Hannah Mason, 10, left, Ellise McMillan, 8, and Ciara Duncan, 8, gather around as South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Educational Specialist Joy Tally displays a Dungeness crab on the public docks in Charleston on Thursday. Children from South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve’s South Slough Summer Science Camp were catching fish and other creatures from the harbor as a lesson in marine biology.

After this week, 17 kids know a whole lot more about estuaries and why they’re important. The students spent the week learning at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve’s annual summer science camp, where they gladly stomped around in the mud of the slough and, on Thursday, looked at marine wildlife in Charleston Bay.

“I learned all about the watershed,” said Ellise McMillan, 8, on the Charleston docks. “I like learning.”

Joy Tally, South Slough’s education program specialist, said the camp is fun but also an important learning experience for the kids.

“It’s about getting them exposed to the natural world, so they know what’s out there,” she said. “And then they go home and actually teach the adults that are around them.”