Family Resources

Summer STEM Programs

The Acadia Institute of Oceanography introduces young people to the world of marine science through a hands-on curriculum that combines biological, physical, and chemical oceanography with field, classroom, offshore, and laboratory work in two-week sessions in Seal Harbor, ME for ages 10 to 18.

Acera School Summer Program is an inquiry-based STEM (arts and sciences) day camp in Winchester, MA for children ages 7-14.  Sessions are in one-week increments and are led by professionals in various STEAM fields.

Biogen Idec Community Lab offers a one-week Adventures in Biotechnology session and an advanced two-week session for high school students to participate in lab work and poster sessions.

The Boston Leadership Institute provides hands-on research experience to outstanding high-school students on the campus of Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and Bentley University/Gann Academy in Waltham. These programs are one-week and three-week summer courses such as Applied Physics, STEM Entrepreneurship, and Marine Biology Research.

Brandeis University runs its summer App Design Boot Camp for selected high-school students.

Briarwood Marine Science camp on Cape Cod offers boys and girls entering grades 5 through 10 programs that integrate life science, technology and mathematics frameworks through a relevant, stimulating and fun course of study.

Broad Institute Summer Internships are for students between junior and senior years of high school who want to learn more about science and genomics. Applications are available in January.

BU’s Artemis Project is a five-week summer program in which Computer Science undergraduate women introduce rising 9th grade girls to computer science.

BU’s CityLab SummerLab BioTechnology Program provides an opportunity for students from the Boston area to develop a deeper understanding of basic techniques and concepts related to DNA science.

BU College of Engineering’s U-Design summer science and engineering program is for middle school students currently in Grades 6-9, to engage them in the real work of scientists and engineers: design, exploration, invention and experimentation. Three workshops are offered in two one-week sessions: Robo-Alley, Electrical & Mechanical Gizmos, and Flight School 101.

BU’s Research Internship in Science & Engineering is a six-week honors program for students who have completed junior year. Students conduct lab research in a discipline of their interest, gaining valuable technical and analytical skills as well as insight into the scientific process. information for next summer available December 15.

BU’s Summer Pathways is a one-week program for rising Juniors and Senior girls to explore STEM careers.

CDC Disease Detective Camp (DDC), started by CDC′s Global Health Odyssey Museum, is held at CDC′s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. By learning through hands–on activities and seminars, upcoming high school juniors and seniors learn to identify five careers within public health, understand basic epidemiology terms, calculate basic epidemiologic rates given an outbreak scenario and data, recognize how infectious and chronic diseases are tracked, and understand the role of public health law in protecting the public′s health in the United States.

Coastal Studies for Girls offers girls entering Grades 6-8 a one-week program in leadership and scientific inquiry in Freeport, ME.

Dana-Farber’s Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) offers mentored cancer research experience augmented with professional development, career advisement, networking opportunities, and presentations of research findings to a world-renowned scientific community. Applications available December 1 and due February 21.

Edge on Science offers these summer programs for budding scientists and engineers:  Galileo’s Astronomy, Bridge Building, Catapult Engineering, Drone & Code, Let’s Experiment!, Amazing Bugs, Whales ‘n Things, Summer Rocket Blast Off, Hydraulics Makerspace. Each is a project-based introduction to engineering using drawings, tools, hardware, measuring instruments, computer applications, and modeling. Week-long day programs at Regis College in Weston (reduced-rate transportation available from Newton, Brookline, and Wellesley) and Plymouth (MA) Public Library have no more than 7 students per instructor.

Education Unlimited runs summer day Science Camps for Girls in grades 4-8 at MIT.

Einstein’s Workshop offers week-long summer classes in Burlington and Newton.

Emagination Computer Camp at Boston College blends technology learning with non-tech activities in two-week summer-camp sessions for ages 8-17.  It also runs Emagination Game Design camp (ages 15-18, overnight) and Emagination Programming camp (ages 13-17, day or overnight).

Empow Studios‘ summer Tech & Design Camps and Minecraft Camps are available in Back Bay, Belmont, Lexington, Newton/Needham, Osterville, and Westford.

Environmental Science Program is a Newton-based program that lets students who will be entering Grades 7-10 explore the outdoors and learn about the environment from peers.

EXPLO Wellesley offers a 3-week summer program for students entering grades 8 – 9, and its 80 course offerings include STEM and non-STEM topics.   EXPLO Yale offers similar programs for students entering grades 10 – 12.

Funutation runs summer day camps in various locations, including Framingham, Lexington, Natick, Northborough, Southborough, Wayland, and Worcester, offering a variety of tech courses.

Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (G.E.M.S.) is a one-week, paid, extracurricular, science education summer internship program aiming to allow students to experience science in a real laboratory setting. It seeks highly motivated middle-school students as research participants and also high-school and college students as paid, near-peer mentors. Contact Ms. Leslie Levine at leslie.levine@us.army.mil or 508-233-5900.

Girls Who Code runs its free, 7-week day Summer Immersion Program in various corporate and university sites in Boston and elsewhere, for current high-school sophomore and junior girls. No experience in computer science is required, and stipends are available based on need.

The Global Youth Summit on the Future of Medicine is a one-week conference at Brandeis University for high-school students who have been nominated and selected.

Google Computer Science Summer Institute is an intensive, three-week program for high-school seniors planning to study computer science in college.  It’s held in Cambridge and other cities.

GreenApple offers a wide range of short summer STEM programs for Kindergarten-Grade 8 on the campus of Olin College in Needham.

i2 Camp offers summer STEM camps of one or more week for Grades 5-8 at Roxbury Latin.

iD Tech runs several programs — iD Tech Camps for ages 7-17, iD Tech Academies for ages 13-18, and Alexa Café, an all-girls program for ages 10-15 — held at several colleges/universities in Massachusetts.

The Innovation Institute, in Newtonville, offers STEM enrichment courses for students from kindergarten through high school.  See detailed listing under After School Programs.

Jackson Laboratory’s Summer Student Program in Bar Harbor, ME provides high school and college students with an opportunity to conduct independent research under the guidance of staff scientists.

Life-TECH Ventures (affiliated with the Nature’s Classroom program familiar to NPS middle-school students) offers residential and day-camp programs in Charlton, MA for children 8 – 16 years old.  Areas of focus include physical science, natural science, performing arts, fine arts, and adventure challenge.

LINX offers several STEM day camps for kids going into K through 8th grades.  It’s held on the campus of Dana Hall School in Wellesley.

MassBay Community College in Wellesley offers its two-week Summer Bridge STEM program for high-school students, focusing on aspects of programming, as well as its Summer Program for Middle School Students.

Math Power! is a summer program for children entering grades 2-8. It’s offered at Green Planet Kids in Newton Highlands, 22 Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands. 617-332-7841

Harvard Medical School’s MEDscience Summer Program is a one-week science course for high-school students to engage in hands-on, collaborative learning and meet HMS students, faculty, and staff.

MIT Educational Studies Program: Junction is a non-residential summer program offering college-level, academic courses for students entering 9th grade through first year of college. Classes are challenging, exciting, and experimental; usually a step beyond what’s available in typical high school curricula.

MIT’s Engineering Design Workshop is a month-long, non-residential, hands-on program for Boston-area students entering Grades 9-12.

MIT’s Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) is rigorous, six-week, 100% scholarship-based program to attract minority students to science and engineering. Applications are available in mid-November and due Feb. 3.

MIT’s Research Science Institute (RSI) invites 80 of the world’s most accomplished high school students for a six-week, cost-free program designed to kick-start their careers of leadership in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Participants experience the entire research cycle from start to finish, reading the most current literature in their field, drafting and executing a detailed research plan, and delivering conference-style oral and written reports on their findings.

MIT’s SeaGlide Workshop is an intensive, one-week program for high-school teachers and Boston-area students entering Grades 9-12 to collaborate in building an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

MIT’s Women’s Technology Program is a rigorous, four-week summer academic and residential experience where female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes, labs, and team-based projects in the summer after 11th grade. It is aimed at students who are not yet certain about their future college majors, and who would like to explore engineering and computer science to determine whether these fields might be of interest. Applications are due January 1.

MIT’s You GO Girl is a four-day introduction to science and engineering for girls entering Grade 9.

The Museum of Science offers a series of hands-on, week-long summer courses for students entering grades 1-8.  Topics range from bugs to robots to food chemistry, and more.   See the online course catalog to view courses and register.  Early registration is offered to Museum of Science members.  Full and partial scholarships are available for families in need.

National Institutes of Health Summer Institute Program in Biomedical Research is a highly competitive program offering opportunities for students 16 and over to work side-by-side with leading biomedical research scientists. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis from November through April by scientists who select their own interns. Labs are located in Bethesda, Baltimore and Frederick, MD; Research Triangle Park, NC; Phoenix, AZ; Hamilton, MT; Framingham, MA; and Detroit, MI. See FAQs.

New England Aquarium Harbor Discovery Camp is an interactive marine and environmental science program for students entering grades 4 through 9.  Activities include behind–the-scenes activities in Aquarium galleries, excursions to Boston Harbor Islands, daily field trips to North and South Shore habitats, an overnight experience, and traditional camp activities.  Several programs run for one or two weeks during July and August.

Newton Community Education offers summer STEM programs, with registration starting February 1.

Northeastern’s Summer STEM Program is a two-week day program for students entering Grades 6-8, particularly those who may be historically under-served and underrepresented with limited opportunities.

Northeastern’s Young Scholars Program is a highly selective program for Boston-area students who have finished sophomore or junior years. It includes lab research experience, career exploration, education and career counseling, field trips, and a taste of college life.

NuVu Studio in Cambridge offers its NuBots summer program for ages 11-18.

PROMYS is a a summer program at Boston University offering intensive study in mathematics for highly motivated students 15 years or older entering Grades 9-12.

Roxbury Latin School’s Advanced Biotechnology Institute offers an advanced lab-based curriculum for outstanding science students in grades 9-12. Admission is on a rolling basis for 20 positions.

Sally Ride Science Camp for Girls at MIT is a day camp for girls entering grades 4 – 9.  Major topics include marine science, introduction to engineering, and astronomy.

Scitech Camp at Dexter-Southfield school in Brookline, for boys and girls entering grades five through ten, offers rich and stimulating experiences designed to encourage curious minds to embark on a lifelong journey through the wonders of science.

The Studio of Engaging Math in Brighton offers a STEAM-based summer program to explore geometry and origami, bridge design, strategy games, 3D modeling, and programming of video games and animations.

Sylvan Learning’s Summer STEM Camps in robotics, engineering, and computing are in Coolidge Corner, Brookline for Grades 1-3 and 4-6.

Tufts University Adventures in Veterinary Medicine offers a one-week career -exploration program for students in grades 7 and 8, during spring break as well as in summer.  It also offers two-week summer programs for high-school students in grades 9 through 12.

The United Nations Association of Greater Boston’s Summer Institute in Global Leadership offers week-long programs at Harvard University for students entering Grades 7-12 to engage in complex global issues using Model UN as a platform, including team-building exercises, guest speakers, negotiation training, and role-play in a full-day Model UN conference. Prior Model UN experience is not required.

URBANFRAME offers summer day programs at MIT for teens to design and build architecture in response to community needs. The program includes field trips to meet designers in their firms.

The Whale Camp at the Fundy Marine Science Institute is on Grand Manan Island off the coast of Northern Maine.  Camper (ages 10-17), in sessions of 1, 2, or 3 weeks, go out to sea three days each week to directly encounter the whales and other marine life, collect data to document whale distribution, feeding and behavioral patterns, and gain hands-on experience using onboard marine biology equipment.  They also explore beaches, coastal trails, and fishing villages and investigate life in the tidal pools and bogs.

Wheelock College hosts a one-week summer day camp, STEM in the City, for rising 8th and 9th graders, with presentations, field trips, and hands-on activities.

Worcester Polytech Institute’s Frontiers Program is a residential STEM academic program for students entering Grades 11-12.  Scholarships are available.

After-School STEM Activities

The Ligerbots is a team of Newton North HS and Newton South HS students competing together in FIRST Robotics Competitions.

Newton has several FIRST Lego League teams, some in school after-school programs and some run independently by parents.

Newton Community Education (see Newton Public Schools below)

Cabot’s After-School Math Puzzle Club is for 4th and 5th graders at Cabot Elementary school.

The Innovation Institute, in Newtonville (617-340-9907), is a leading science and engineering enrichment program for grades K-12.  Parents call it “a local treasure” for its focus on “how” and “why” critical and creative thinking — and because students learn alongside talented scientists, engineers, and educators.  Courses range from Computer Programming and Renewable Energies to Neuroscience and Engineering Design Immersion.  Programs are offered for home school, after school, weekends, and school vacations.

K2 Enrichment Program offers hands-on after-school STEM programs for ages 5-10 in Newtonville.

KTByte Computer Academy in Lexington offers computer-science education, both in-person and by web-conference, for students of ages 9 to 18, from beginners to participants of national competitions.  Courses are offered after school and on weekdays during school breaks.

MIT Educational Studies Program: ProveIt runs for an academic year at a selected local middle school, usually as an after school club, to help middle school students see the fun side of mathematics. This year’s school is not in Newton. Check in June if your school is interested in hosting the program in the future.

Z-kai Learning Lab, in Arlington, is an after-school STEM program for ages 5-16. Courses run two hours per week, online or offline, and are designed to instill 21st-century skills and cross-curricular knowledge. For a free trial, email info@zkai-usa.com or call 781-914-3737.

Weekend STEM Programs

Empow Studios Weekend Clubs in Lexington accept enrollment at any time and are self-paced. Saturdays: Minecraft Club, Video Game Design Club.  Sundays:  Programming & Robotics Club, 3D Club, and Girls STEM Club.

Harvard’s Circles program offers students in Grades 9-12 intensive seminars, meeting weekly in the fall to discuss challenging, college-level topics.  Admission is competitive, with applications due in October.

The Innovation Institute, in Newtonville, offers STEM enrichment courses for students from kindergarten through high school.  See detailed listing under After School Programs.

MIT Educational Studies Program: Spark is a Saturday in which students in grades 7-12 can take multiple classes on a huge variety of subjects. Lottery registration closes Feb. 24, and first-come-first-registered is March 1-7 for the March 12 event.

MIT Educational Studies Program: Splash is a weekend (before Thanksgiving) in which student in grades 9-12 can take multiple classes on a huge variety of subjects..

MIT Educational Studies Program: HSSP offers students in grades 7-12 an in-depth look at a variety of both academic and nonacademic subjects, on Saturdays in spring and summer.

New England Aquarium offers a variety of marine science activities and courses on Saturdays in fall and spring, for all ages.

Online Math Center offers online, after-school tutoring in algebra and geometry for middle and high school students.

School Break STEM Programs

The Massachusetts Audubon Society offers vacation-week programs in several locations across the state.

Empow Studios offers its Tech & Design Camp during vacation weeks, with projects in video-game design, robotics, animation, 3D modeling & printing, and music production.

The Innovation Institute, in Newtonville, offers STEM enrichment courses for students from kindergarten through high school.  See detailed listing under After School Programs.

Tufts University Adventures in Veterinary Medicine offers a one-week career -exploration program for students in grades 7 and 8, during spring break as well as in summer .

Whitehead Spring Lecture Series for High School Students is a three-day program in Cambridge over spring break for students in grades 9-12 interested in biomedical research. Registration opens in March and is first-come, first-served.

Newton Public Schools STEM Activities

Innovation Lab provides students and teachers with an opportunity to innovate, implement, and scale education initiatives that are centered on real world issues and solutions.

The LigerBots robotics team combines students in Newton North and Newton South high schools in FIRST Robotics Competitions.

Newton North HS Greengineers is a collaborative think-tank (formerly known as a ‘class’) that combines, among other things, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Economics, Finance, Design, and Industrial Safety to design new solutions for known problems and issues that affect local and global communities.

Newton Community Education: Search the NCE catalog for courses such as…
Cooking with a Dash of Science, Domino Physics, Deep Blue Sea, Engineering and Electricity Workshop, Engineering with Legos, Girls Science Club, Lego Engineering, Lego Robotics, Lego Mindstorms Terraforming, Mad Science, Math Mania, Marble Machine Madness, Robotics with Legos, Rocket Science, Wicked Wacky Lab Week, …

Schools

NuVu is an innovative school in Cambridge based on studio learning, from the tradition of architecture education.  Its project-based, collaborative learning is focused on STEM, aesthetics, and social issues.

Online Resources

Khan Academy offers over 2,100 video tutorials and 100 self-paced exercises over a broad range of topics in arithmetic, mathematics, biology, chemistry, cosmology/astronomy, physics, statistics, … all free.

Scientific American’s Bring Science Home is a month-long series of activities for kids 6-12 years old to see how science is fascinating and part of everyday life. A new activity will be posted every day in May. Each can be done at home in just a few minutes using common household items and is easy to clean up. The activities were developed in collaboration with members of the National Science Teachers Association.

The Ultimate STEM Guide for Kids lists 239 STEM sites for various groups, K-12.

Optics4kids.org is the Optical Society’s educational website for young students, parents, and educators.

Scratch is a programming language made freely available by MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten Group to help young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.  It’s aimed at ages 8 to 16 but useful for all ages.

Science Buddies offers ideas and resources for science projects.

The Exploratorium has a site on the Science of Cooking.

Teach Engineering is an online digital library of resources for K-12 teachers, developed by five founding partner universities with National Science Foundation funding.