When school’s out, STEM camps for kids can keep growing, curious minds sharp with hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math activities. Attending a residential or online STEM camp gives children a competitive edge with technical skills in high demand. According to Google Lunar XPrize, 80 percent of careers will require deep STEM understanding by 2021. The 8.8 million STEM jobs in 2016 also had a median salary of $87,570 on the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Feeding inquiring youngster’s STEM passions anytime from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade could pay off in esteemed professions, such as pharmacy, cybersecurity, statistics, and biophysics. Families can maximize summer and winter breaks by registering sons and daughters for these 100 fun, exploratory STEM camps for kids.
STEM Camps for Kids in the Northeast
Upperline
At Dwight School, Trevor Day School, and Greenwich Academy, Upperline has helped 500+ high school students learn to code with CSS, JavaScript, Github, and more since 2015. Online registration for immersive, two-week summer coding camps for kids opens every December.
Location: New York, NY or Greenwich, CT
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Explore Engineering (E2)
The University of Connecticut’s ABET-accredited School of Engineering launched Explore Engineering (E2) to inspire 125 high school sophomores and juniors each June. Costing $700 with housing, this one-week STEM camp offers access to the Engineering Learning Center, YESS Program, faculty mentoring, and lab demos.
Location: Storrs, CT
Age Range: 10th-11th Grade
UConn also runs the SPARK Engineering Program for 6th-9th grade female students. SPARK is an all girls camp focused on engineering, robotics, 3D-printing, and computer programming. SPARK is offered in four sessions of six days each for $895 per session. The fee covers housing, meals, project materials and supply costs. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.
Governor’s Institutes of Vermont
For 30 years, the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont has held STEM camps on engineering, math, environmental science, and technology for highly motivated teens. Sliding scale tuition keeps the residential, hands-on summer and winter programs at Norwich University, Lyndon State College, and others affordable.
Location: Winooski, VT
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
SigmaCamp
At the Silver Lake Convention Center, SigmaCamp welcomes adolescents every August for a week-long, sleepaway program teaching math, science, and technology with faculty from Harvard, MIT, and Stony Brook. Before the April 18th deadline, kids pass a qualification quiz and parents pay the $1,250 fee.
Location: Sharon, CT
Age Range: 12-16
STEM Camps for Kids in the East
MathTree
Founded in 1999 by Dr. Lynn Salvo, MathTree schedules six full-day, two-week math camps for kids at 11 East Coast locations from Fairfax to Rockville. For $350-$885 tuition, children enter interactive, small-group activities like Multiplication Matters and Algebra Appetizers.
Location: Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC
Age Range: 1st-9th Grade
TIC
Featured among Northern Virginia Magazine’s “Best Summer Camps,” TIC melds sports with technology lessons like robotics and programming. Offering a 4:1 counselor ratio, the two-week, ACA-accredited camps are at Georgetown Day High School, Connelly School of the Holy Child, and St. John Academy.
Location: Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC
Age Range: 2nd-10th Grade
GenCyber Camps
Unlike most technology camps for kids, Marymount University’s GenCyber Camps train high schoolers with hands-on coding tutorials for free thanks to NSA grants. Each July, the one- and two-week residential programs pair attendees with IT majors to design their own mobile apps.
Location: Arlington, VA
Age Range: 14-18
Science Explorers
Science Explorers was established in 1999 by Jennifer Moorehead and the S.P.A.R.K.S. Foundation to engage elementary-aged youth in inquiry-based experiments. From Scranton to Frederick, the Mid-Atlantic summer STEM programs, including Take a Dive and Potions & Polymers, align to Common Core.
Location: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, or Maryland
Age Range: 4-11
Lancaster Science Factory
Opened by James Bunting with 65+ hands-on exhibits, the Lancaster Science Factory charges $30-$200 for several STEM programs for kids, such as the Cold Storage Winter Camp and Girls Code Club. Members can also attend Make It Yourself Workshops for free.
Location: Lancaster, PA
Age Range: K-9th Grade
Virginia Space Flight Academy
Chaired by NASA executive Frank V. Moore, the Virginia Space Flight Academy offers six coeducational, residential science camps for kids interested in rocketry. For $950, middle and high schoolers tackle CAD design projects at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station with a 6:1 counselor ratio.
Location: Wallops Island, VA
Age Range: 11-16
ESSYI
Hobart and William Smith College brings together 18 PhD-level faculty to teach 50 high school juniors and seniors for the Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute each July. The two-week, college-level science camp for kids fosters research in the Adirondacks and aboard the HWS Scandling.
Location: Geneva, NY
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Summerside on the Hill
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s 62-acre campus next to Fairmount Park comes alive with 30 Summerside on the Hill camps, including Engineering Works!, Coding for Kids, and 3D Digital Printing Design. The week-long STEM programs offer an Early Bird price of $360 until April.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Age Range: 6th – 12th grade
New York Math Circle
Directed by Dr. Kovan Pillai, the New York Math Circle features faculty from faculty from NYU, Stuyvesant High School, Bronx Science High School, and more to provide semester-long weekend math camps for kids. Middle and high school courses cost $295 total for sharpening problem-solving skills.
Location: New York, NY
Age Range: 7th-12th Grade
Camp Watonka
Surpassing its 50th anniversary, Camp Watonka is an ACA-accredited, boys-only residential program that combines crafts and sports with hands-on scientific adventures. Teaching biology, chemistry, physics, and robotics, the program’s cost ranges from $3,200 for two weeks to $7,700 for eight weeks.
Location: Hawley, PA
Age Range: 8-16
STEM Camps for Kids in the Southeast
Green River Preserve
Occupying 3,400 private acres within the Blue Ridge Mountains, Green River Preserve is a coeducational, non-competitive residential summer camp costing $1,450 to $4,150. Each one- to three-week session admits 104 campers for outdoor education on environmental science.
Location: Cedar Mountain, NC
Age Range: 2nd-9th Grade
NCSSM Summer Accelerator
The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics has hosted the Summer Accelerator for 30 years to immerse students in week-long camps at the UNC campus. Priced at $1,495-$1,925, the STEM camp for girls and boys offers courses like “Neuroscience Research” and “Cracking Cryptography.”
Location: Durham, NC
Age Range: 7th-12th Grade
Engineering Technology Summer Camps
Sandhills Community College has open seats for two Engineering Technology Summer Camps scheduled each July to test middle schoolers’ skills building bridges, robots, and software. The full-day, week-long camp costing $175 includes daily design challenges and lunch at the Dempsey Student Center.
Location: Pinehurst, NC
Age Range: 6th-9th Grade
Drone Innovation Camp
Registration begins December 1st yearly for Drone Innovation Camp, a residential summer engineering camp for kids at Duke University. Billing $3,000 total, the two-week, interactive program lets middle schoolers design drones on CAD equipment in the Mechanical Engineering & Material Science Lab.
Location: Durham, NC
Age Range: 6th-8th Grade
STEM Camps for Kids in the South
Space Camp
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville holds six-day, residential Space Camp sessions each summer to train children and adults like NASA astronauts. Adhering to National Science Standards, the $999 science camp places youngsters in the 1/6th Gravity Chair and Multi-Axis Trainer.
Location: Huntsville, AL
Age Range: 9+
Auburn Engineering Camps
At Auburn University’s Shelby Center, the ABET-accredited Samuel Ginn College has created Engineering Camps for kids over age eight to innovate every June and July. The week-long, hands-on programs, including Cyber Security Camp and Women in Engineering Camp, currently charge $400-$650.
Location: Auburn, AL
Age Range: 4th-12th Grade
UARK Engineering Camps
Starting in February, families can register for age-appropriate Engineering Camps at the University of Arkansas’ ABET-accredited Bell Engineering Center for $300-$675. Directed by Dr. Amy Warren, programs like First Lego League Jr. and Soaring High in Engineering last one week.
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Age Range: 1st-11th Grade
VAMPY
Since 1984, Western Kentucky University’s Center for Gifted Studies has invited talented junior high students to the Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth (VAMPY) Summer Program. Cohorts of 12-16 teens with qualifying ACT/SAT scores spend six hours daily in college courses like “DNA and Genetics.”
Location: Bowling Green, KY
Age Range: 7th-10th Grade
Elite University
Charging $300 per week, Elite University partners with Professor Newton to deliver 12 STEM programs for kids from May to August at the Med Center, Camp Bellaire, and Camp Meyerland. Space is limited for age-specific labs with curriculum in aerospace engineering, robotics technology, veterinary science, and medicine.
Location: Houston, TX
Age Range: 4-14
UAH Engineering and Cybersecurity Camps
Chaired by Dr. Shankar Mahalingam, the ABET-accredited College of Engineering at the University of Alabama-Huntsville bills $150-$300 for full-day, week-long engineering and cybersecurity camps teaching kids to code. The Be a Student Engineer (BEST) Camp also welcomes teens age 16+ every June.
Location: Huntsville, AL
Age Range: 5th-12th Grade
J.B. Speed Outreach
The University of Louisville’s ABET-accredited School of Engineering started the J.B. Speed Outreach to admit cohorts of 24 kids into 12 week-long summer enrichment camps for science, technology, and engineering. Offerings like the Brown-Forman INSPIRE Program and Lego EV-3 Robotics Camp charge $275-$330.
Location: Louisville, KY
Age Range: 3rd-12th Grade
LSU Residential Summer Camps
In Patrick F. Taylor Hall, Louisiana State University’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering has two $500 residential summer camps for high schoolers with 2.5 GPAs or better. The XCITE and REHAMS programs inspire girls and minorities in hands-on workshops before the “Design Project Competition.”
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Age Range: 10th-12th Grade
Summer Science STAR Academy
The Summer Science STAR Academy at Xavier University of Louisiana draws middle and high school kids to the “Big Easy” for challenging, three-week summer camps in biology, chemistry, or mathematics. Applications for the $300-$400 STAR programs are due April 21st yearly.
Location: New Orleans, LA
Age Range: 7th-11th Grade
Honors Summer Academy
Valued at $1,400, the Honors Summer Academy at Oklahoma Christian University is directed by Dr. Jim Baird to enrich gifted high schoolers with one-week, college-level courses in engineering, humanities, sciences, Bible, and Spanish. Applicants need minimum 21 ACT, 1040 SAT, or 1020 PSAT scores.
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Age Range: 9th-11th Grade
STEM Camps for Kids in the Midwest
Adventures in Robotics
At the Kansas Technology Center, Pittsburg State University’s doctoral-trained faculty hosts Adventures in Robotics (AIR) tech camps for kids each July. Costing $100 per workshop, the program chaired by Dr. Greg Murray teaches coding, Lego(TM) systems, electro-mechanics, and teamwork to “Construct Your Future.”
Location: Pittsburg, KS
Age Range: 9-13
WSU Engineering Camps
Annually, the K-12 Outreach Calendar for Wichita State University’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering schedules $200 half-day and $375 full-day camps in Donald H. Belggs Hall. Registration begins March 1st for children to design video games, build robots, and take the Shocker Mindstorms Challenge.
Location: Wichita, KS
Age Range: 4th-12th Grade
SIM Camp
Directed by Claire Merriman in Altgeld Hall, the Summer Illinois Math (SIM) Camp at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign uses NSF grants for free, discovery-driven numerical adventures. Three week-long, grade-specific sessions in June and July are available for children who’ve taken at least pre-algebra.
Location: Urbana, IN
Age Range: 8th-12th Grade
UW-Green Bay Technology Camps
The Kress Events Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay hosts eight technology camps for kids, including the GenCyber Camp and Robotics & STEM Camp, every summer for $100-$489. Dr. Woody Williams also offers the one-day Aviation Student Training Experience at nearby Austin Straubel Airport.
Location: Green Bay, WI
Age Range: 6th-12th Grade
Summer Smart, Summer Fun
Founded by Dr. Alan Bloom in 2013, Valparaiso University’s Summer Smart, Summer Fun youth camp gets elementary-age children excited about science experiments every June. Registration opens March 1st for two-week courses like “Operation Catapult” and “Geocaching” that cost $300 total.
Location: Valparaiso, IN
Age Range: 1st-8th Grade
LSSU Engineering Camps
Featured among Google’s “20 Colleges with Really Cool Robots,” Lake Superior State University admits cohorts of 16 into four STEM camps for kids, including Women in Technology Camp. Charging $895, the competitive program requires 3.0 GPAs for activities in the ABET-accredited Robotics and Automation Lab.
Location: Sault Sainte Marie, MI
Age Range: 8th-12th Grade
SD Mines Camps
Explore the Black Hills’ Rushmore Region by choosing from 12 five-day science camps for kids designed by the ABET-accredited South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Offerings like Paleontology Camp, Geology Rocks!, and Green Chemistry cost $975 each with room and board included.
Location: Rapid City, SD
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Making a Game of IT
Co-ed high school juniors and seniors with at least “B” averages enter Michigan State University’s Making a Game of IT each June for $875. The ABET-accredited Division of Engineering & Computing Services spends six days teaching kids to code video games with Python.
Location: East Lansing, MI
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Classroom Antics
Given an A+ BBB rating, Classroom Antics is a North Royalton-based nonprofit offering after school clubs and eight five-day, Midwestern summer STEM programs at four locations for $195-$235. Workshops like Jungle Bricks, Minecraft Coding, and Arcade Generation have a 1:1 student-computer ratio.
Location: Ohio or Michigan
Age Range: 7-14
Engineering Exploration Camp
Every June, the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute hosts Engineering Exploration Camp to introduce high schoolers to the biomedical, nanotechnology, environmental, and nuclear subfields. Billing $150, the one-week, daytime camp culminates with tours of Omaha firms like Thiele Geotech.
Location: Omaha, NE
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Ross Mathematics Program
Open for admission until April 1st yearly, the Ross Mathematics Program at The Ohio State University is a six-week, residential summer camp for pre-college teens testing numerical conjectures. Awarding Epsilon Fund Scholarships, the $4,000 event covers topics like Euclid’s algorithm, quadratic reciprocity, and Gaussian integers.
Location: Columbus, OH
Age Range: 15-18
STEM Camps for Kids in the West
ProjectFUN
DigiPen Institute of Technology, an ACCSC-accredited, for-profit Seattle Metro school, launched ProjectFUN to coordinate five summer camps: Young Explorers, Juniors, STEM Girls, Teens, and Master Class. Priced at $699-$1,549, the program lets skilled undergrads teach coding, math, physics, game design, and engineering.
Location: Redmond, WA
Age Range: 1st-12th Grade
Tech Rocks!
Achieving 4.9 stars on Activity Hero, Tech Rocks! is a premier Bay Area STEM tutoring center that schedules one-week technology camps for kids during winter, spring, and summer breaks for $340-$425. Instructor Alvin Desuasido guides elementary-age children through typing games, coding puzzles, and Minecraft projects.
Location: San Mateo, CA
Age Range: 6-14
Star Kids Academy
Partnered with Valkyrie Robotics, Star Kids Academy follows NGSS standards and keeps a 10:1 student-faculty ratio for full-day, week-long winter, spring, and summer robotics camps. Classes are also available at 18 South Bay Area schools, including Faria Elementary and Sunflower Learning Center, year-round.
Location: Cupertino, CA
Age Range: K-8th Grade
SiliconValley4U
Billing $150-$1,600, SiliconValley4U attracts PhD-level faculty from Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley to provide seven youth training camps, including Angular JS, Scratch Coding, Mobile App Design, and Data Science. Teenovators can form teams of three for the Free Hackathon each December too.
Location: San Ramon, CA
Age Range: 6-12
Hiller Aviation Camps
Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, Hiller Aviation Museum has taught flight science to over 1.2 million visitors since 1998. For $409-$515 total, elementary and middle schoolers can train like pilots by attending five-day Aviation Camps, such as Flight Simulator Aces, Wright Flight, and Aero Engineers.
Location: San Carlos, CA
Age Range: K-8th Grade
Chip Camp
Sponsored by the Micron Foundation, Chip Camp is a three-day, summer middle school program occurring every June and July at Brigham Young University’s ABET-accredited Electrical Engineering Department. Science, technology, engineering, and math activities like “LED Frisbees” and “Bridge Building” cost only $189 total.
Location: Provo, UT
Age Range: 7th-9th Grade
ESP
Established in 1988, the Engineering Summer Program (ESP) takes place each June at the University of Wyoming’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. For $300, the one-week workshop challenges 36 high school juniors to create electrical circuits, build robots, and design green solutions.
Location: Laramie, WY
Age Range: 11th Grade
Alaska Summer Research Academy
Competitive admission starts February 1st for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Middle School ASRA and High School ASRA camps. Charging $700 total, the project-based, two-week daytime programs integrate science and engineering modules, such as “Meet the Mammals,” “Disease Detectives,” and “DIY Data Devices.”
Location: Fairbanks, AK
Age Range: 6th-12th Grade
Fulton Summer Academy
Ranked 42nd by the U.S. News & World Report, Arizona State University’s ABET-accredited Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering offers several full-day, week-long Summer Academy camps. Available hands-on, instructor-led workshops include the Girls Make-a-thon, First Lego League, and Ultimate Technology Bootcamp.
Location: Tempe, AZ
Age Range: 1st-12th Grade
UA Summer Engineering Academy
Boasting 91 percent retention, the University of Arizona’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering started the five-day, hands-on Summer Engineering Academy with $675-$775 tuition. High schoolers select from six major-specific sessions like “Engineering & Security” and “Engineering & Health” in Flandrau Science Center.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Epsilon Camp
At Weber State University, Altus Math presents Epsilon Camp, an intensive, two-week gifted math camp for kids who pass the Readiness Assessment. Accepting applicants until February 12th annually, the program headed by Dr. George R. Thomas costs $2,600 total for modules from geometry to proofs and algorithms.
Location: Ogden, UT
Age Range: 7-11
Canada/USA Mathcamp
Starting in 2018, the Canada/USA Mathcamp will be held at the Colorado School of Mines for 120 teens who’ve passed the qualifying quiz before the March 15th deadline. For $0-$4,500 based on family income, mathematically gifted students explore undergrad-level topics, including calculus, discrete math, and topology.
Location: Golden, CO
Age Range: 13-18
Techno-tainment Camp
Voted Los Angeles’ #1 computer camp for kids, PlanetBravo’s Techno-tainment Camp charges $400-$625 weekly for elementary and middle schoolers to boost coding confidence. Seventeen courses like “YouTubers Studio” and “Roblox 3D Gaming” use pro-level software like Adobe Creative Cloud with a 1:1 student-device ratio.
Location: Burbank, CA
Age Range: 2nd-9th Grade
TechKnowHow
Declared a Bay Area Parent “Family Favorite,” TechKnowHow was founded by CEO Bob Mancini in 1994 to administer technology and engineering camps for kids at 20+ California offices. Costing $215-$385, the week-long schedule offers workshops like “Winter Wonder Builds” and “Lego Smart Bots.”
Location: San Francisco, CA
Age Range: 5-15
Summer Mathematics Program
Chaired by Dr. Stefan Patrikis in the John Widtsoe Building, the University of Utah’s College of Science offers the rigorous, four-week Summer Mathematics Program to investigate number-theoretic questions. Granting three college credits, the $50 camp has an annual March 31st deadline.
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Boise E-Camp and E-Girls
Boise State University’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering has rolling admission until May 1st for its $250 E-Camp and free E-Girls programs accepting 50 high schoolers each. The two-day, overnight camps foster cooperative learning with hands-on projects, including “The Prosthetic Hand” and “Water Works.”
Location: Boise, ID
Age Range: 8th-10th Grade
STEM Camps for Kids in Multiple Locations
Mad Science
Headquartered in Montreal, Mad Science Group, Inc. has grown since its 1985 founding by Ariel and Ron Shlien to deliver imaginative, inquiry-based STEM education to millions of kids. From Delaware Valley to San Diego County, elementary students find summer camps on kinesiology, Earth science, rocketry, and more.
Location: 32 States
Age Range: 6-12
Lavner Camps!
Ranked #1 by STL Parent in 2016, Lavner Camps! was formed by brothers Justin and Michael Lavner to arrange 35+ Mid-Atlantic and Midwest specialty day programs for children. Among the summer STEM camps are Programming with Java and Robotics Artificial Intelligence.
Location: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Missouri, Maryland, or Washington, DC
Age Range: 11-14
National Computer Camps
Granted the 2017 Connecticut Excellence Award, National Computer Camps, Inc. has 40+ years of experience planning technology camps for kids in Fairfield, Atlanta, and Cleveland. The week-long, inclusive residential camp charges $1,250 to teach app programming, game design, and web development.
Location: Connecticut, Georgia, or Ohio
Age Range: 6-18
Emagination Camps
Founded in 1982 by Craig Whiting, Emagination Camps is an ACA-accredited, academically oriented provider that’s offering three two-week, coeducational options: Tech Camp, Programming Cap, or Game Design Camp. From Boston College to Georgia Tech, the $1,425-$3,295 sessions are “Technically Fun!”
Location: Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, or Massachusetts
Age Range: 8-17
Destination Science
Registration opens January 9th for five science camps for kids like Robotic Mystery Camp and Mad Chemistry Camp at 60+ Destination Science locations from Pasadena to White Plains. Groups of 14 children join full-day, indoor and outdoor experiments with certified teachers.
Location: California, New York, Texas, Washington, or New Jersey
Age Range: 5-11
iD Tech Camps
Boasting an average 8:1 child-instructor ratio, the iD Tech Camps are available at 150 global locations, including Emory University and Stanford University, for week-long summer sessions costing $579-$799. Each day includes five hours of coding instruction and two hours of social activities.
Location: 29 States, Hong Kong, or Singapore
Age Range: 7-19
Camp Invention
The National Inventors Hall of Fame partners with 1,300+ schools nationwide for Camp Invention, a nonprofit, elementary-age enrichment program for STEM discovery. From Massachusetts to Washington, each four- to six-day summer camp for kids integrates team-based, module activities for $230-$295.
Location: All 50 States
Age Range: K-6th Grade
AwesomeMath Summer Program
Accepting applications until March 31st annually, the AwesomeMath Summer Program has day or residential gifted math camps for kids at the University of Texas-Dallas, Cornell University, and the University of Puget Sound. The $2,975-$4,850 prices cover 12 courses like “Computational Geometry” and Math Olympiad contests.
Location: New York, Texas, or Washington
Age Range: 12-18
Digital Media Academy
Conceived at Stanford in 1999, Digital Media Academy has 94 percent student satisfaction for its Adventures Camps that teach app design, robotics, and 3D modeling. At 12 colleges like Northwestern and Duke, one-week summer sessions costing $995 to $2,140 confer Certificates of Completion.
Location: 10 States, Vancouver, and Toronto
Age Range: 6-12
Video Game Design Camp
Active Learning Services, Inc. offers the Video Game Design Camp at 100 U.S. locations for half-day, week-long modules where children learn to code. Priced at $315 total, the STEM summer program offers courses like “Modding with Minecraft” and “Kodu Mario Go-Kart Style.”
Location: 24 States
Age Range: 8-16
Maker Camps
Since 2005, Make Magazine has sponsored Maker Camps at libraries and community centers across the United States, excluding Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. There’s also a six-week, online technology camp for kids to tinker with DIY projects and share results on Google+.
Location: 47 States
Age Range: 12-18
Sylvan EDGE Camps
Headed by CEO John McAuliffe, Sylvan Learning Corporation is a private, Baltimore-based tutoring center with 200+ locations that have STEM programs like Coding Camp, Fit4Algebra Camp, and Robotics Camp. Starting at $99, the camps are delivered by certified teachers during summer, winter, and spring break.
Location: All 50 States
Age Range: 1st-9th Grade
IMACS
Affiliated with alums at Google, Facebook, and IBM, the Institute for Mathematics & Computer Science has eight summer sessions in four states for full-day STEM camps. Offering an Early Bird price of $534, the schedule includes logic puzzles, programming projects, and virtual robotics contests.
Location: Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina, or Missouri
Age Range: 1st-12th Grade
Game Camp Nation
Co-founded by Stephen Deyesso and Philip Luchon in 2005, Game Camp Nation provides day and overnight summer STEM programs in six states for $599-$1,399. From beginner to advanced, the five-day coding courses like “3D Animation with Maya” and “Minecraft Mod Design” have an interactive 5:1 ratio.
Location: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, or Georgia
Age Range: 7-18
Learn Create Build Academy
Launched in Sioux Falls in September 2015, Learn Create Build Academy has a 4.9-star Facebook rating for coordinating great technology camps for kids at 40+ locations. Requiring a laptop, LCB schedules Saturday camps, such as “Flying and Programming Drones” or “Minecraft Commands” year-round for $85 tuition.
Location: 15 States
Age Range: 7-14
STEM Camps for Kids in Canada
Thinnox TED
At Glen Erin Lakeshore, Thinnox Design Academy hosts Tech Engineering & Design (TED) camps with OSSD credits each July in 20 tracks like “Lego Programming Matlab” and “Arduino Robotics.” The one- to four-week, outcome-oriented programs include the Design Expo, Pizza Day, and Graduation Lunch.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Age Range: 7-17
ISSYP
The Perimeter Institute has an application deadline of March 29th each year to join 40 peers at the competitive, two-week International Summer School for Young Physicists. Costing $500 CAD, this science camp for kids inspires future Einsteins and Newtons with university-level activities.
Location: Waterloo, Ontario
Age Range: 16-18
STEM Camps for Minorities
FAME/UD Summer Residential Program
African American, Hispanic, and Native American participants in the Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering (FAME) can attend a four-week, summer residential program at the University of Delaware. In DuPont Hall, minorities with GPAs above 3.0 take pre-calculus, chemistry, physics, English, and engineering design courses.
Location: Newark, DE
Age Range: 10th-11th Grade
SEEK
Since 2007, the National Society of Black Engineers has inspired over 17,000 diverse campers nationwide with the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK). Funded by the Battelle Memorial Institute, this free, three-week STEM camp for minorities includes hands-on projects like the “Gravity Cruiser” and “Wind Turbine.”
Location: 37 Cities
Age Range: 3rd-5th Grade
STEM Camps for Girls
Project WISE
Priced at $850, Clemson University’s Project Women in Science and Technology (WISE) camp offers week-long, non-credit classes for middle school girls in STEM. Coordinated by Nancy Parra in Freeman Hall, the program melds hands-on projects with dance classes, field trips, and outdoor games.
Location: Clemson, SC
Age Range: 6th-8th Grade
EXCITE
Linked to the Flint Hills Discovery Center, Kansas State University’s ABET-accredited College of Engineering hosts the Exploring Science, Technology, and Engineering (EXCITE) camp each June. The three-day experience immerses high school girls in small-group activities, such as “Gaming Artificial Intelligence” and “Recycling Proteins.”
Location: Manhattan, KS
Age Range: 9th-12th Grade
Women’s Technology Program
Open for admission until January 15th annually, the Women’s Technology Program is a competitive, four-week summer camp where 60 girls study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Free for families making under $120,000, the WTP has tracks for Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering.
Location: Cambridge, MA
Age Range: 12th Grade
All Girls/All Math
Every July since 1997, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has offered two one-week sessions for its All Girls/All Math Camp to stimulate gifted numerical minds. Using three-tiered pricing of $175-$500, the program is taught by PhD-level female mathematicians with modules like analytic geometry and intermediate algebra.
Location: Lincoln, NE
Age Range: 10th-12th Grade
Multiplying Your Options
The University of Akron’s Women in Engineering Office launched Multiplying Your Options (MYO), a full-day, week-long summer STEM camp for girls to learn about aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering. High schoolers can attend the $320 Summer Experience in Engineering (SEE) instead.
Location: Akron, OH
Age Range: 7th-8th Grade
Excite Camp
Women in Technology invites 20 middle school girls, especially native Hawaiians, to Maui Community College for the free, three-day Excite Camp every July. Ladies get empowered with STEM resources, hands-on activities, and trips to visit Haleakala Observatory’s famed Faulkes Deep Space telescope.
Location: Kahului, HI
Age Range: 7th-8th Grade
Summer in the City
Featuring the Beyond the Gates Prep Series, Summer in the City is a four-week, college-level STEM camp for girls to study like undergraduates at Barnard College. Charging $7,900 with room and board, the program offers 18 “majors,” such as Architecture, Astronomy, Technology, and Neuroscience.
Location: New York, NY
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
STEM Summer College Programs
RIBS
Taught by Drs. Christopher Schonbaum and Rosemary Zaragoza, the Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS) Summer Program at the University of Chicago lasts four weeks each July. Lectures are replaced with project-based science labs like “Taste Variation,” “RNA Interference,” and “Cell Culture.”
Location: Chicago, IL
Age Range: 10th-12th Grade
Carleton Summer Science Institute
Granting three college credits, the Carleton Summer Science Institute (CSSI) immerses pre-university in three-week research experiences for $3,895 total. Directed by Dr. Jennifer Wolff, the program splits high schoolers into groups of 10-12 for studying topics from animal behavior to geology and genetics.
Location: Northfield, MN
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
ND Summer Scholars
Applications filed before February 5th annually are considered for the University of Notre Dame’s ND Summer Scholars program in June. Priced at $3,500, this pre-college STEM camp for kids offers emphases for Archaeology, Astronomy, Global Health, Life Science, and Research Computing.
Location: South Bend, IN
Age Range: 16-18
UChicago Immersion
Ranked 9th globally by Times Higher Education, the University of Chicago awards funding like the Neubauer Scholarship to afford the $6,500 fee for the four-week UChicago Immersion. High schoolers can choose STEM undergrad courses in the Biotechnology, Infectious Diseases, Laws of Physics, and Computational Research tracks.
Location: Chicago, IL
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors
Mandating unweighted GPAs above 3.25, the Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program supports academically mature STEM students in Arizona State University’s Simon A. Levin Center. Fully funded, six-week sessions immerse college-bound minorities in college courses like analytic geometry and calculus for credit.
Location: Tempe, AZ
Age Range: 10th-12th Grade
Summer Science Program
Producing over 2,000 alumni since 1959, the Summer Science Program is the longest-running, pre-college STEM camp for kids to do research in astrophysics or biochemistry at Purdue University, New Mexico Tech, and University of Colorado-Boulder. The 39-day, all-inclusive program costs $6,950 with field trips like Apache Point Observatory.
Location: Indiana, New Mexico, or Colorado
Age Range: Rising 12th Graders
ESP
For the Engineering Summer Program (ESP), high school juniors and seniors reside in the University of Wisconsin’s Dejope Hall while taking college-level math, chemistry, physics, engineering design, and technical communications courses. Engineers from companies like Rockwell Automation mentor kids during the free, six-week camp.
Location: Madison, WI
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Mathematical Boot Camp
Headed by Dr. Timothy Halpin-Healy, the Mathematical Bootcamp belongs to Columbia University’s Summer Immersion Program to train budding string theorists during three-week, hands-on camps costing $10,980 total. Other STEM-related courses include Java Programming, Preserving the Planet, and Experimental Physics.
Location: New York, NY
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Research Science Institute
Given four stars by Charity Navigator, the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) started the Research Science Institute for 80 college-bound juniors to study science, technology, engineering, and math at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The residential, six-week camp costs only $65 for tomorrow’s ingenious innovators.
Location: Cambridge, MA
Age Range: 11th Grade
Student Science Training Program
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Student Science Training Program (SSTP) at the University of Florida is a seven-week, six-credit residential camp preparing seniors for math, medical, computing, scientific, and engineering majors. The $4,800 session pairs students with PhD-level faculty-mentors for 30 hours of research weekly.
Location: Gainesville, FL
Age Range: 12th Grade
COSMOS
The California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) crafted a four-week, residential program at UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, UC-San Diego, and UC-Santa Cruz. Each campus accepts 200 high schoolers from 58 counties with a mean GPA of 3.5 for intensive STEM experiences.
Location: 4 Campuses
Age Range: 8th-12th Grade
SUMaC
Admitting cohorts of 40, the Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC) is a rigorous four-week, pre-college program directed by Dr. Rick Sommer for pure mathematical enrichment. For $6,500 total, high school kids challenge themselves in topics from cryptography to abstract algebra and number theory.
Location: Stanford, CA
Age Range: 11th-12th Grade
Online STEM Camps for Kids
Camp Euclid
Awarded the AMS Epsilon Fund for Young Scholars Program, Camp Euclid is a six-week, mind-tingling online math camp for kids starting each June. For $1,290 tuition, students collaborate virtually over webcam to prove conjectures and construct counter-examples.
Age Range: 12-18
Connected Camps
Located in Los Angeles, Connected Camps is a nonprofit, e-learning community founded by Dr. Mimi Ito that offers co-ed and girls-only online technology camps. Enrollment begins in January for week-long summer sessions that teach elementary kids to code with Scratch and Minecraft.
Age Range: 8-13
JAM
Since 2012, JAM has provided science, engineering, math, and technology camps online to over 500,000 kids for $8.25-$20 per month after 14-day trial periods. Jammers earn certificates for completing virtual, video-based courses like “Build Anything” and “Drawing Animation” with bully free collaboration.
Age Range: 7-16
LeapAhead!
Costing $24.95 per eight-week session, LeapAhead! is an online mathematics center launched by Noetic Learning LLC that follows Common Core standards to assign stimulating problem-solving projects. Online math contests are also held each November and April on topics from measurement to probability.
Age Range: 3rd-9th
K5 Math
Chosen for five BESSIE Awards since 2009, K5 Math has free trials and $119 annual memberships for research-based online math camps with over 3,000 activities like “Hippo Hotel” and “Power Pack Factory.” Elementary children enjoy illustrated edutainment lessons before worksheets and quirky quizzes.
Age Range: K-5th
Youth Digital
Established by CEO Justin Richards, Youth Digital was granted a 2016 Parents’ Choice Gold Award for getting nearly 100,000 kids hooked on coding. For $249-$399 yearly, children can choose any project-based technology camp online, including 3D Game Development and Server Design.
Age Range: 8-14
According to Psychology Today, camps help children build resilience, self-efficacy, confidence, and lasting friendships while getting a head start on the next academic year. Cure summer break boredom by checking into these STEM camps for kids where exciting escapades foster innovation.
Related Resources:
- 10 Best Data Bootcamps
- 20 Great Scholarships for Data Science and Big Data
- 250 Great STEM Websites and Apps for Kids
- 30 Best Data Science Blogs
- 30 Best Data Science Books
- 30 Data Science Professors to Watch
- 30 Great Resources for Teaching Kids How to Code
- 50 Great STEM Books for Kids
- Big Data Analytics Training
- Does Data Science Involve Coding?
- Do Most Data Science Careers Require an Advanced Degree?
- How Useful is a Data Science Degree?
- What Can I Do with a Graduate Certificate in Data Science?
- What Industries Use Data Science?
- What is Data Science?
- Why is Data Science Important?
- Will Data Science Become Automated?
- Will Data Science Become Obsolete?
- Will Data Science Continue to Exist Prominently in the Future?
- Will Data Science Replace Actuaries?
- 5 Benefits of Studying Data Science Online
- 5 Books to Help the Lay Person Understand Data Science
- 5 Data Science Conferences
- 5 Common Courses in a Data Science Degree Program
- 5 Types of People Who Should Study Data Science
- 20 Best Data Science Certificate Programs