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8 Robotics Camps for Middle School Students

Robotics is, without a doubt, one of the disciplines of the future. Automation is becoming increasingly prevalent in our lives and if you’re a curious middle school student who wants to understand how complex machines are used across industries, then you should consider attending a robotics summer camp. 


By attending a summer camp, you not only get an introduction to engineering and robotics but also learn to code, gain teamwork skills, and build critical thinking skills.


To help you get started, we have compiled a list of 8 robotics summer camps for middle school students! 


1. Veritas AI

Veritas AI offers two programs that bridge the gap between AI, coding, machine learning, and the middle school syllabus. These programs allow you to explore your field of interest, keeping AI the central focus. Notable past projects by alumni include using AI to identify marine debris, classifying asteroids through machine learning, predicting extreme weather events, and more. If you’re interested in machine learning and robotics, then you should consider applying to the Veritas AI programs. As a Veritas scholar, you will be guided during your project by Ph.D. and Masters students from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, and other top U.S. universities. 


Veritas AI offers middle school students the following programs:


a. AI Trailblazers

Here, middle school students learn about the key concepts in machine learning and AI, and the fundamentals of Python. You will also learn about image classification, neural networks, and the ethics of AI. At the end of the course, students must present a group project. No prior experience is required to apply for the program.


Location: Online

Duration: 25 hours (either 2.5 hours over 10 weekends or 25 hours over two weeks)

Cost: $1,790. Veritas offers up to 100% need-based financial aid. 

Eligibility: All middle school students in grades 6-8 can apply


b. AI Junior Fellowship

The junior fellowship is a 12-week intensive program where middle school students work 1-1 with mentors to design, build, test, and present an AI-based project or research paper. Students must have completed the Veritas AI Trailblazers program or have prior Python coding experience. 


Location: Online

Duration: 12 weeks

Cost: $2,900. 

Eligibility: students in grades 6-8


2. MIT Zero Robotics 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in partnership with NASA, Boeing, the ISS National Lab, the National Science Foundation, and other aerospace companies offers a five-week program to introduce middle school students to computer programming, robotics, and space engineering. Each year, through a game, students have to solve problems of interest to NASA and MIT.


In 2023, students competed to see which team could program NASA’s Astrobee Satellite the best. Astrobee is NASA’s robotic system that reduces the time astronauts spend moving in zero gravity. Students controlled Astrobee’s speed, rotation, and direction of travel to reduce navigation time while conserving fuel.  


Details on the 2024 program are yet to be announced. 


Location: Competition rounds are held either online or at various locations in your state. MIT will likely hold the finals on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts  

Duration: Five weeks. Tentatively, the program will run from the end of June to the beginning of August

Cost: Free

Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8 


3. Arizona State University 7Up RobotCamp


ASU offers its two week-long 7Up RobotCamp for middle school students entering grades 7 and 8. Here, students will learn 3D movie and game programming using Alice, a block-based programming language. They will also construct and program a LEGO EV3 robot, make it perform tasks using AI, and participate in a robotics challenge by the end of the program. 


ASU’s robotics summer camps are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and Intel and are aimed at students who want to pursue a career in science and engineering. At the end of the program, students are encouraged to join the First Lego League challenge, a global robotics competition.


Location: On-campus

Duration: The program will run for two weeks in June 2024

Cost: $700. ASU offers financial aid.

Eligibility: Rising grade 7 and grade 8 students


4. Education Unlimited Robotics Summer Camp


Education Unlimited, a private summer camp and creative arts program provider, offers middle school students two week-long robotics summer camps, one held at Stanford and the other at the University of California, Berkeley. 


During the program, students will learn the fundamentals of robotics by doing — they begin the week by building a robot chassis, then add wheels and gears to learn about speed and torque, learn about communication systems when they add a radio controller, and understand how electrical circuits work when they install a battery. At the end of the week, students have to design a robotics sports competition. 


Location: UC Berkeley and Stanford University

Duration: June 30 - July 5, 2024 (UC Berkeley) and July 28 - August 2, 2024 (Stanford) 

Cost: The program costs between $2,000 and $3,000, depending on whether you opt for food and lodging. Education Unlimited offers partial tuition waivers (up to 50%) to students with demonstrable financial need

Eligibility: Rising grade 6 - 8 students


5. Camp Integem


Integem offers in-person summer camps in STEM, AI, robotics, AR coding, game design, and much more for students in California. A unique selling point of Integem is that it is an NVIDIA-authorized training partner. During the camp, Students can earn NVIDIA AI certificates from the company’s deep learning institute. For robotics, students can choose to attend one (or more) of the following programs: 


  • Intro to AI Engineering with AR 

  • Intro to Robotics Design & AR Coding

  • AI Robotics Engineering with AR Coding 

  • Advanced AI Robot Design with AR & NVIDIA Jetson Nano*


*The Jetson Nano developer kit is a compact computer that lets you run multiple neural networks simultaneously for actions like image classification, object detection, segmentation, and speech processing.


Location: Multiple locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Orange County

Duration: Between one and three weeks; programs are held in July and August

Cost: Between $570 and $2000, depending on the program. Partial financial aid is available

Eligibility: Grades 6-8


6. Summer Discovery Middle School Enrichment Program at UCLA


Summer Discovery offers pre-college academic programs at leading U.S. colleges. At UCLA, they offer their Building Bots: A Robotics Journey program for middle school students curious about robotics. 


During the three-week program, students will study the basics of robot modeling, design, planning, and system configurations. Students can expect to gain critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills throughout the program.


Location: University of California, Los Angeles

Duration: June 23 - July 11, 2024

Cost: from $4,199 (commuter students) to $8,889 (residential students). Summer Discovery does not offer financial aid

Eligibility: Middle school students aged 11-13


7. iD Tech Robotics Summer Camps

iD Tech partners with some of the top U.S. universities, giving students the unique opportunity to spend a summer on these campuses. For middle school students, iD Tech offers two week-long programs:

  • BattleBots Camp

Here, students work together to design and build a battle robot that tests its capabilities through a series of challenges and a BattleBot-style tournament, competing with other groups’ robots. Students use VEX v5, a type of robotics education system, to build their machines.

  • Mission Mars Camp

Students use the Kerbal Space Program to build a virtual rocket and navigate physics and orbital mechanics to launch their rocket into space. Problem-solving is a key skill here, as students will have to address any unexpected situations that can arise during space flight.  


Location: Various universities, including California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, and others

Duration: One week

Cost: From $1,299 (BattleBots) and $1,049 (Mission Mars)

Eligibility: Middle school students aged 10-12



8. John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth


The Center for Talented Youth, John Hopkins University’s non-profit academic arm, offers two robotics programs for middle school students, one online and another in-person:


a. Mission to Mars: Robotics in Space

In this program, students learn how a robot survives in space and explores extraterrestrial regions. Students will study programming concepts like conditionals, variables, functional decomposition, abstraction, and flow control to design, build, and operate a robot that can survive a Martian landscape.

Location: Online

Duration: Three weeks, 12-15 hours per week ( three hours of class and 9-12 hours of independent work) 

Cost: $1,325. Financial aid is available

Eligibility: Students in grades 5 and 6


b. Introduction to Robotics

This program gives students an introduction to fundamental robotics concepts. You will learn the basics of electrical and mechanical engineering and dive into programming concepts like algorithms, sequential control flow, and boolean operations. During the program, your group will build and program a robot


Location: Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California

Duration: June 23 - July 12, 2024

Cost: If you choose to study at the Roger Williams campus, the fees range from $5,799 (commuter fees) to $6,599 (residential). For Loyola Marymount University, fees are $5,999 (commuter) and $6,819 (residential). Financial aid is available

Eligibility: Grades 5 and 6 

 



Image Source - MIT Zero Robotics Logo