15 AI Summer Camps for Middle School Students
If you are a middle school student interested in AI, summer camps offer an early introduction to how these systems work, often combining coding, data analysis, and problem-solving in a structured environment. Many also incorporate projects, allowing you to experiment with building simple models or applications. This kind of exposure can help you understand both the technical and conceptual sides of AI at an early stage.
How are AI camps different from other programs in middle school?
Summer camps are generally shorter, more focused learning experiences than full-length, structured programs. AI summer camps, in particular, tend to go beyond general STEM or coding programs by focusing on how intelligent systems operate. While traditional coding classes might emphasize syntax, logic, and building static applications, AI-focused programs introduce you to how systems learn from data and improve over time. You may work with datasets, train simple models, or explore practical applications such as chatbots, recommendation systems, and image recognition, engaging in work that goes beyond the standard middle school curriculum. These camps often include discussions around ethics and bias, which are less common in standard programming courses but important for understanding AI’s broader impact.
To help you get started, here are 15 AI summer camps for middle school students you can explore.
If you’re looking for online science programs, check out our blog here.
1. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (on weekends) during the spring cohort | 25 hours over 2 weeks (on weekdays) during the summer cohort
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines. You can apply to the program here.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8
Veritas AI's AI Trailblazers 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. You will learn through lectures and group sessions with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. Previous projects have included developing a machine-learning model to categorize music genres and building a machine-learning algorithm to generate a list of educational resources based on specified criteria.
2. NC State University’s Day Camps — Computer Science: AI Play
Location: NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Cost: $550; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 8th graders
This AI summer camp introduces middle school students to artificial intelligence through the lens of game design. Each day focuses on a different AI concept, offering you varied exposure to how systems are designed, tested, and improved. You will work in collaborative groups to explore how engineers approach problem-solving, using hands-on design challenges to apply what you learn. Activities connect AI concepts to broader engineering principles, helping you understand how intelligent systems interact with real-world problems. The program also includes creative investigations that encourage you to experiment with tools and approaches rather than follow fixed instructions.
3. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Eight weeks; dates vary by cohort (summer sessions available)
Application deadline: Varies based on 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 will begin by choosing a subject area, such as humanities, STEM, or social sciences, and being matched with a Ph.D.-level mentor from a top university. Over the course of the program, you will 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 will conclude the program by producing a formal research paper that presents your findings.
4. Kode With Klossy Summer Camps
Location: Virtual or in person; several locations across the U.S.
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Two weeks between June and August
Application deadline: Typically, the end of March
Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens, ages 13 – 18
In this summer camp, you will engage in a two-week coding-intensive experience that introduces you to multiple pathways, including artificial intelligence, data science, and web development. The AI track focuses on core concepts such as algorithms, datasets, and natural language processing. You will use Python to build and train a simple chatbot to help you understand how machine learning systems process and respond to language. Alongside technical skills, the curriculum includes discussions of bias in AI systems and its effects on real-world applications. You will also attend a speaker series featuring women working in tech, gaining insights into careers in the field.
5. Arizona State University's Game and AI Camp
Location: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Cost: $1,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 15 – 26
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 – 10
This camp lets you explore coding, game design, and building 2D games using GameMaker, a beginner-friendly game development tool. You will learn about programming logic and game development, and explore how to set up game mechanics and characters to bring your game to life. The camp lets you work with AI tools to automatically generate sound effects, music, and 2D images for your game project. You will receive assistance and support from ASU faculty and student assistants from the university’s gaming program. At the end of the camp, you will complete developing your own original games and present your work to peers and the camp instructor.
6. CEISMC Summer PEAKS: Think Like a Machine: Machine Learning AI Lab
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $550 (scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 – 26
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 8th graders
In this AI summer camp for middle school students, you will explore how machine learning systems identify patterns and make predictions using real data. The program is built around hands-on projects where you will collect, analyze, and interpret data to understand how models are trained and evaluated. You will create simple machine learning systems and test their accuracy, gaining insight into how AI tools function beyond surface-level use. The curriculum also introduces ethical considerations, including how AI decisions can impact different groups. The experience concludes with a capstone project where you will demonstrate your understanding of building and assessing intelligent systems.
7. Camp Middlesex: A.I. Designers and Developers
Location: Middlesex College’s main campus, Edison, NJ
Cost: $250
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application deadline: Rolling registration; camp drop/transfer deadline
Eligibility: Students, ages 5 – 13; camp-wise age requirements vary
Camp Middlesex offers students summer learning opportunities across various areas, including AI tracks such as the AI Designers and Developers camp. You will spend the week learning about AI engineering and working with customized machine learning models alongside peers. The camp offers experience in block-based coding through project-based work and games. You will engage in various activities focused on AI applications, from self-driving racecars to teaching robots to perform tasks. Students will work in pairs or teams for most of the program. You can enroll in multiple tracks to explore a wide range of STEM topics.
8. CEISMC Summer PEAKS: AI Explorers: Design and Programming with Arduino
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $550 (scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 – 26
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Rising 6th to 8th graders
This AI summer camp for middle school students combines robotics and programming to help you explore how intelligent machines operate. You will begin with block-based coding and gradually transition to introductory Python. Using Arduino and basic electronic components, you will work with sensors and motors to build systems that respond to inputs. The program focuses on experimentation, letting you test and refine how your robot behaves under different conditions. Daily activities will involve designing and modifying projects to better understand how hardware and software interact. The experience ends with a showcase where you will demonstrate how your robot functions and responds to its environment.
9. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Camp @ Ravenscroft School
Location: Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC
Cost: $325
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 9 – 13
Application deadline: Open till full; registration opens on January 26.
Eligibility: Rising 6th–8th graders; camp is not limited to Ravenscroft School students, and is open to the public.
Ravenscroft School runs various summer camps for students. The AI Camp is designed to help explore how computers learn from data to make decisions. The camp begins with an overview of how computers use patterns in data to make decisions and predictions, then moves on to hands-on training with tabular data. You will work on machine learning projects using real-world data and a tool called AI Lab to train your own models. Your final project will be a machine learning app designed to solve a problem that matters to you personally. You will also look at an AI application called Seeing AI and learn how it helps people with visual impairments.
10. Virginia Tech DC Area Middle School Summer Programs
Location: Virginia Tech, Alexandria, VA
Cost: Not specified; you can contact k12initiatives@vt.edu for details.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: June 23 – 26 | Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action: July 13 – 17 | Explore the Future Through Data and Sensor Technology: July 20 – 24
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8
Virginia Tech offers middle schoolers several one-week STEM camps focused on emerging tech. The AI and Robotics program is a 40-hour experience in which you will build and program a VEX IQ robot modeled after a NASA Mars Rover, developing skills in engineering and programming. The Data and Sensor Technology program is a half-day camp where you will learn how sensors work, explore the basics of coding, and apply data science concepts to healthcare and environmental monitoring. Flight Lab track will introduce you to aerial robotics through challenges and exposure to drone technology, coding, and flight. All three camps run a mandatory virtual orientation session before the camp starts.
11. Duke Pre-College: Technology and AI
Location: Duke University, Durham, NC
Cost: $6,050 (residential) | $3,950 (commuter); scholarships available Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 – 24
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Middle school students, ages 11 and up, who have completed one year of middle school with a 3.0+ GPA; students must be 13 or older to live on campus during the program.
Duke University offers a camp-like pre-college program for middle school students across fields, including AI. The Technology and AI track introduces the fundamentals of artificial intelligence alongside broader technology concepts. You will examine how algorithms function and where AI appears in everyday life, building a foundation in digital literacy. The program includes projects that allow you to apply concepts and discuss the societal impact of technology. Ethical considerations are a key part of the curriculum, encouraging you to think about how AI decisions affect different groups. You will also design a project in which you will apply AI to a real-world scenario, and at the end of the program, explain how it works.
12. Da Vinci Science Center Summer Camps: AI Thinking Intensive
Location: Da Vinci Science Center, Allentown, PA
Cost: $350/week
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: August 17 – 21
Application deadline: One week before the camp begins
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8
The Da Vinci Science Center runs summer camps spanning various disciplines, including AI. In the AI Thinking Intensive, you will explore how to use AI to solve real problems through hands-on activities. Organized in collaboration with SkyPreme’s proven framework, the camp will help you build problem-solving and critical thinking skills through no-code activities. The focus is on helping you develop the mindset to navigate an AI-driven world. You will also get to use advanced emerging technologies available at the Science Center.
13. ASU Desert CodeSprouts Workshop
Location: Arizona State University (ADU) School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Tempe, AZ
Cost: $35; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: May 9
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 9
Desert CodeSprouts is a one-day camp at ASU where you'll get hands-on experience in four areas of computer science: cybersecurity, programming, privacy, and machine learning. The machine learning module introduces you to the essentials of AI and machine learning, including how these systems make decisions and solve complex problems, and lets you build your own model through hands-on activities. The programming module covers basic concepts to help you control real robots and compete against other students in a friendly challenge. In the privacy module, you will learn techniques that tech professionals use to keep user data private and anonymous. In the cybersecurity module, you will learn about key security concepts through games. ASU student mentors will guide you throughout the camp.
14. Rowan University’s Attracting Women into Engineering (AWE)
Location: Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Cost: $200
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 25 students/year
Dates: July 13 – 16
Application deadline: June; dates not specified.
Eligibility: Middle school girls
This four-day camp at Rowan University offers middle school girls an introduction to various engineering fields. You will explore civil, environmental, chemical, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering, including topics like algorithmic reasoning, AI, and gaming, while building miniature structures or prototypes. Lab tours and live demonstrations will help you connect what you learn to real challenges engineers address. You will also participate in mini challenges to test your prototypes. During the program, you will interact with university faculty, staff, and engineering students, who will offer guidance and feedback.
15. Purdue University ETCS Middle School Summer Explorations Camp
Location: Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN
Cost: $145
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Up to 20 students
Dates: June 15 – 19
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Incoming 6th – 8th graders
This camp lets you explore your interests while learning from Purdue Fort Wayne faculty in engineering, tech, and computer science. You will work on hands-on projects within the university’s engineering and computer labs. Each day, you will learn about various STEM topics while connecting with instructors, engaging in hands-on activities, and watching demonstrations. Experts will offer insights into artificial intelligence, computers and coding, electrical engineering, and environmental engineering. The camp is deisgned to help you connect your interests to academic and career paths.