STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Three Mississippi State University Conservation Camps are giving Mississippi middle and high schoolers a chance to explore wildlife, the outdoors, and careers in science and nature this summer.

The MSU Extension Service and the MSU College of Forest Resources have offered the Conservation Camps since 2005.

Conservation Camp: Wildlife and Recreation Edition, offered June 4-7, and Conservation Camp: Discovery Days Edition, offered June 11-14, are residential camps allowing children to stay all week at MSU. The Day Camp Edition, held June 19-23, allows children to go home each evening.

Wildlife and Recreation Edition is open to rising seventh-graders through 2017 high school graduates. It allows participants to dive into hands-on experiences in wildlife science, outdoor skills, college life and conservation careers.

Discovery Days Edition is for rising eighth-graders through 2017 graduates, but it is for girls only. The camp encourages young women to consider biology as a career. An all-female staff of successful biologists immerses campers in the lives of a field biologist, wildlife veterinarian and others.

The Day Camp Edition gives rising sixth- to eighth-graders a chance to experience many of these same activities without the overnight stay. It is an MSU-based camp featuring fun-filled science and nature exploration.

The cost of the two residential camps is $325 per student. The day camp is $75 per student, including lunch and all activity costs. The day camp meets from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Register for the camps online at https://goo.gl/l8vLS2. Registration must be complete by May 31, 2017.

Public school students from Lee, Pontotoc and Union counties can apply for limited scholarships from the CREATE Foundation and Toyota Wellspring. Contact Leslie Burger at 662-325-6686 or leslie.burger@msstate.edu for more information.