Yes, our students need downtime in the summer, but it’s also a great time to encourage them to enjoy activities related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Listed below are several summer camps available to kids from elementary through high school. Fees and deadlines vary, so please visit their websites for more information.
You can also stay up-to-date on STEM activities throughout the state here:
http://www.stemhub.nv.gov/events.
Southern Nevada
- The Springs Preserve is offering nine adventures for kids ages 6-12, between June 12 and August 11. They include acting, nature and cool museum explorations. For more information, visit www.springspreserve.org.
- In the iD Tech Camps, held at UNLV, students, ages 7 to 17, can code an iPhone or Android app from scratch, design a video game with Unity, mod with Minecraft, engineer a robot with VEX, produce a viral video for YouTube and more. Whatever their passion, they can kick-start their future in STEM with more than 50 summer technology courses. For more information, visit https://www.idtech.com/
locations/nevada-summer-camps/ unlv. - The Discovery Children’s Museum in Las Vegas is offering summer camps July 10 through August 4 for two age groups – 6 to 9 and 10 to 12. They promise campers will: “Investigate, invent, interpret and discover through interactive sessions and hands-on learning. Act as a detective for a day. Illustrate your own book. Test your scientific invention. Code your own characters.” Visit www.discoverykidslv.org/education/camps to learn more.
- Robo.Camp, located on Tenaya and Smoke Ranch, offers 5th through 8th grade campers the opportunity to use Vex Robotics to understand the three main components of engineering and robotics: design, building and programming. This is also a chance for Boy Scouts to earn their Robotics Merit Badges. For more information, visit www.technologycamps.org/home.html.
Northern Nevada
- Kids University offers 47 different themed camps for elementary and middle school students (including Passage to Ancient Egypt, Earth-Shakin’ Science and Crazy Chemistry) June 12 – July 28, each taught by certified teachers, graduate students and experts in their field. In addition to giving students the opportunity to play in the world of STEM, it provides high-tech resources and introduces them to the college experience. To learn more visit www.KIDSU.unr.edu.
- The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) School of Engineering is offering a number of engineering camps, for ages 12-18, including Intro to Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering Camp, Autonomous Systems and Robotics, Young Women in Engineering, and Civil & Environmental Engineering. For more information visit www.unr.edu/engineering/research-and-outreach/k-12-outreach/engineering-summer-camps.
- Sierra Nevada Journeys offers overnight camps at Grizzly Creek Ranch between June 18 and July 28. Your students, ages 8 to 17, will learn archery, fishing, star gazing, the forest eco-system and more. And older kids (15-17) will have the opportunity to learn how to be counselors through the Counselors-In-Training (CIT) program. For more information, visit www.sierranevadajourneys.org/camp.
Of course, you don’t have to send your kids to summer camp to enjoy STEM activities as a family. Go on a picnic or a hike to enjoy botany and maybe even some wildlife. Sleeping outside (camping or just in your backyard) allows you to view the stars.
Or, take a field trip:
- Enjoy the Astronaut exhibit at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, from June 12 to September 17, where you’ll get to discover what it takes to be a space explorer from the moon landings to the Mars One project.
- The Nevada Space Center, located at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, offers a variety of programs for your space-obsessed children, including Challenger Missions, Dome Shows and Space Academy Workshops. These can be of interest to just about any age and you can find details here: www.nevadachallenger.org/programs.
Please share photos of your adventures on our Facebook page so other Nevada parents can get ideas from your experiences!
