Encourage analytical thinking and a passion for science with these university programs
Are you a junior high or high school student looking for summer STEM camps? You’re in luck, because there are many options to choose from! We have compiled a list of Midwest STEM overnight and weeklong summer camps hosted by colleges in the region. In this post, you’ll find information on programs at six universities across a variety of disciplines. These institutions also offer opportunities for on-campus housing dining to grant participants a sense of dorm life.
We hope these options will help provide inspiration for your next adventure!
Marquette University
Marquette University’s STEM Camp offers a six-day, five-night experience for students in grades 7-12. Participants will have the chance to attend lectures from experts in their field and participate in hands-on workshops led by Marquette faculty. Summer camp curricula is STEM-heavy, focusing on the subjects of engineering, chemistry and physics. Staff members are all engineers with degrees from prestigious universities like MIT or Yale. Engineering workshop activities include designing and creating a scale model of the Eiffel Tower, while chemistry workshop activities include trying to make polymers in order to better understand their properties. Physics workshop activities cover relativity, waves and sound.
The cost is $650 per student for the weeklong camp.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers a variety of STEM summer camps to students in grades 4-12. Many campers will have the opportunity to enroll for multiple weeks at different residential colleges on campus like the Residential College, Illini Hall or Alice Campbell Alumnae Memorial Quadrangle. Activities vary from field trips, hands-on workshops, trips to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry as well as lectures from guest speakers. Students enrolled in Illini Hall will take a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium on Wednesday afternoon before enjoying dinner with their camp counselors and members of the residential college staff.
The cost is $480 for one week.
Illinois Institute of Technology
A STEM summer camp experience that Illinois Institute of Technology offers is a week-long overnight program for students in grades 6-10. The STEM summer camps are offered at both the Westmont and McCormick campuses, where students can choose to attend either Robotics, Software Engineering or Medical Device Design classes during their stay. Each class meets two days per week. Activities for the software engineering camp include coding, developing apps and designing games. For the stem summer camps in Medical Device Design, students get a chance to learn about engineering products that are being used today by patients with medical needs and for those who have conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Activities for the Robotics Camp include hands on activities involving designing, building and programming LEGO robots.
The cost per student is $1200 for the STEM summer camps.
Valparaiso University
The Valparaiso University STEM summer camp focuses on engineering, math and science. Campers in grades 6-12 will have the opportunity to explore different fields of study under a variety of professionals and professors like mechanical engineers, chemists or electrical engineers. The curriculum includes daily hands-on learning, field trips and guest speakers from the industry such as doctors and engineers. STEM Academy students can stay on-campus at Taft dormitory which offers comfortable accommodations and an opportunity to meet new friends.
The cost per week ranges from $250-$450.
Purdue University
Purdue UniversityPurdue University has three STEM camps for high school students. The first is an Engineering Summer Experience, which features designing, building and testing Rube Goldberg Machines. The second is Introduction to Engineering Design with hands on workshops in electrical systems, mechanical systems or software development. The third is an engineering workshop where students can design and build robots. Purdue also offers a STEM summer experience for middle schoolers, which features hands on activities that introduce science concepts with chemistry experiments, engineering design challenges or technology projects.
The cost is $100-$300 per week for the STEM summer camps.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin’s STEM Summer Camp is a week-long program that provides students with opportunities to explore and experience science. The curriculum includes hands-on activities, some group games and field trips to various locations like the UW Arboretum, Madison Children’s Museum and Scienceworks Hands-On Museum in Rockford, Illinois. Students can stay on-campus at Camp Randall, Memorial Union or UW-Madison Residence Hall.
The camp is intended for students in grades 6-12 from low-income families with a maximum participation of 40 participants each year and costs $350 per week (includes all meals).
The cost per student is $1200 for the STEM summer camps.
Blog Post Conclusion: New STEM programs are being introduced this year to help students learn more about STEM fields and how they can be applied in their future careers. These STEM summer camps offer a hands-on experience that will encourage students to explore these potential career paths while having fun at the same time.
