Engineering & Science Summer Camps

• Ages 9-14
• Cost: $125

Dates/Times:

• June 9-11, 2026, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• June 16-18, 2026, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
• June 23-25, 2026, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Step into a Minecraft world designed for engineering. In Minecraft Engineering Camp, students ages 9–14 will explore a custom server filled with challenges inspired by real engineering fields. Campers will design and build structures such as bridges and towers while learning principles of civil engineering, solve redstone challenges inspired by electrical engineering, and solve a variety of other engineering problems throughout the world. Students will play together in a shared multiplayer world where they can explore, collaborate, and tackle challenges alongside other campers. As they progress through the challenges, students will experiment, test their designs, and discover how engineering concepts can be applied creatively inside Minecraft.

REGISTER FOR MINECRAFT CAMP

• Ages 9-14
• Cost: $125

Dates/Times:

• June 16-18, 2026, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Students will design, build, and program their own LEGO SPIKE Prime robots to compete in a series of Robot Olympics engineering challenges. Over three days, campers will test their robots in different events each day, including speed races, strength challenges, obstacle navigation, lifting tasks, and sensor-based maze runs. As they prepare for each competition, students will experiment with robot design, programming, and mechanisms to improve performance. This hands-on camp introduces robotics, coding, and engineering concepts through fun daily competitions where campers can test and refine their robots. Designed for ages 9–14, no prior robotics experience is required.

REGISTER FOR LEGO SPIKE PRIME CAMP

• Ages 9-14
• Cost: $125

Dates/Times:

• June 9-11, 2026, 1-4 p.m.
• June 23-25, 2026, 1-4 p.m.

Kerbal Space Engineers Camp invites students ages 9–14 to explore the science and engineering behind rocket launches using the physics-based simulator Kerbal Space Program. Campers will design, build, and test their own rockets while learning the fundamentals of spaceflight, orbital mechanics, and mission planning. Each day introduces new challenges such as reaching space, achieving orbit, deploying satellites, or traveling to the Mun. Through experimentation and problem solving, participants will refine their rocket designs and discover the real challenges engineers face when exploring space.

KERBAL SPACE ENGINEERS

• Audience: Scouts
• Cost: $20

Dates/Times:

• June 26, 2026, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

If you’re a Scout interested in rocks, fossils, energy, or mining, then we welcome you to come earn your Geology Merit Badge through this one-day workshop offered by UND’s School of Geology and Geological Engineering! Through participating in hands-on activities examining rocks and real fossils from North Dakota and beyond, and through discussions with professional geologists and paleontologists, Scouts will learn about: the dinosaurs, ice-age mammals, and other extinct lifeforms that once called North Dakota home; how oil reservoirs form and how geologists find them to provide energy for the nation; and how natural processes such as plate tectonics, fossilization, and extinction operate both today and in the past.

Scouts will also tour the Harold Hamm Geology and Geological Engineering Museum in Leonard Hall and the new fossil preparation lab in the North Dakota Geological Survey’s Core Library, where a duckbilled dinosaur skeleton is currently being cleaned and stabilized for research. 

REGISTER FOR GEOLOGY BADGE

• Grades 6-8
• Cost: $50 for any 1 camp, $80 for any combination of 2 camps, $100 for all 3 camps

Dates/Times:

• August 18-20, 2026, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tuesday, August 18

Camp 1: Transportation/Traffic & Modern Construction with Concrete

• Morning Session (9 a.m.-12 p.m.): - The Transportation Engineering & Traffic Safety Activity is a hands-on STEM experience designed for middle school students to explore how engineers make roads safer and more efficient. Students step into the role of real transportation engineers by collecting traffic data, measuring speed, testing human reaction time, simulating traffic congestion, and learning how road signs communicate critical safety information.
• Lunch at Wilkerson Dining Hall included (12  – 1 p.m.)
• Afternoon Session (1 –4 p.m.) - Would you like to learn more about the process behind the material, modeling, and testing for concrete 3D printing and additive construction? We will cover 3D printed concrete ingredients, mix design, checking extrudability with a hand extruder, and rheometer testing; demonstrating Robotic Arm Tracing 3DP Path, including the real-time process of model creation, slicing, coding, and pathing; and destructive testing of existing specimens. Students will tour a concrete ready-mix plant and construction site.

Wednesday, August 19

Camp 2: Understanding Water Treatment Systems & Water Analysis

• Morning Session (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)  - During the camp, students will learn about water treatment systems and water analysis using real time sensors. They will also be introduced to common technologies used in the Environmental Engineering laboratory. Students will team up in groups to do water treatment challenge to learn treatment concepts in a fun and hands-on way.
• Lunch at Wilkerson Dining Hall included (12  – 1 p.m.)
• Afternoon Session (1 – 4 p.m.)  – Students will have an opportunity to tour a real water treatment plant. They will visit the Grand Forks Water Treatment Plant where they will get to see all the processes that go into treating the water we drink each day.

Thursday, August 20

Camp 3: Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in Construction & Hydraulics/Flood Protection

• Morning Session (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)  - Applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), connected and automated vehicles, and artificial intelligence will be demonstrated using videos or live. Students will have the opportunity to take part in activities using drone technology related to bridge inspections and construction.
• Lunch at Wilkerson Dining Hall included (12 –1 p.m.)
• Afternoon Session (1 -4 p.m.)  – Students will have the opportunity to perform experiments to learn about hydraulics in open channel flow related to rivers and streams. This session will include visiting the flood protection infrastructure that protect the City of Grand Forks from spring flooding.  Tour will include visits to the downtown invisible flood wall, the flood memorial obelisk, and part of the Greenway, along with a visit to a flood pump station, a vegetated lagoon, and finally Lincoln Drive Park to observe the old neighborhood and streets use before the flood.

• Grades 1-8
• Cost: $125

July 28-30, 2026

• Grades 5-8: 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.
• Grades 1-4: 1-4 p.m.

Youth Scientists & Engineers Academy is a program hosted by UND College of Engineering and Mines, along with partnerships with others, including Dakota Science Center, UND Biology, UND Chemistry, UND Aerospace, and John Deere Corp. Three days of STEM-related activities to expand the minds of campers and help them grow. The morning sessions are for students entering grades 5-8, and the afternoon sessions are for students entering grades 1-4.

REGISTER for Youth Science and Engineering

John Deere Contributor