Overnight Camp Guide for Parents & Guardians

Dunes Discovery Camp and Dunes Adventure Teen Camp are 5-day, 4-night immersive experience for campers to explore rivers, search for salamanders, hike through dunes, cool off in Lake Michigan, laugh with new friends, and sing around the campfire. Day camps provide hours of fun on the DLC campus and around the Indiana Dunes National Park.

NEW THIS YEAR! Nat’s Sleepover Camp is a new, shorter camp designed just for 9-11 year olds. This camp will begin at 9am on Monday, June 30, with departure at 5pm on Wednesday, July 2.

Please read this information thoroughly as it contains important information about camp. If you have further questions regarding your child’s stay, please contact the Dunes Learning Center office at 219-395-9555 or email Erin Crofton, Camp Director, at ecrofton@duneslearningcenter.org.

Checklist

Please review and complete this checklist to ensure a smooth transition to camp for your child.

Prior to Camp

• Payment is due in full by June 1, 2025. (Payment and refund information is HERE)

• Complete the full camper profile on the CampDoc registration system by June 1. Email lgreenwald@duneslearningcenter.org for any questions completing your profile.

• A new campus tour video and check-in video will be posted in the spring.

• Review packing list and pack! - List below

Camp Check-In Day - check-in begins Monday at 9am Central Standard Time

• 2025 Check-In information will be provided by email ahead of camp. Please check back for details!

• Be sure your camper eats breakfast before coming to camp.

• Check-in will include a brief medical consultation with the Camp Nurse. Have medications ready to turn in at this time. Medications must be in their original container, in a labeled zip-top bag.

• Please limit the number of people in the vehicle. No one except the camper will be allowed to exit; no public restrooms will be available. No pets are allowed on campus.

• Please make every effort to arrive on time. Dunes Learning Center will verify absences by phoning the family of absent campers. For questions, please call 219-395-9555.

Camp Pick-Up - Dunes Discovery and Dunes Adventure pick up begins Friday at 10:30am Central Standard Time (no early pick-ups). Nat’s Sleepover Camp pick up begins at 5pm on Wednesday.

• Have your photo ID ready to show staff.

• Please remain in your vehicle; staff will come to you.

• No public restrooms will be available. No pets are allowed on campus.

About Dunes Learning Center

Health and Safety

Medical Care While at Camp
The health and safety of every camper is our first priority. Campers are monitored by all staff and will be screened by the camp nurse each morning. All staff are trained and certified in First Aid and CPR. National Park Service emergency dispatch and law enforcement personnel are available 24 hours per day to help with emergency situations. Northwest Health-Porter Hospital and Chesterton Health & Emergency Center hospitals are both 11 miles or less from Dunes Learning Center campus. Ambulance service runs from Porter Fire Department, located approximately 3 miles from our campus. If your child becomes ill while at camp or requires medical treatment beyond basic First Aid, you will be contacted. Parents will be notified for pickup if their camper has a fever of 100.4º F or higher.

Medicine at Camp
All prescription and non-prescription medicines must be in their original container with dosage and camper’s name clearly indicated. Medicines will not be accepted in substitute containers.
• Medicines are kept in our First Aid room and administered under staff supervision based on parent instruction.
• Place all medicine in a zip top bag with the camper’s name clearly marked.
• Medicines must be turned into the camp nurse upon check-in. You will be asked to list all medications, dosages, and purposes. State law prevents us from mailing any medicine(s) left at camp.
• Dunes Learning Center keeps a stock of over-the-counter medications. Parents will be asked for permission to administer these medications at registration. This will be reviewed at check-in.

COVID-19 Protocols
Dunes Camp activities have been designed to maintain the safest possible environment: Activities will take place primarily outdoors. Campers will not be tested on the first day of camp. However, based on current CDC guidance, anyone with respiratory virus symptoms should stay home until they are feeling better.

Parent Visitation
It is essential that Dunes Learning Center staff knows who is on campus at all times. Please do not plan on visiting your child during camp. If for emergency reasons you need to pick up your child, please call one of the emergency numbers listed above to arrange a pick up.

Camp Food
Campers are served 3 meals per day along with snacks. In order to provide a safe environment for individuals with food allergies, Dunes Learning Center is an allergen aware facility. If your camper has any dietary restrictions (personal, religious, or medical), please indicate this in CampDoc. If you need to speak with the Food Service Director, please send an email. Please do not send snacks. Food in the cabins attracts animals.

Communications

Mail & Email
Campers love to get mail, especially while at camp. You may drop-off letters to be delivered to your child during their stay at check-in. Mark on the envelope your camper’s name and the day that you would like the mail to be delivered.

Letters from home are a good remedy for homesickness, but please consider the following tips:
• Do not include food items!
• Encourage your child to try everything at camp.
• Send cheerful notes. Keep letters short.
• Encourage siblings, friends, and relatives to write.
• Send pre-posted and addressed envelopes with your camper so they can send a letter home.

Email is another great way to send your child encouraging notes. You may send emails to your camper at camper@DunesLearningCenter.org
• Include your camper’s name and cabin number in the subject line.
• Emails will be printed and delivered to campers each evening.
• Your camper will not be able to send return emails.

Camp Phones
Campers will not be allowed to make or receive calls. Do not send personal cell phones to camp with your child. All phones brought to camp will be collected and kept in the office until the camp session ends.

Camp Conduct

Behavior
The staff will do everything possible to help your child adjust to camp life. We follow a simple one-word rule: RESPECT. We expect campers to respect themselves by following instructions and safety guidelines; respect others by treating all campers and staff with courtesy; respect the facilities at camp; and respect the environment in their enjoyment of nature. Our RESPECT rule is clearly outlined for all campers at the beginning of camp. They are made aware of the rule and the consequences following disrespectful behavior.

Camp is thoughtfully designed to be a pleasant, educational, healthy, and safe environment for all. Dunes Learning Center reserves the right to send home any child who exhibits unsuitable or consistently disrespectful behavior, endangers the camp community, or engages in destructive acts. Any event of unacceptable behavior will result in the following:

• 1st Strike: a warning is issued and the program staff talks with the child.
• 2nd Strike: a second warning is issued and the child speaks with the Lead Staff or Education Director. The camper calls their parent/guardian to report their own misbehavior.
• 3rd Strike: child is withdrawn from activities. The child’s parent or guardian is responsible for picking them up from camp. In this case, there is no refund.

Serious infractions such as fighting, having weapons or controlled substances will result in immediate dismissal and possible prosecution.

Supervision
Dunes Learning Center programs and activities are led by our enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. Cabin Leaders are undergraduates currently enrolled in an academic program. They lead evening activities and stay in the cabins with campers overnight. Interpretive Naturalists have a university degree and lead daytime programs. Dunes Learning Center recruits staff from across the United States and around the world. All staff must pass a background check and receive specialized training including First Aid and CPR.

Dunes Learning Center utilizes the “rule of three” to ensure the safety of our campers. This requires a minimum of 3 people to be together at all times. The group of 3 may consist of 2 adults and 1 child, or 1 adult and 2 children.

Due to staffing recruitment, boys aged 9-13 may be placed in a cabin with a female cabin leader.

Camp Activities

Be sure to pack enough clothes to last the entire camp. Download a complete packing list for your camper here:
• Remember that camp involves a lot of outdoor activities. Do not send new clothes.
• Send an extra pair of shoes that can get wet and muddy.
• Be sure to include sweatshirts and long pants, as mornings and evenings are often cool.
• Pack a few plastic or reusable bags for wet and/or dirty clothes and shoes.
• Make sure your camper’s name is clearly marked on all belongings.
• Help your camper pack their bag.
• DO NOT send cell phones, personal electronics, electronic games, expensive cameras, iPods, pets, glass containers, food, or candy to camp.

Strictly Prohibited
• Tobacco and electronic cigarettes
• Alcoholic beverages
• Illegal drugs
• Weapons, including but not limited to: firearms, ammunition, and knives
• Animals
• Sports Equipment such as hockey sticks, climbing gear, or baseball bats

REMEMBER: PACK MEDICATIONS SEPARATELY (AND IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONTAINERS), AS THEY MUST BE TURNED INTO CAMP NURSE AT CHECK-IN.

Lost and Found
Remember to label all belongings with your camper’s first and last name so that they are able to return home with everything they brought to camp. Found items will be held at Dunes Learning Center’s office for two weeks after camp. Please note that only large items will be held, at the discretion of camp staff. Small items that are soiled, damaged, or otherwise deemed not able to be safely stored will be disposed of. If contacted about lost and found items, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to retrieve their property. Dunes Learning Center is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen items.