Best STEM Summer Camps in Minneapolis 2024
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Minnesota has a robust STEM environment where businesses, schools, and government promote STEM education. To further this goal, students can attend summer camps to encourage their interest in STEM studies.
STEM camps in Minneapolis offer young kids and teens a variety of exciting activities. If your child is fascinated with anything from robotics to video game design and coding, one of these camps is the perfect choice for summer learning.
Or perhaps your child really loves science and wants to jump at the chance to explore marine and animal habitats or study plants in Minnesota’s diverse environments. These STEM summer camps present lots of options, from concentrated classes to interactive activities around the city.
1. iD Tech
iD Tech has been a leader in student STEM enrichment programs for over 25 years. In addition to online camps, academies, and private lessons, iD Tech offers day and overnight summer camps at Macalester College in St. Paul. Dynamic day camps are full-day sessions over one week. Small class numbers led by tech experts allow for personal attention as your child forges ahead in their chosen area.
Popular courses include Minecraft Design, Robolox Developer, Battlebots Camp, Java or Python Coding, and Video Production. A day at iD Tech starts with team-building icebreakers, followed by morning and afternoon computer classes and learning labs. Students can also enjoy an on-campus lunch and outdoor exercise and games.
The two-week overnight camps give students a taste of university living. After daily studies, campers spend evenings gaming, watching movies, and having good times with new friends.
2. Tech Academy MN
Tech Academy MN holds summer classes on thirty popular topics with camps taking place at local community Parks and Recreation Departments in over 100 Minnesota locations.
Children from ages 4–15 participate in classes with their age-group peers. Tech Academy MN camps challenge kids to develop creativity in Programming and Design, Robotics, Digital Movie Making, and Engineering. Some courses are based on favorite themes like Minecraft, Harry Potter, Pokemon, and Dungeons and Dragons. Four-day sessions run from June through August, in the morning and afternoons.
Kids can try out different programs to explore multiple topics, and Tech Academy MN also provides after-school options for additional opportunities.
3. Trilogy Stem Academy
Trilogy Stem Academy is a private high school in Rogers with fantastic STEM programs for students in K–4 to 5th grade.
Camp Trilogy is a full-day daycare and educational camp that keeps kids active and interested in science experiments, reading time, arts & crafts, math, writing, and plenty of outside playtime. Each week has a specific theme and includes one field trip with visits to the science museum, movie theater, Skyzone, or the zoo.
The academy holds classes Monday through Friday. Daycare starts at 6:00 am with programming starting at 8:30. Classes finish until 4:30 pm, with free time until 6 pm. Kids bring their lunches, while snacks and drinks are provided.
4. The Works Museum
The Works Museum is an engineering and design museum with immersive activities for families. Summer at the museum features hands-on STEM projects in robotics, Lego, animation, and coding.
At the engineering camps, your children might create critters with carpentry, design amusement parks, or make a hovercraft. Classes encourage persistence, creativity, and collaboration through open-ended problem-solving.
Age-specific camp sessions for children ages 6–12 take place at the Works Museum in Bloomington or the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul. Classes are 1 full day from 9 am to 4 pm or four half days. Half-day classes can be combined for a complete day. At the one-day camps, a pizza lunch is included.
5. St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s)
St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s) is the largest Catholic Women’s University in the United States and offers an exciting 5–day STEM Academy for middle school girls from the East Metro area of Minneapolis.
The camp includes challenging projects like building apps, coding, exploring an escape room, and creating with 3D printers. The schedule ranges from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, with daily snacks and lunch.
St. Kate’s aims to motivate girls to study STEM, so they make their camps completely free! The camps are guided by an all-female teaching staff and occur on the university’s St. Paul campus. Parents can choose between two camps during June or July.
6. Minnesota Zoo
The wonderful Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley offers lively camps where children explore wildlife conservation and nature.
Camps for preschool to 12th graders follow zoo exhibit themes. Preschool campers can attend single-day (2.5 hours) or one-week camps (3 hours/per day). There are themes like Alice the Camel and Leaping Lizards.
Students entering first and second grade can attend sessions with themes like Farm Explorers, Dinosaurs Rule, and Ocean Odyssey. Third to twelfth-grade students can join week-long full-day programs with themes geared towards their specific age groups.
All zoo campers should bring a water bottle, snacks, and lunch if they’re staying the entire day. The Minnesota Zoo also has virtual tours for K-6 kids for those who can’t make it in person.
7. RMC Academy
RMC Academy offers virtual and two-week sleepaway camps for 7–12th graders at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Summer camp for this year is July 7–20 and offers a dynamic curriculum of topics like Geometry and Numbers Theory, Business For Youth, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Physics. For techies, there are classes in Robotics, Machine Learning and AI, Python, and Game Design. Other topics include the chemistry of baking, critical essay writing, and creative sound design.
The full-day schedule prepares students for college campus life. Evenings on campus are for social time with ice cream parties, board games, movie nights, team-based activities, and lounging with friends.
8. Science Museum of Minnesota
The Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul inspires, educates, and informs the community about science with interactive programs.
Kids entering K-6th grade can learn about coding, biology, chemistry, art, space, and more. There are plenty of fun things to do like building forts, coding a mini-robot, creating sea creatures for a room-sized marine art installation, or designing video special effects.
Summer camps at the Science Museum all happen during the weekdays. Enroll your children in different grade-based options from Pre-K, 1-3, and 4-6.
9. Bakken Museum
The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis is a creative hub for exploring science, the humanities, and technology. Bakken offers innovative 5-day summer camps where children and teens create inventions using provided materials in the museum’s maker space.
Campers learn responsible use of technology and tools while participating in games, learning science-based magic tricks, and solving problems. They also enjoy the outdoor museum spaces for fresh air and exercise.
Rising second and third-graders enjoy the Young Makers camp and each child takes home a completed project. Campers entering fourth through ninth grades work together as they problem-solve to create original projects. There is a 4 to 1 student to teacher ratio.
The post Best STEM Summer Camps in Minneapolis 2024 appeared first on The Maker Mom.
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