15 Technology Summer Camps for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Aug 31
- 9 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
If you’re a middle schooler interested in tech, and technology is something you want to explore or build a future in, starting with a summer tech camp during middle school can give you a clear head start. Without clashing with your regular school year, you can use the summer to try coding, robotics, game design, or AI in a simple and hands-on way.
Technology camps for middle schoolers give you short, focused training in real tech tools. Most last one to four weeks and focus on specific topics like programming, engineering basics, or building digital games. You might learn to use Scratch, Python, or a robotics kit. These camps are usually more affordable and flexible than full programs, and you don’t need any prior experience to join.
How are summer camps different from regular summer programs?
Most school-year programs for middle school students happen through clubs, electives, or in-class projects. They run for months, meet once or twice a week, and cover general topics with limited time for deep learning. The tech camps in this list work differently. They’re short, often full-day sessions, and focus fully on one subject, like building a robot or coding a game.
These camps are easy to fit into your summer. You don’t need to worry about grades, homework, or long applications. Most are designed to help you try something new, meet other students, and build real-world skills in a short time.
To help you find one that fits, we’ve selected 15 summer technology camps for middle school students!
15 Technology Summer Camps for Middle School Students
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies
Dates: 8-week program; multiple cohorts offered
Application deadline: Rolling admissions for each cohort
Eligibility: Academically advanced students in grades 6-8
Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program is an 8-week online research program where you work one-on-one with a Ph.D. mentor. You start by exploring topics like computer science, AI, engineering, psychology, and more. Then you choose a focus area and build your research project. Your mentor helps you shape and refine your work every step of the way. You’re matched with a mentor from a top university. Past mentors have come from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and more. You can apply here.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies
Dates: Several cohorts year-round
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
Veritas AI Trailblazers is a 10-session online program where you learn Python and the basics of artificial intelligence. You’ll start with data analysis, then explore key AI topics like regression, classification, and neural networks. You’ll work in small groups with mentors to build hands-on projects, including image classification models. You’ll also talk about AI ethics and how these technologies affect the world. You can apply here.
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Around 65 students per cohort
Dates: Week 1: August 11 – 15 (6th/7th graders), Week 2: August 18 – 22 (8th/9th graders)
Application Deadline: March 10
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 9th grade students
MIT’s dynaMIT Summer Program is a free, hands-on STEM camp for middle school students. You’ll spend a week on MIT’s campus doing experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, and more. You’ll build rockets, launch water balloons, and even explore AI and knot theory, all guided by MIT undergraduates and graduate mentors. You’ll get close mentorship as you work in small groups, and the curriculum changes every year. MIT students design new activities each summer, so you’re always learning something fresh.
Location: U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Cost: Starts at $1,899
Dates: Varies by expedition
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students aged 12–14
NASA Space Academy is a 6-day space camp for students ages 12–14, held at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. You’ll train like an astronaut using real NASA equipment. You’ll walk in simulated lunar gravity using the 1/6th Gravity Chair, spin in the Multi-Axis Trainer, and work through aquatic challenges to build teamwork and leadership. You’ll take on engineering missions like designing heat shields, launching rockets, and solving problems on simulated trips to the ISS, Moon, or Mars. You’ll work in teams, build real prototypes, and learn how astronauts prepare for space.
Location: Brickyard Engineering Building, Tempe, AZ
Cost: $900 (scholarships are available)
Dates: June 16 – 27
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7 and 8. Exceptional students entering grade 6 may be considered
ASU’s 7Up Robotics Camp is a two-week summer program for students entering grades 7 and 8 (exceptional 6th graders can apply). You’ll build and code robots using EV3 kits and component-based platforms, and also learn game programming with Alice, explore 3D animation, and try basic web and app development. You’ll work in teams to solve engineering problems and apply design concepts. The camp ends with a robotics challenge modeled after the FIRST LEGO League competition, where you’ll test your robot in real scenarios.
Location: Kettering University, Flint, MI
Cost: $600
Dates: June 30 – July 1
Application Deadline: Varies by camp
Eligibility: Students in grades 5–8
Combat Robotics Camp is a short, hands-on program where you build and battle your one-pound combat robot. You’ll use a kit to assemble your robot, learn mechanical engineering skills, and test your design in live matches. An experienced combat robotics competitor guides you through the process, step by step. You’ll take home your robot and 3D design files so you can keep building and modifying after camp. The program focuses on creativity, engineering fundamentals, and competition. It’s part of a larger set of camps that also cover aerial drones and computer-aided fabrication, giving you options to keep learning.
Location: Andries Hudde Junior High or STAR Early College School, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Free
Dates: July 7 – August 1
Application Deadline: May 15
Eligibility: Rising 7th to 8th graders who live in New York City
Science of Smart Cities (SoSC) is a free, four-week summer program at NYU Tandon for students ages 12–14 who live in New York City. You’ll learn how technology can make cities safer, cleaner, and more efficient, and build circuits, program microcontrollers, and work with sensors to design real solutions to urban problems. You’ll work in teams to create a final project, like improving energy use or traffic safety, and present your solution at the end of the program. You’ll explore topics in electronics, coding, environmental science, and urban engineering, all through hands-on activities.
Location: Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, or Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia
Cost: Residential: $1,350; day camp: $1,095 (all campers get $200 scholarship grants per week). Morning camp: $400 ($50 scholarship grant)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The camper-to-staff ratio is typically 5:1
Dates: June – August
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students ages 6–18
National Computer Camps (NCC) lets you build your own tech experience from the ground up. Each week, you choose one or two focus areas like game design, web development, robotics, Arduino, or app programming, and work on them during structured sessions. You learn at your level, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced options available for every topic. You also get time each day for “Creative Computing,” where you can try things like Photoshop, 3D printing, cryptography, drone flying, and Minecraft modding. You work on real projects and learn by doing.
9. Penn GEMS
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $650 (financial assistance is available)
Dates: June 24 – 28
Application Deadline: March 4
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7–9 in the Philadelphia area
Penn GEMS is a free, weeklong engineering camp at the University of Pennsylvania for students entering grades 7–9. You’ll explore how engineers solve real-world problems using science, math, and technology, and explore fields like bioengineering, nanotechnology, materials science, and computing through hands-on challenges that connect to everyday life. You’ll build catapults, design balsa wood bridges, program robots, and create animations. You’ll work in teams, learn from Penn graduate students, and get mentorship from undergraduates who guide you through each activity.
Location: Virtual/various locations across the U.S.
Cost: In-person camp: starts at $319; virtual camp: starts at $239
Acceptance rate/cohort size: In-person camps have small cohort sizes; online camps typically have 8 students per teacher
Dates: Varies by camp
Application Deadline: Varies by camp
Eligibility: Students ages 5–18
Coding with Kids offers online and in-person tech camps for students ages 5–18. You choose your focus, like Scratch, Python, Java, Minecraft Modding, Roblox game design, or robotics, and build real projects with help from expert instructors. Camps follow the Coder’s Pathways curriculum, so you can grow from beginner to advanced levels in a topic you care about. Each camp includes structured lessons, coding challenges, and time to work on your ideas. Instructors tailor support to your level, whether you’re debugging code or planning a new game. You also get to try other topics during “Creative Computing,” like Photoshop, 3D printing, cryptography, or drone flying.
Location: Various locations across the U.S.
Cost: Standard camps: $1,200, Advanced camps: $1,500
Dates: 5-day sessions from June to August
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary by camp
Eligibility: Standard camps have no eligibility requirements, but advanced camp applicants must have prior knowledge
AFA CyberCamp is a 5-day summer program where you learn real cybersecurity skills through hands-on labs and simulations. You’ll work in Windows 10 and Linux (Mint) environments to explore topics like account management, system security, and basic command line tools. You’ll also learn how virtual machines work and how to spot cyber threats.
If you’re new to cybersecurity, the Standard Camp starts from scratch. If you already have experience, the Advanced Camp goes deeper into networking, Linux system management, and Windows diagnostics. Both camps end with a timed competition where you fix security issues in a virtual system.
Location: College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Durham, NH
Cost: $700 (day students), $1,350 (residential students). Scholarships are available
Dates: TechSplorers A: July 7 – 11; TechSplorers B: July 14 – 18
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Students entering grades 5–8
TechSplorers is a weeklong STEM camp for students entering grades 5–8, held at the University of New Hampshire. You’ll work in teams to solve real problems using science, engineering, and technology. Topics change daily, one day you might build circuits or write code, and the next, you’ll analyze clues in a forensic science activity or experiment with kitchen chemistry. Activities are hands-on and creative, designed to help you test ideas, work through challenges, and share your findings. Past topics have included freshwater ecology, domino toppling, and 3D design.
Location: CU Science Discovery, Boulder, CO
Cost: $295 – $370 (scholarships available)
Dates: Week-long camps from June to August
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 8th graders
CU Science Discovery offers weeklong STEM camps for middle school students at the University of Colorado Boulder. You’ll explore real research topics through hands-on projects. You might fly drones, build robots with LEGO Spike Prime, write your first programs in Python, or experiment with artificial intelligence. Each camp is built around solving real problems. Some camps connect STEM with art, like turning data into digital stories or designing interactive games. You’ll learn from CU faculty, grad students, and experienced instructors, using tools and ideas usually reserved for older students.
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $499 (scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment. Previous years had around 30 students per cohort
Dates: June 9 – 13
Application Deadline: April 18
Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6–7
iRIDE Academy is a weeklong engineering camp at Rice University for students entering grades 6 to 8. You’ll explore how engineers solve real problems using science, math, and creativity. Each day focuses on a different challenge, like how helicopters are used in flood rescues or how transportation systems keep cities running. You’ll rotate through engineering topics, visit active research labs, and meet professionals from places like NASA, TxDOT, and the Harris County Flood Control District. You’ll also hear from Rice students about their work and how they chose engineering. At the end of the week, you’ll work on a capstone project where you design a solution to a real problem in your community.
Location: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Cost: $170 (Making with Microcontrollers and Making Arcade Games), $320 (Engineering Camp). Need-based scholarships are available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment
Dates: July 14 – 18 (Making with Microcontrollers and Making Arcade Games); July 21 – 25 (Engineering Camp)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 8th graders
Oregon State University STEM Academy offers weeklong summer camps for middle school students that focus on hands-on STEM learning. You can choose from several options depending on your interests. In Making with Microcontrollers, you’ll program microbit devices to interact with the world around you and learn how physical computing works.
In Making Arcade Games, you’ll use MakeCode to design multi-level games while learning programming in both block and JavaScript formats. The Engineering Camp gives you a broader experience. You’ll rotate through projects like building solar-powered cars, using 3D printing tools, and experimenting with chemical reactions to see how engineering connects to everyday life.
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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