Photo Provided Students wade in a creek during last year's Summer Explorers program.

At the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, summer days are packed with dinosaurs, reptiles, bats, frogs, bugs, mammoths and more.

Summer Explorers, the museum's summer program for children ages 4 to 14, has provided hands-on summer science for more than 20 years, and it's enrollment time again. Programs begin June 4, and registration is under way now.

Summer Explorers programs are designed with kids and the outdoors in mind. All programs include some time outside, and many take children out into natural areas around Norman to experience nature first-hand.

There are a variety of programs to choose from, such as "Dinosaur Detectives," a look into how dinosaurs lived and died for kids ages 5 and 6; "Art in Nature," a field-sketching class for young artists ages 7 and 8; "Nature at Night," an after-dark class for 9- to 11-year-olds; and "Herpetology," a hands-on class in reptiles and amphibians for kids ages 12 to 14.

There also are some single-day family programs such as "A Night With Bats," where parents and kids can work with a museum scientist to find Oklahoma bats at a local park; or "A Night at the Museum," an after-hours museum experience.

For a full list and descriptions of programs, visit the museum's Web site at http://explorology.snomnh.ou.edu/explorers, or pick up a Summer Explorers brochure at the museum.

Summer Explorers programs are generally five-day morning or afternoon programs, and range in cost from $55 to $60 for non-members, or $45 to $50 for members. Single day programs are $15 for non-members, or $10 for members.

To register, call the museum education department at 325-4712.