15 STEM Summer Programs in Nevada for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
If you are a middle school student interested in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, you should consider enrolling in a STEM summer program.
STEM summer programs give you an early opportunity to explore these subjects and understand how they are studied beyond regular school lessons. These programs help you explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics outside your classroom. They are a practical way to spend time working on the subjects you enjoy. You may learn coding, explore engineering activities, run science experiments, or solve math problems while working on guided projects.
Why should I do a STEM summer program in middle school?
A STEM summer program gives you a chance to try different subjects before high school. This helps you understand what areas of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics interest you the most. Exploring these subjects early makes it easier to decide which courses or activities you may want to pursue later.
Participating in these programs also helps you build an academic profile before high school. These experiences show that you explored your interests early and can help you prepare for internships, research programs, and advanced STEM opportunities later.
With that in mind, here are 15 STEM summer programs in Nevada for middle school students!
15 STEM Summer Programs in Nevada for Middle School Students
Location: Nevada (in-person day camps; specific campus locations vary by session)
Cost: $300–$400 per week (early bird and promotional pricing available; includes $25 non-refundable administrative fee)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: Summer sessions (May–August)
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Students in grades 3–8 (middle school eligible for grades 6–8)
Scorpion STEAM Academy offers week-long, in-person summer day camps designed to introduce elementary and middle school students to hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). The program focuses on skill-building and early career exploration, with structured activities aligned to real-world applications in robotics, coding, environmental science, nanotechnology, and digital design. Each camp centers on a thematic track. For middle school students, options such as Rockin’ Robotics, Coding Quests, Prototype Innovators, and Nano Mania emphasize applied problem-solving, circuitry, programming logic, 3D modeling, and physical sciences. Other tracks like Eco Rangers and Science Explorers introduce environmental systems, experimental design, and natural sciences through guided projects and interactive activities.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies | Financial aid available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly selective
Application deadline: Varies based on cohort
Program dates: Eight weeks | Timing varies by cohort
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8
Lumiere’s Junior Explorers Program is a selective online research experience for middle school students, designed to build advanced academic writing and research skills. You begin by selecting a subject area, such as STEM, humanities, or social sciences, and are matched with a PhD-level mentor from a top university. Over the course of the program, you receive a structured introduction to your chosen field, then design and carry out an independent research project focused on a real-world question. To strengthen your writing and analytical abilities, you conclude the program by producing a formal research paper that presents your findings.
Location: University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Cost: $400
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: July 13–17
Application Deadline: Not specified (registration required)
Eligibility: Middle school students
The Invention and Innovation Camp at the University of Nevada, Reno, is a week-long program where you study how ideas become products. During the camp, you work through design challenges that follow the process used in engineering and product development. Sessions examine examples of well-known inventions while explaining how prototypes are built and improved. You also learn how patents and intellectual property protect inventions while working on activities where you design and present your own product ideas.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines. You can apply to the program here.
Program dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (on weekends) during the spring cohort and 25 hours over 2 weeks (on weekdays) during the summer cohort.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8
The AI Trailblazers program by Veritas AI is a virtual program that teaches middle school students the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Over 25 hours, you will learn the basics of Python as well as topics like data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Students learn through lectures and group sessions with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. Previous student projects have included building a machine-learning model to classify music genres and creating a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.
Location: Harry Reid Engineering Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Cost: $400 (includes one full-day off-campus field trip, one catered lunch, and daily snacks)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: June 22–26
Application Deadline: Registration required (space-limited)
Eligibility: Ages 12–14 (middle school students)
Engineering Everywhere at the University of Nevada, Reno is a week-long engineering camp where you study how engineers solve practical problems. Activities follow the engineering design process, where you identify a problem, design a solution, build a prototype, and test how it performs. Daily design challenges introduce fields such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, and computer engineering. Through these activities, you examine how engineers improve designs through repeated testing and revision.
Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV (in-person)
Cost: $595 (lunch included)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: July 20–24
Application Deadline: Registration required; refund requests accepted before July 6
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6–10
The Summer Program Advancing Research and Knowledge at UNLV focuses on how research studies are designed and carried out. During the program,m you learn how to form research questions, build hypotheses, and examine evidence using structured methods. Sessions introduce statistical testing and data analysis while you work with software tools used to organize and examine datasets. The program ends with activities where you interpret results and explain what the data shows.
Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV (in-person)
Cost: $65 (lunch included)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: June 8–10
Application Deadline: Registration required; refunds available if requested before May 25
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6–8
Anatomy Academy at UNLV is a short health science camp where you study how the human body functions. Activities include examining organs, using digital anatomy tables to explore body systems, and observing how tissues appear under laboratory preparation. The camp also introduces basic clinical tasks such as suturing and ECG interpretation. Through these exercises,s you examine how anatomy connects to health and disease.
Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV (in-person)
Cost: $599 per session
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: June 1–5, June 8–12, June 22–26, July 6–10 (Camp Cosmos II), July 13–17, July 20–24 (Camp Cosmos II)
Application Deadline: Registration-based; space limited
Eligibility: Middle school students (grades typically 6–8)
Camp Cosmos at UNLV is an astronomy program where you study the science of space and the universe. During the week,k you examine topics such as planetary systems, light and spectroscopy, stellar evolution, and the structure of galaxies. Demonstrations and experiments show how telescopes collect data and how astronomers study distant objects. University instructors and astronomy students guide the sessions while explaining how research in physics and astronomy is conducted.
Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV (in-person)
Cost: Tuition-based (contact program for current pricing)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: June 8 – July 2 (Morning & Afternoon Modules), July 6 – July 30 (Morning & Afternoon Modules)
Application Deadline: Registration required; space-limited
Eligibility: Middle and high school students
The UNLV STEM Institute is an immersive, campus-based program that offers middle and high school students hands-on exposure to advanced STEM disciplines. Hosted by the UNLV College of Engineering, the institute provides structured modules in robotics, cybersecurity, programming, artificial intelligence, advanced mathematics, and related engineering fields. The program emphasizes applied learning. You may build and program robots, explore network security challenges, develop code-based solutions, or analyze mathematical models tied to real-world engineering problems. Instruction is delivered by engineering faculty and trained instructors, offering direct exposure to university-level expertise.
Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV (in-person)
Cost: $1,199 (includes lab kits, learning materials, stationery, and lunch)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: July 6–30
Application Deadline: Registration required; refunds available if requested before June 22
Eligibility: Students entering grades 5–9
The UNLV Young Innovators Robotics Camp is a four-week, intensive engineering program focused on designing, building, and programming a fully functional pneumatic robotic arm. Hosted by the UNLV STEM Institute, the camp provides an immersive, project-based experience that mirrors real-world engineering workflows. Over the course of the program, you progress from foundational skill development to advanced system integration. Core concepts include mechanical engineering, fluid dynamics, circuit design, and computational thinking. Working in teams of four to five, you move through the complete engineering design cycle, defining requirements, prototyping joint mechanisms, developing pneumatic controls, troubleshooting system performance, and refining designs through iterative testing.
Location: Online (Clark County School District, Nevada)
Cost: Tuition-free for full-time CCSD students; part-time enrollment may include fees
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: Follows traditional semester calendar (Fall/Spring)
Application Deadline: Enrollment begins at the start of each semester
Eligibility: Middle school students (grades 6–8); open to CCSD and select non-CCSD students
Nevada Learning Academy at CCSD is a fully online public school program that offers middle school courses aligned with Nevada academic standards. You will attend scheduled live classes where teachers explain lessons and guide projects connected to course topics. Teachers and counselors provide support through video calls, email, and in-person meetings at the NVLA campus when needed. The program focuses on structured online learning supported by regular communication with instructors.
Location: University of Nevada, Reno Extension – Washoe County 4-H (Reno, NV; in-person programs across the county)
Cost: Varies by club, camp, and activity; modest fees may apply
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment; approximately 15,000 youth participate annually in Washoe County
Program Dates: Year-round clubs and afterschool programs; day camps and week-long overnight camps offered during school breaks and summer
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment for clubs; camp deadlines vary by session
Eligibility: Youth ages 5–19 (middle school students typically in grades 6–8)
Washoe County 4-H offers a broad range of hands-on learning opportunities for middle school students through clubs, afterschool workshops, and seasonal camps. As part of the University of Nevada, Reno Extension, the program uses research-based, inquiry-driven curricula to build both technical knowledge and life skills. You can choose project areas aligned with your interests, including STEM fields such as robotics, rockets, aviation, animal science, and energy, as well as gardening, livestock, small animals, arts, cooking, sewing, and more. Many STEM-focused workshops emphasize experimentation, design challenges, and applied problem-solving.
Location: Multiple sites across Nevada (including Reno and Las Vegas; in-person)
Cost: Tuition-based; scholarships and financial assistance often available
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment; class sizes vary by site
Program Dates: Summer sessions (typically June–July; week-long formats common)
Application Deadline: Registration-based; deadlines vary by session
Eligibility: Students in grades K–12 (middle school students in grades 6–8 are eligible for appropriate camps)
Nevada Math Project summer camps focus on problem-solving and mathematical reasoning through guided activities. During the sessions, you work on puzzles, logic problems, and investigations that examine how mathematical ideas are used to explain patterns and relationships. Activities often involve group discussions where you explain how a solution works and compare different approaches. Topics may include algebraic thinking, geometry, and number relationships explored through real-world examples.
Location: Las Vegas, NV (in-person at local theCoderSchool campus locations)
Cost: Tuition-based (monthly memberships and camp fees vary by program)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment; small-group instruction
Program Dates: Year-round coding programs; summer camps typically offered June–August
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment; camp registration required
Eligibility: Elementary through high school students (middle school students in grades 6–8 eligible)
TheCoderSchool in Las Vegas runs coding camps where you study programming and software development through hands-on projects. During the sessions, you learn programming languages such as Python or JavaScript while building small programs, simple games, or basic web pages. Activities focus on writing code, testing how it works, and correcting errors when programs do not run correctly. Classes take place in small groups so instructors can guide you through each step of the programming process.
Location: DISCOVERY Children’s Museum, 360 Promenade Place, Las Vegas, NV
Cost: $325 per camp (General Admission); $305 per camp (Members)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Limited enrollment; most camps capped at 8–15 students per age group
Program Dates: Weekly sessions from June 1 to July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling registration; camps fill on a first-come, first-served basis
Eligibility: Ages 6–11 (select camps for ages 9–11; open to middle school–aged students 9–11)
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum summer camps focus on STEM activities built around specific themes. In camps such as Tinker with Tech, you learn computer-aided design using TinkerCAD and create simple objects through 3D printing or laser cutting. Robot Revolution introduces robotics and drone control through engineering challenges. Other camps, such as Minecraft Madness, combine digital gameplay with engineering and math activities, while Astronomy All Stars examines space science through experiments and planetarium sessions.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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