Summer is just around the corner, and you are likely in the planning phase of deciding what your smart girl will be doing during the break. Use this guide as inspiration to explore rich and exciting summer camp experiences that will deliver a big impact. From space to politics to filmmaking to entrepreneurship, this list has something for everyone regardless of whether your smart girl is into STEM-based activities or not:
Concordia Language Villages
Bring a language to life through an immersion experience at these language villages in Minnesota. The immersion program is just like entering a new country. She’ll get her Village passport stamped at customs, receive her cabin assignment, and she’ll help determine her language proficiency (don’t worry—no experience required)! Their summer camps can be anywhere from a week to a month. Your smart girl must be at least age seven to participate.
Camp United Nations For Girls
This isn’t quite a summer experience as the available date to attend is in the Spring; however, this is a great program by the Girls in Politics (GIP) Initiative, a leadership program to introduce girls ages eight to 15 to politics, policy, the United States Congress, parliaments, and the work of the United Nations. Keep an eye out for launch dates for the other programs offered by GIP.
Space Camp
Suit up for a mission to the International Space Station or train for a landing on the moon. Space camp offers students astronaut training techniques using equipment adapted from NASA. Your smart girl will enjoy a wide array of activities, including modeling a rocket and learning what it is like to live onboard the International Space Station.
Camp Betsy Cox
This is a summer camp for girls and young women who intend to make a positive difference in a global world and to have fun while doing so. With the guidance of a seasoned international staff, campers from near and far learn to take responsibility for their decisions by creating their own daily schedules from among sixteen activities. Rustic, safe cabin living promotes imagination and opportunities for learning interpersonal life skills.
Flicker’s KidsEye Program
This is an intensive and fun five-day summer workshop held at the Moses Brown School in Providence, RI, that exposes young people to the basic elements of the filmmaking process, culminating in a premiere screening of their finished work.
Surval Summer Camp
This unique summer camp offers a spectacular location exclusively for girls located in Montreux, Switzerland. At Surval Summer Camp, girls are welcomed from all over the world, ages 10 through 16, to enjoy the exciting and challenging linguistic, sporting, and recreational activities that a Swiss school has to offer.
Camp BizSmart
This camp teaches students ages 11 through 15 the skills needed to run a business in a flat, competitive world. Kids work on business problems for innovative companies, gain real-world experience in a positive, team-based environment, and learn through the mentorship of top executives.
For more STEM specific summer camps and programs, visit our national ecosystem database and filter for your state to see a list of opportunities. If a camp you are interested in is not accessible to you, use this list to inspire you to search for local alternatives.