for the camp’s duration. Additionally, each camper was assigned one animal to present about on the final day.