15 Free Summer Camps for Middle School Students
Summer camps can be one of the most productive ways for middle school students to spend time outside the classroom. Unlike typical extracurricular opportunities, a well-structured camp places you in a focused setting where you work on real projects, get access to professionals and mentors in fields you care about, and build skills beyond the classroom. The time you spend at a summer camp can give you experience in engineering, mathematics, science, or the arts, which is the kind of practical exposure that sticks. And when such a program is free or covers the full cost through financial aid, it can be a super accessible option to explore.
How are summer camps different from other programs in middle school?
Camps are short, focused, and built around practical exposure. While a longer academic program might span several months or a full semester, a summer camp typically runs for a few days to a couple of weeks and focuses on a single subject or skill set. That concentration means you get to spend most of your time in labs, workshops, or design sessions. Whether it's building a working robot, solving proof-based math problems, constructing a smart city model, or coding your first program from scratch, camps let you learn by doing. You will collaborate with other students, get direct guidance from instructors or mentors, and often present your work at the end of the program. The format rewards curiosity and engagement over grades, which makes it a good fit for students who want to explore something new without the pressure of a formal class.
To help you with your search, here we have shortlisted 15 free summer camps for middle school students.
If you’re looking for online math programs, check out our blog here.
1. dynaMIT
Location: MIT campus, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: One-week program held in two sessions in August; Week 1 is for rising 6th–7th graders and Week 2 is for rising 8th–9th graders
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Middle school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds
dynaMIT is a free, week-long science and engineering program run by MIT undergraduates on the MIT campus. Each day of camp follows a different theme, such as chemistry, biology, physics, earth and space science, computer science, and mathematics, with concepts covered through hands-on activities and challenges tied to each subject. Past activities have included building and launching bottle rockets, exploring bath bomb chemistry, demonstrating plasma, solving cryptography puzzles, and coding projects using Scratch. You will also attend a career panel where MIT-affiliated scientists and researchers discuss their professional paths. Your instructors will be current MIT students who will design and lead all activities themselves while offering an early introduction to the power of networking and mentorship.
2. 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
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. 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.
3. Carnegie Mellon University Summer Engineering Experience (SEE): Maker Camp
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application deadline: March 23
Eligibility: Rising 8th and 9th graders with an interest in math and science
Carnegie Mellon's Maker Camp is a one-week, free engineering day camp that gives rising 8th and 9th-graders direct exposure to the engineering design process at one of the country's top engineering schools. You will work on a structured individual project across the week alongside a team project, with both designed to be built primarily from everyday household materials. Topics covered include the foundations of making and engineering, design thinking, and the range of career paths within the field. The camp is staffed by CMU engineering faculty, graduate students, and classroom teachers, and has a low student-to-staff ratio of roughly 6:1. This structure is designed to provide you with practical engineering experience under the guidance of experienced faculty.
4. 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 selecting a subject area, such as STEM, humanities, 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.
5. Kode With Klossy Summer Camp
Location: Virtual and in-person camps (sites vary by year)
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 1 – 12 | July 6 – 17 | July 20 – 31 | August 3 – 14
Application deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens, ages 13 – 18
Kode With Klossy’s Summer Camps are free, two-week programs for middle and high schoolers who want to learn how to code. You will join tracks such as data science, web development, or artificial intelligence and machine learning to learn to work with tools like SQL and Python, use languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or study algorithms and natural language processing. Beyond track-specific coursework, you will attend a speaker series featuring women in tech, who will offer insights into what careers in the field look like. As a participant, you will also gain access to the broader Kode With Klossy alumni community upon completing the program.
6. BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics) Summer Away
Location: One of three sites in New York, NY, and Southern California, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~120 students across three sites
Dates: New York: July 5 – 26 | Southern California: June 28 – July 19
Application deadline: March 15
Eligibility: Rising 8th graders from low-income or underrepresented communities in New York City or Los Angeles
BEAM Summer Away is a three-week residential math camp for rising 8th graders serious about learning mathematics. You will spend seven hours a day working on proof-based mathematics across areas like number theory, combinatorics, circuit design, and graph theory that are rarely taught at the middle school level. Instructors include university professors and experienced K–12 teachers who will lead seminar-style sessions, where you will be expected to engage actively and ask questions. You will choose your own class schedule from a menu of week-long courses, giving you room to focus on areas that interest you most. Mathematicians and other STEM professionals will join as guest speakers throughout the program. Outside of class, the program includes field trips, sports, and activities that help build a strong peer community among students who share a genuine interest in math.
7. Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers
Location: Multiple college campuses nationwide (in-person, hybrid, or virtual)
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment with limited spots
Dates: Three- to four-week sessions in June or July (varies by host site)
Application deadline: Varies by host institution
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8 from under-resourced middle schools; some sites restrict eligibility to students from specific local school districts.
Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers is a free summer program hosted on college campuses across more than 26 states, with each session running three to four weeks. You will explore design thinking, 3D printing, augmented reality, virtual reality, drone technology, and social entrepreneurship. The program pairs you with college student mentors throughout the session, giving you an ongoing point of contact for both academic guidance and exposure to campus life. Tours of campus labs and facilities are built into the schedule. At the end of the program, you will present a project you have developed over the weeks, applying the technologies you learned to a real-world challenge. The program also includes two full-day STEM workshops in the fall and spring for alumni, extending the learning beyond the summer.
8. National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) — University of Minnesota
Location: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~30 students/year
Dates: July 13 – 24
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students who are entering grades 7 – 9 in the fall, have a minimum GPA of 2.0, and have completed or are qualified to enroll in pre-algebra
NSTI at the University of Minnesota is a free, two-week day camp that introduces students to the full scope of the transportation field, from highway engineering and transit systems to aviation, sustainability, and data-driven logistics. You will visit construction sites, airport facilities, transit control rooms, and maintenance yards around the Twin Cities, connecting classroom learning to how actual infrastructure operates. Lab activities include bridge design challenges, traffic modeling exercises, and explorations of alternative fuels and eco-friendly transportation systems. Faculty and transportation professionals will lead sessions and answer questions about careers in the field. The program can help you explore how mathematics, science, and communication all intersect in a working industry. The program comes with no cost to participants thanks to funding from the Federal Highway Administration and state partners.
9. Sanford PROMISE Finding Your Roots: A Genetics and Genealogy Experience
Location: Sanford Research Center, Sioux Falls, SD
Cost: No cost; a $100 deposit is required and will be refunded after the program.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Up to 24 students
Dates: July 21 – 24
Application deadline: Not specified; registration on a first-come, first-served basis
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6 – 8; parental or guardian permission required to submit a DNA sample before camp.
Finding Your Roots is a free, four-day science camp at the Sanford Research Center, where you will explore your own genetics. Before the camp starts, you will use a DNA collection kit offered by Living DNA and submit a cheek swab to allow Living DNA to analyze your sample and generate an ancestry report for you. During the four-day camp, you will extract and analyze your own DNA, explore how genetic technology works, learn about human evolution, and hear from genetic counselors about their careers. The curriculum is designed to help you connect science to your personal family history in a real research lab setting.
10. Northrop Grumman Summer Engineering Camp @ USC
Location: USC Main Campus, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; 32 students/year
Dates: July 13 – 24
Application deadline: May 4
Eligibility: Rising 6th – 8th graders with a B average in math and science; priority will be given to MESA and Mission Science students, and students at schools affiliated with USC’s K-12 STEM Center.
This free two-week camp is designed for middle school students interested in engineering and computer science. At the camp, you will learn about aerospace, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering through activities such as designing bridges, launching rockets, coding, building circuits, and working with robots. You will also gain exposure to computer science by building simple applications and exploring basic programming. The program provides industry and academic exposure through interaction with Northrop Grumman professionals and USC instructors. Through group projects and activities, you will practice problem-solving and teamwork while learning how engineering is applied in real-world contexts.
11. Oklahoma STEM Summer Academies
Location: 12 college and university campuses across Oklahoma
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited enrollment at each site
Dates: Varies by site, individual academy lengths range from four days to two weeks
Application deadline: Varies by academy
Eligibility: Rising 8th – 12th graders
The Oklahoma STEM Summer Academies are a collection of 16 free, hands-on programs offered at universities across the state, covering a range of STEM fields. You can choose from camps in engineering, technology, cryptography, biomedicine, drone flight, robotics, and more. Each academy mixes classroom instruction with outdoor experiments and, in many cases, field trips to top companies and research facilities in Oklahoma. Some academies are residential and include housing in campus dorms, while others are commuter programs. It is an introductory program meant to increase interest and confidence in STEM and to expose you to what university-level work and campus life actually look like.
12. Thomas Jefferson University STEM Summer Camp Experience
Location: Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment with limited spots
Dates: August 3 – 20
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Rising 6th – 9th graders from the Greater Philadelphia area
This free, three-week summer camp at Thomas Jefferson University introduces middle school students to how engineers apply math, science, and design principles to real-world problems. You will explore emerging technologies through hands-on experiments, covering areas including data analytics, 3D printing, logical programming, and the engineering design process. You will also work on projects that connect STEM to real-world situations. The curriculum, led by a Jefferson faculty member, uses each session to build on the previous one, giving you a progressively deeper understanding of how engineers think and work.
13. Purdue University Physics Inside Out
Location: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – 12
Application deadline: April 17
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 and 8
Physics Inside Out is a free week-long program that lets you explore topics in physics like energy, sound, motion, and light through labs and group experiments. You will attend instructor-led sessions, connect with university faculty and students, and engage in projects that help you think like a scientist. You will also learn how to test your ideas, work with different materials, and explore the role of physics in everyday life. The program also offers opportunities to tour laboratories and learn about developments in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics.
14. University of Arizona’s Toxic Detectives
Location: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Cost: Free or reduced cost for eligible families; $275 otherwise
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 1 – 5
Application deadline: Registration opens in the spring
Eligibility: Students entering 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in the fall
Toxic Detectives is a one-week summer program at the University of Arizona's College of Pharmacy that introduces you to environmental health and toxicology. During the week, you will engage in hands-on science experiments, tour research labs, and hear from STEM professionals about their careers. You will also get to explore the University of Arizona campus and participate in off-campus field trips. On the last day, you will deliver an oral presentation focused on a toxin of your choice at a final showcase event.
15. BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics) Discovery for 6th Graders
Location: One of three sites in New York, NY, and Southern California, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 100 students/site
Dates: NYC program: July 6 – August 7 | Los Angeles program: June 22 – July 24
Application deadline: March 23 (NYC); Not specified for LA site
Eligibility: Current 6th graders in New York City or Los Angeles who demonstrate financial need and mathematical curiosity
This BEAM program runs a track parallel to BEAM Summer Away and is designed specifically for current 6th graders entering the broader program pipeline for the first time. As a 6th-grade participant, you will follow a four-class structure focused on logic, math fundamentals, math team strategies, and applied math, and work on problems that challenge you well beyond grade-level expectations. The program is dedicated to building confidence and curiosity around mathematics in a supportive setting. College student counselors will run daily activities, manage your check-in group, and serve as mentors throughout the five weeks. Students who complete the 6th-grade Discovery track and demonstrate potential are invited to apply to the 7th-grade Discovery session the following year and, after that, to BEAM Summer Away, providing a multi-year support structure.