10 Science Summer Camps For Middle School Students In Texas
If you’re a middle school student in Texas, interested in STEM fields, participating in a science summer camp can be an exciting opportunity. These camps can give you a glimpse into the vast domain of STEM, while you get a headstart on your high school and college education. You will get to explore various subjects, discover potential career interests, and develop essential skills.
Summer camps are a great way for you to engage with real-world projects, experiments, and collaboration with peers under the guidance of experienced instructors. As you get ready to enter high school, these insights and interests can guide you in selecting more focused courses, extracurricular activities, and even early college programs.
Below, we've compiled a list of 10 best science summer programs in Texas tailored for middle school students!
1. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s STARS Summer Science Camps
This four-day summer camp is exclusively designed for middle school students passionate about science. As a participant, you will learn about a wide range of concepts in science through a combination of lectures and hands-on lab and classroom activities.
The camp is held in-person at the UT Southwestern campus. Coursework will include insightful lab exercises revolving around microscope use, seasonal changes, phylogenetic tree creation, and more. Apart from this, you will also participate in various interactive activities like scavenger hunts and escape rooms. However, as the program is highly selective, students with strong academic merit in STEM subjects (along with other criteria) are given priority over other applicants.
Program dates: June 11-14, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Middle school students currently enrolled in 7th grade
2. UT Dallas’s Women in Physics (WIP) Camp
The WIP Camp is aimed at female middle schoolers interested in physics. This is a week-long camp wherein students will explore topics like mechanics, rockets, astronomy, electromagnetism, and more.
As a participant, you will work in teams and engage in multiple hands-on projects under the guidance of a UTD STEM student or teacher. This will help you develop the skills needed to excel in STEM fields. Once you finish this Beginners Camp, you will automatically become eligible to participate in WIP’s Advanced Camp next year to study higher-level physics topics.
Program dates: June 10-14, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: April 15, 2024
Eligibility: Students entering 7th, 8th, or 9th grade
3. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program (JEP)
This is an 8-week online program that offers intensive, hands-on learning opportunities to middle school students. Here, you get to pick a subject of your choice and build a project with 1-on-1 guidance by expert PhD mentors from Harvard, Yale, MIT, and other esteemed universities. So, if you want to spend your summers developing skills while creating something tangible, this program is a good choice.
Subjects you can choose from include major STEM disciplines like biology, physics, astrophysics, computer science, and medicine. Although the program doesn’t require any prior experience, you must demonstrate excellent academic acumen to be selected.
Program dates: Starts from June 3 (tentatively)
Cost: $1,990 (need-based financial aid is available!)
Application deadline: Regular admission I: April 14; Regular admission II: May 12
Eligibility: Middle school students enrolled in grades 6-8
4. SMU Lyle School of Engineering’s Introduction to Engineering Summer Camp
A fairly selective program, this 5-day residential summer camp is conducted every year with a cohort of only 20 students. As a participant, you will learn about the basics of electrical, mechanical, civil and environmental engineering, and concepts in computer science, through a range of hands-on projects and exercises.
Each of these projects is carefully designed by faculty to mimic the actual engineering design process. To participate in this camp, you do not need any prior STEM experience. So, if you’re a middle school student who’s yearning to kickstart their STEM education journey, SMU’s Introduction to Engineering Summer Camp is a solid place to start.
Program dates: Boys-only camp: June 3-7, 2024 | Girls-only camp: June 10-14, 2024 | Boys/Girls camp: June 17-21, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $600
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Rising 7th and 8th grade students
5. Veritas AI Junior Fellowship Program
Founded and run by Harvard alumni, this is an AI program for ambitious middle school students. In this 12-week online program, you will get the chance to work with expert mentors from top US universities like Harvard and MIT on a 1-on-1 basis.
The scope of this program is focused on helping you create a project that you can showcase as tangible proof of experience in your field of choice. This includes subjects like gaming, healthcare, political science, and more. For more information, check out this brochure!
Program dates: Starts from June 9 (tentatively)
Cost: $2,900 (financial aid is available!)
Application deadline: Regular admission 1: April 21 | Regular admission 2: May 19. Apply here!
Eligibility: Middle school students enrolled in grades 6th - 8th
6. UTeach Outreach’s Physics & Math Camp
If subjects like math, physics, and electrical engineering intrigue you, this summer camp can be a good choice. Spanning five weeks, this outreach program allows students to learn about different mathematical and physics concepts through a blend of lectures and project work.
With instruction from UTeach’s faculty, you will solve problems and work on projects to observe physics in action. The camp also offers ample lab tours, career speakers, and career exploration opportunities. Applications for this program are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. However, you must meet a few academic criteria to be eligible for the camp.
Program dates: June 17-25, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $2,500
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Middle school students graduating from 7th or 8th grade by summer 2024
If you’re a middle school student who’s keen on exploring the information science domain, this five-day summer camp is apt for you. Here, you will get the chance to conduct research on a variety of technologies and their implementations in real life - all under the guidance of expert UNT research faculty and Ph.D. students.
The camp is open to students with any level of experience. Primary coursework includes topics like human-computer interaction, informatics, misinformation, and more. In addition to this, the camp will also introduce you to the nuances of possible careers in this field to prepare you for the future.
Program dates: July 8-12, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $350
Application deadline: July 5, 2024
Eligibility: Middle/high school students
8. Rice University’s Computer Engineering Design (CED) Academy
CED Academy is a week-long summer program that aims to develop real-world STEM skills in students. In particular, this middle school camp is based on imparting design knowledge in Arduino, rapid prototyping, and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programming.
The curriculum consists of both theoretical and practical exercises. You will be involved in lab activities to understand manufacturing techniques and 3D printing. In this regard, this year’s camp will mainly focus on familiarizing students with Micro:bits and rovers. Seats are limited, and applications are evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis. So, you must register before the space is filled.
Program dates: Week A: June 24-28, 2024 | Week B: July 15-19, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $499 (scholarships are available!)
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Current middle schoolers enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grades
9. UH STEM Center’s Mars Rover Explorer Camp
This is an interactive in-person summer camp for middle school students interested in STEM, especially for those who wish to explore planetary science.
The camp’s curriculum includes both project work and engaging classroom lessons. As for the coursework, it primarily involves building a mock-up of the Mars rover from scratch. In addition to this, you will get an opportunity to execute certain science and engineering missions on the surface of Mars. At the end of the camp, you can also showcase your Mars rover model.
Program dates: July 17-21, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $350
Application deadline: July 7, 2024
Eligibility: Students in grades 3-8
10. UTA’s Maverick Forensic Science Camp
This five-day summer camp presents an interactive learning opportunity for middle schoolers curious about crime investigation and forensic science. In this in-person camp, participants will learn about Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) and forensic science through a series of hands-on activities. This includes learning how to identify fingerprints, forensic techniques, standards, their applications, and more.
Program dates: June Camp: June 24-28, 2024 | July Camp: July 29, 2024 - August 2, 2024 (tentatively)
Cost: $199 (basic); $239 (alternate)
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students in grades 7-8
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