15 STEM Summer Programs in West Virginia for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Apr 6
- 9 min read
If you are in middle school and looking for something more meaningful to do over the summer, STEM programs are worth considering!
STEM summer programs give you a chance to explore science and technology in a way that goes beyond regular classes. They give you a more active learning experience where you might build, test, or experiment with ideas. You begin to see how things work step by step, which makes learning clearer and more interesting.
Why should I do a STEM summer program in middle school?
These programs help you build early skills like problem-solving, logical thinking, and working through tasks on your own. You also get more comfortable exploring new ideas and understanding how subjects connect, which makes it easier to handle these subjects later in high school.
In West Virginia, schools and local organizations offer STEM programs that are easy to access without travel or housing costs. This makes them a practical way to start building your interest and confidence early, while also helping you explore what you might want to study further.
With that, here are 15 STEM summer programs in West Virginia for middle school students!
15 STEM Summer Programs in West Virginia for Middle School Students
Location: Marshall University Science Building, Huntington, WV
Cost: $200-$250 (lunch provided)
Application Deadline: Registration open (first-come basis)
Dates: June 30 – July 3, July 28 – Aug 1
Eligibility: Entering grades 6a–9 (middle school)
Marshall University’s camps run as multi-day sessions where you focus on biology, chemistry, or microbiology through direct experiments. In the animal behavior camp, you work with live birds and fruit flies, taking measurements and studying how they behave. You record your observations and analyze what they show about physiology and behavior. In the chemistry and microbiology camp, you explore microbes like bacteria and tardigrades, running experiments that show how they survive extreme conditions. The sessions are held in a lab setting, which makes the work feel closer to real scientific practice.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies | Financial aid available
Application deadline: Varies based on cohort
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: Berkeley County 4-H, Martinsburg, WV
Cost: Unspecified
Application Deadline: Unspecified
Dates: Ongoing club meetings (tentatively)
Eligibility: Grades 4–12
Berkeley County 4-H STEM Club runs as an ongoing program where you take part in projects and competitions that change depending on your level. You might work on hands-on activities in science or engineering, or join a robotics team where you build and test systems over time. The structure is flexible, but the focus stays on learning through doing rather than following fixed lessons. You work with other students from across the county, which means ideas and approaches vary depending on the group. Over time, you get used to solving problems by trying things out rather than waiting for a set answer.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies | Financial aid available
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines. You can apply to the program here.
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: Statler College, Morgantown, WV
Cost: $425 (financial aid available)
Application Deadline: Registration opens March 2; first-come, first-served
Dates: June 22 – 26, July 6 – 10, July 13 – 17
Eligibility: Entering 6th-12th grades (middle school: 6th-8th)
The Statler Engineering Challenge Camp at WVU centers around the idea of “Engineering Our World,” where you work on design problems connected to infrastructure, sustainability, and technology. You spend your time in teams, breaking down how systems function and how they could be improved. The work involves thinking through how different components connect, rather than focusing on one isolated concept. Schedules vary each year, but the structure stays consistent with design challenges and applied tasks that reflect real engineering questions.
Location: Virtual (statewide access from anywhere in WV)
Cost: Free (tuition-free public school)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Dates: Any time of year, including summer
Eligibility: West Virginia residents entering grades 6–8
West Virginia Virtual Preparatory Academy runs as a full online school where you complete STEM coursework through a flexible schedule. You take subjects like Math and Science across different grade levels, working through lessons that include digital assignments, videos, and virtual labs. In Grade 7 science, you explore topics like chemical reactions, ecosystems, and cellular processes, while Grade 8 moves into genetics, forces, motion, and space science. The format allows you to move at your own pace, which changes how you approach learning compared to a traditional classroom.
Location: West Virginia Department of Education (statewide middle schools), Charleston, WV
Cost: Free (offered through public schools as a CTE exploratory course)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Dates: Not specified
Eligibility: Middle school students in participating West Virginia schools
The Agriculture Exploration course introduces you to how agriculture connects with STEM through applied work. You might study plant growth, soil conditions, animal systems, or food production, often using basic data collection and measurement methods. The course includes activities, workshops, and sometimes field trips that show how these systems function outside the classroom. You also work on group projects, which means discussing ideas and solving problems together. Over time, you begin to see how agriculture ties into broader topics like sustainability and resource management.
Location: Jackson’s Mill, Weston, WV
Cost: Small fee for group visits (contact for pricing)
Application Deadline: Unspecified
Dates: Year-round (schedule by calling)
Eligibility: K-12 school/youth groups (middle school eligible for many activities)
Jackson Mill’s STEAM programs take place in a dedicated facility where you work through different STEM activities during a field visit. You might explore engineering by testing structures or launching small rockets, or move into physical science through circuits, robotics, or DNA extraction. Some sessions take you outdoors, where you study wetlands or ecosystems directly. In computer science activities, you work with tools like Scratch, Micro: bit, or Makey Makey to complete short coding tasks. The experience changes depending on the session you attend, but it stays hands-on throughout.
Location: 167th Airlift Wing, Shepherd Field, Martinsburg, WV
Cost: Free (DoD-sponsored educational program)
Application Deadline: Varies annually
Dates: 25-hour academies scheduled year-round (tentatively)
Eligibility: 5th graders (STARBASE); at-risk middle schoolers (STARBASE 2.0)
STARBASE 2.0 builds on earlier STEM exposure by placing you in a program that focuses on applied learning and mentoring. You work through concepts like Newton’s laws, robotics, and engineering design by building and testing systems. Some activities involve creating models like space stations or vehicles, where you apply both math and science together. The program also introduces you to STEM careers through interaction with military personnel. The structure combines guided instruction with projects that require you to think through each step.
Location: Partner sites across West Virginia
Cost: Varies
Application Deadline: Varies
Dates: Summer (tentatively)
Eligibility: Middle school students (ages typically 11–14)
The NASA Robotics Alliance Project supports several engineering-focused STEM camps for students in West Virginia through affiliated partner organizations. These camps provide hands-on learning experiences in areas such as robotics, coding, and engineering design. During a camp, you work on projects that help develop problem-solving abilities and technical skills while exploring STEM concepts in a practical setting. The programs align with national STEM education standards, are adapted for local implementation, and connect to NASA’s broader educational outreach efforts. Registration is completed through the websites of the individual partner organizations hosting the camps at locations within West Virginia.
Location: Capon Bridge, WV
Cost: Not specified
Application Deadline: Unspecified (contact to reserve spot)
Dates: Not specified
Eligibility: Ages 11–15 (middle school students)
The Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies offers overnight nature camps for middle school students that focus on STEM through environmental science. The senior sessions are designed for students ages 11–15 and take place on a 600-acre Appalachian wildlife sanctuary. During a 14–15-day session, you explore topics such as animal science, biology, ecology, environmental science, geology, and astronomy. You participate in hikes to observe local plants and wildlife, including birds, butterflies, salamanders, and foxes, and take part in field studies and independent projects that reflect your own interests. Data collection and analysis are incorporated into many of the nature observation activities.
Location: WVU Jackson’s Mill, Weston, WV
Cost: $175
Application Deadline: February 2
Dates: February 20 – 22
Eligibility: Grades 6–12
WVU’s 4-H Code Camp runs as a short, weekend program where you choose a track based on your current level and work through coding projects that match it. If you start at the beginner level, you build simple web pages using HTML and CSS, experiment with Scratch, and work with LEGO-based robotics to understand how code connects to physical systems. In the intermediate track, you move into JavaScript-based games and try out basic drone programming, which shifts the focus toward logic and control. The advanced track goes further into Python and Arduino, where you work with electronics and understand how software interacts with hardware.
Location: Online
Cost: Tuition-free
Application Deadline: March 25
Dates: Summer course: July 6 – 24; Fall meetings: August 26 – December 9
Eligibility: Current grades 6–7, U.S. residents attending U.S. schools, low-income households (typically under $90,000)
Stanford’s program begins with a three-week summer session where you attend live online classes in subjects like math, writing, and study strategies. After that, it continues into the fall with weekly sessions that build on what you learned earlier. You take part in discussions with students from different parts of the country and work through academic material that prepares you for selective high schools. The program also includes sessions for families, which help you understand the application process and plan next steps.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: No deadline
Dates: Self-paced, available year-round
Eligibility: All female middle school students are eligible
In the Girls Who Code Python activities, you learn the basics of programming using Python, a widely used text-based language. You complete structured exercises that demonstrate how coding can be applied to projects such as building a simple chatbot, analyzing datasets, and creating visual representations of data. You practice constructing and interpreting various types of graphs, including line, bar, pie, histogram, and scatter plots. One activity uses publicly available Kickstarter data to show how real-world information can be collected, organized, and analyzed. As you progress, you develop foundational data science skills, such as cleaning data, spotting patterns, and drawing evidence-based conclusions. You also practice presenting your findings clearly, adjusting how you communicate results for different audiences, such as teachers, researchers, or other stakeholders.
Location: Online and in-person camps (sites vary by year)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: Not specified
Dates: Multiple two-week camps in the summer
Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens who are 13–18 years old
Kode With Klossy runs as a two-week program where you choose a track like web development, data science, mobile apps, or machine learning. You spend your time learning programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, or Swift while working on projects tied to your track. The work builds gradually, so you are applying concepts as you learn them. You also explore topics like bias in algorithms and accessibility in technology, which come up when thinking about how tools are used. By the end, you complete a project that shows what you’ve built and understood.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. 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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