Eli Whitney Museum

If you choose not to pay the fee in full, you can secure your registration with a 50% payment + a credit card number which is saved in the secure Registration system. Balances must be paid by May 1st. If we do not receive payment by May 1st, the balance will be charged automatically to your credit card. Your acknowledgement on the registration form will authorize this.

Please do not put items in the cart until you are certain they want to sign up. They will be removed within 6 hours if you have not contacted us to make accommodations.

Multiple Week Discount

If an individual child signs up for more than three classes, (4 or more), a multiple week discount can be triggered to discount all classes in the child's cart. You will have to give us a call in the office to trigger this benefit. Either Helen or Sally can help.

For all cancellations we retain a $75 clerical fee per child per week. You will receive a Credit Carry Forward for the balance which can be used at any time on any classes.

if you are concerned that you may need to cancel due to illness or death in your family, Regpacks offers Purchase Protection which you can select to buy. FAQ's are available.

Our Annual Appeal and our Leonardo Benefit, our Trustees and Friends support this principle: no child should be denied the opportunity to learn for want of financial resources. This includes before and after care costs. You need only ask.

These funds provide partial and full tuition assistance:

• Open Workshop Fund – annual appeal gifts committed to providing access to all who request it
• AC Gilbert Fund – to support Fair Haven youth
• Catherine Greene Fund – to encourage girl mechanics
• Directed Scholarships – given by companies for employee children
• The Schwab Fund for gifted workshop learners from: Helen Street, Bear Path, Church Street Schools;

(Nominated by Science Supervisor)

Jack Viele would have been a counselor now had not leukemia captured him in 1999. His family and friends preserve his memory with a fund that helps us accommodate children who need extra care to enjoy our workshops. Talk to us if your child needs special guidance or support. We will accommodate children to the extent that we are capable of and able to safely. If your child requires a full time Para in school, you will have to provide a full time Para during their week of camp as well. Call Sally Hill for information. 203.777.1833.

HEALTH FORM: Form and Policy 2019. No exceptions.

We prefer but do not require the 1 page Camp Health Form which is required by the Health Department. It can be any form as long as it is current within 3 years. All health forms must be signed by your physician and you, and be dated within three years. The Health Department form can also be downloaded from our site. The medical form may be downloaded here.

Remember, we do not keep health forms from year to year.

Your child will not be able to start camp without this form on file. You may bring it with you on the first day of camp but we prefer it sooner. The medical form may be downloaded here

Medications.
If your child brings an EpiPen, Inhaler, Benedryl, or any other medications, we must have a signed (by you and your child's physician) Medical Administration form and dosage instructions. We are not permitted to administer ANYTHING without this signed form on file. These must be accompanied by the Rx label for the medication. Meds must be in ziplock bags with the child's name and reason for use clearly marked on it.

Because our programs typically require an ability to focus and complete multiple stepped tasks, if your child takes a daily medication during the School Year, they will likely find it quite helpful that they take those medications during our programs as well.
Health Form: The medical form may be downloaded here

We must have a signed release for anyone other than a parent to pick up a child at the end of camp each day or for a child to bike home alone.

A form is available online (2019 Pick Up/Biking Authorization) or can be gotten in the office and filled out any day listing the people who have permission to pick up your child on any given day.

This can be done on a Monday and be applicable for the whole week and even the whole summer if you choose. We cannot release your child to anyone without this signed permission on file.

2019 Pick Up/Biking Authorization pdf: https://www.eliwhitney.org/sites/default/files/2019%20Pick%20Up%20or%20B...

Some students arrive early and/or stay late. Flexible supervision is available from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Extended Day Sign Up Will Be Available ONLINE for registration by June 1.

• We must have a credit card on file to enroll for extended day care. You must pay for the hours at the time you sign up.

• We are trying to streamline the Ext Day sign up so we don't spend hours making corrections. Please sign up for each week when you are certain of the hours you need It is probably best to sign up the week before your child will be using Extended Day. By doing it online, you can sign up in the middle of the night if you need to.

• You will have to call us to make any changes after you have signed up. If you need to cancel any hours, you will need to notify us by Noon of that day. We will issue a credit carry forward for any hours that you have cancelled ahead of time. We cannot issue a cash refund.

Fees: $10 per hour for 8-9, 3-4 or 4-5. and $5 ea for the 7:30-8 or 5-5:30 slots. (So, for a child who stays from 3 to 5 after class for 5 days, [2 x 5 x $10 = $100] and so on.)

• We provide a morning snack. All snacks are nut free.

• We refrigerate lunches, as required by law. NO lunch boxes, NO ice blocks.

In order to be part of the solution to Plastic Pollution and Waste, and to comply with the HAMDEN policy to reduce plastic bags, We Will Only Be Using Re-useable Mesh Bags for lunches.

• Your child will receive one Free Bag from us on each Monday of Class. We will make sure that it goes home with you each day for you to send their lunches back each day.

• If your child loses it or we need to replace it, we will charge you a $1 fee for each new bag we have to supply in a week. Please help us make this effort to be more sustainable by reinforcing this policy with your child.

In order to maintain a safe environment for children and staff with severe peanut/tree nut allergies, all lunches and snacks must not contain nuts or products with traces of nuts.

This means no peanut butter or sun butter sandwiches, nut snacks, trail mix bars, etc.

The snacks and ice cream provided by the museum are nut-free.

Order Ice Cream ONLINE on your child's registration form.

If you want to order ice cream for your child to have at the end of their camp day, you should do that when you register ONLINE or at any time before the Monday of your child's class.

Ice cream sign up is by full week only. Not by single days. If you want to order ice cream for a sibling who is coming to pick up with you, you can order ONLINE by ordering a second quantity (or more for more sibs). Cost is $10/week per child.

Once you sign up your child is placed on the ice cream list and will have their choice of 5 types of NUT FREE (and some non-Dairy)
The cost is $10/week. Please pay with a credit card ONLINE.

For the sake of safety, we require campers to wear sneakers only.

Any open shoe allows things to fall into the openings.
Sneakers only! NO Flip Flops. NO Crocs. NO Keens.

Long hair is a problem.

Anyone with hair that is long (ish even) needs to come to camp with their hair pulled back AND tied up in a bun (or something equivalent.)

Girls and boys. Short hair that covers eyes need clips to hold it back.

So PLEASE, if your child has hair that hangs down over their eyes, or below their chins, tie it back AND then tie it up in a bun or equivalent. Hair that is swinging around can be a danger to the child around tools and machinery, no matter how safe a tool is. If it covers their eyes and they cannot see what they are doing (or we cannot see their eyes), we cannot be sure they are seeing what they are doing with one tool or another. And it gets in paint and glue as well.

We build with children. We paint with children. We use strictly non-toxic paints and supplies. However, we get messy. It's just a by product of the process. If the paint or glue sets, it may be hard or impossible to remove. So, dress for mess. Do not send your child in new or expensive clothing. Better yet, have your child wear the clothes that you plan to toss before school starts.

Our programs are designed for 6 year olds, who are prepared for a long day, experienced in groups, comfortable with 7 and 8 year olds. Any doubt? Bring them in for a trial walk-in project during weekend walk-in hours. Please contact us to let us know you are coming.

Each class requires a minimum enrollment. We must cancel or restructure classes that do not meet that minimum.

Ticks and Mosquitoes borne diseases have been on the rise in the Northeast in current years. We have attached a PDF with guidelines to help you protect your children. At lunch and aftercare we will be outside daily and if we hike in the park, we will only be on the paths. But we urge you to look at your child each night at bath time to check for ticks. We cannot check them in this way.

The Health Department will not permit us to apply any medications or sprays on a child. You can send your child with repellant as long as they can apply it themselves. A solid stick repellent is definitely easier for young children to use but if you send them with a spray, please Do Not Send Aerosol Sprays.

How to Protect Yourself From Mosquitoes and Ticks

Behavior Management Policy

In the event that a camper behaves in a way that endangers himself or another camper or staff member, that Camper will be removed from the area and brought to the Director’s office. The behavior will be assessed and the child’s parents called if the Director deems it necessary in order to manage the situation.

If the behavior ceases and the Camper is deemed able to return to his/her class by the Director, the parents will be notified of the behavior at the end of the camp day upon the parents arrival to pick up the Camper. The parent will be enlisted to insure that the behavior does not return and will be given to understand that if it continues, the Camper will not be allowed to attend camp.

If for any reason, the camper runs away, meaning that s/he runs away from any counselor or staff when asked or directed to come with them to deal with any behavior, the parent will be called to come get the child and they will not be allowed to continue in that class or any other classes. This is strictly a safety issue – for the child and for the staff member. We must be able to feel confident that we can keep that child safe and that the staff member won't be put in any jeopardy having to run after that child if they are running toward a potential danger.

This model will be used for behavior that is distracting, annoying, or otherwise inappropriate. Physical abuse will not be tolerated at any time nor will verbal abuse. Bullying will not be tolerated at any time.

Our policy is not to give refunds, but a Credit Carry Forward for cancellations for any reason. If the camper is asked to leave and is not invited back, any refund will be only at the discretion of the Directors and is not to be a given expectation.