Each summer, The Grainger College of Engineering’s Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Program offers a variety of summer camps to STEM-interested students. These camps aim to spark interest in engineering and provide new learning experiences for K-12 students. They give young learners the chance to engage in fun projects and activities, learn from university instructors, and get a taste of college life. Participants get the opportunity to learn about different areas of engineering through a mix of demonstrations, laboratory tours, classroom sessions, hands-on experiments, and interactions with current students, faculty, and staff from those fields. These camps have attracted many participants over the years and the staff looks forward to meeting new campers each summer.
The Mid-GLAM: Materials, Science, and Engineering Middle School Day Camp was founded by Professor Cecilia Leal in 2017. Led by Professors Antonia Statt, Hua Wang, and Marie Charpagne, this year’s camp attracted 19 middle schoolers. Throughout the week, campers explored the materials that shape our everyday lives—from the plastics in our phones to the metals in our cars. They engaged in different projects to understand how materials can be improved and adapted for future use. One standout activity this year was a self-healing demonstration by Professor Chris Evans, which campers enjoyed so much that they named one of the samples “Bobby.”
Mid-GLAM had a great number of volunteers this year, including: Ashley Knoedel (postdoc researcher, Statt Lab) James Tallman (PhD student, Statt Lab) Joonsu Han (PhD student, Wang Lab) Daniel Nguyen (PhD student, Wang Lab) Nabila Ali (PhD student, Charpagne Lab) Jackson Nie (PhD student, Charpagne Lab Liang-Ching (Sunny) Chen (PhD student), and Staci Stater (undergraduate student, Statt Lab). Their help was a huge part of making the camp a success.
Another middle school day camp, Discovering ECE, began in 2023 and gives the youth an introduction to electrical and computer engineering. Led by Professors Yuting Chen and Victoria Shao, this year’s camp also attracted 19 campers. They engaged in many activities, including building circuits using SparkFun Invertor kits and working on team projects. These activities gave campers a practical way to learn about electrical and computer engineering. The camp received lots of positive feedback from participants, such as, "Everything here is high quality," and "I am really excited about designing my breadboard for the team project." The campers also enjoyed the social events, with one saying, "The bowling was a good break to have," and "I enjoyed conversing with the tour person at the museum about AI."
Illinois Graduate and undergraduate students also assisted with the Discovering ECE Camp. Graduate students helped prepare the camp logistics, daily surveys, and activities. 13 undergraduate lab assistants mentored the campers on their team projects and final presentations. These students played an important role in guiding the campers’ learning throughout the week.
If you’re interested in future summer camp opportunities, we offer several programs for different disciplines in engineering. For more information, please visit The Grainger College of Engineering's Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) website.