TechVenturers

Open to students entering grades 8-12

Students entering grades 8–12 will take part in an immersive, weeklong learning experience centered on a single topic in science, engineering or technology. Participants will spend the week developing expertise, honing critical thinking skills and gaining a deeper understanding of their topic. Guided by expert mentors and collaborating with like-minded peers, students will work through the engineering design process, strengthen problem-solving skills and immerse themselves in hands-on learning. The week concludes with a camp-wide presentation, giving students the opportunity to share their work, build confidence and reflect on their growth. All levels of STEM experience are encouraged to attend! Specific age ranges for each project are specified below. Read the full description here.
 

• RC Cars: Trail to Track (Grades 8-10) Get behind the controls in this fast-paced, hands-on project! In RC Cars, campers use professional-grade off-road RC crawler trucks and on-road drift cars to explore remote-control engineering, design and performance. Campers design and build custom routes—complete with bridges, obstacles, balancers and terrain challenges—then put their creations to the test. Using RC crawler trucks, students navigate rock, dirt, river and mud environments, solving problems and adapting their driving strategies as conditions change. The challenge continues on the track as campers transition to RC drift cars, learning advanced driving techniques such as throttle control and tandem drifting on a fun yet demanding course. Along the way, students gain practical experience tuning, maintaining and caring for RC vehicles using professional tools and accessories. This program emphasizes creative thinking, problem-solving and hands-on technical skills—all while delivering high-energy fun from trail to track!
• Regenerative Medicine: The Planaria Project (Grades 8-10) Scientists are unlocking the secrets of how to regrow damaged human tissues and organs by studying organisms that naturally possess remarkable regenerative abilities. One such organism is the planarian, a commonly found flatworm with the ability to regenerate again and again. In this program, students will explore the foundations of regenerative medicine through hands-on laboratory investigations using planaria as a model system. They will examine the biological mechanisms that enable regeneration and apply the scientific method to design and conduct their own experiments. By manipulating and analyzing environmental conditions, students will investigate how external factors influence regenerative outcomes, gaining practical experience in experimental design, data collection, and scientific analysis while engaging with a cutting-edge area of biomedical research.
• Regenerative Medicine: The Bioinformatics Project (Grades 9-12) This program introduces students to bioinformatics—the fast-growing field where biology meets computer science. Participants will discover how scientists use computers, databases, and code to answer real-world biological questions. Students will explore what it means to “do biochemistry with a computer” by analyzing proteins, DNA, RNA, and even entire genomes using the same tools employed by researchers today. Through hands-on exploration, they will learn how biological data is obtained, stored, visualized, and interpreted to support advances in regenerative medicine, personalized medicine, and biotechnology. This project highlights career pathways in fields such as biomedical research, bioinformatics, data science, genetics, and computational biology—ideal for students interested in combining life sciences with technology to tackle tomorrow’s medical challenges.

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• Data Detectives (Grades 9-12) Have you ever wondered how your favorite streaming service recommends new shows or movies tailored to your tastes? Or how advertisements that align with your interests consistently pop up in your social media feeds? Welcome to the world of data science! In this program, participants will learn how personal data collected from a wide variety of sources is used to predict trends, preferences, and behavior, as well as solve complex scientific questions and real-world problems. Data analytics is not unlike being a detective sifting through huge amounts of information to find hidden clues and patterns. Come learn how to gather, interpret, model and present data to understand and decode the world’s mysteries!

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