NIU STEAM

Camps

• STEAM Explorers Wonder Workshop PM

  This summer, let curiosity take the lead! Build a mini machine. Paint with the patterns of nature. Tour campus with an interactive scavenger hunt. At STEAM Explorers Wonder Workshop, campers explore the wonders of science, technology, engineering, art and math through hands-on experiments, creative problem-solving and exciting projects. Variety is the spice of life as you do, make and explore. Come discover with us

  Ages: 7-11

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Snacks: Food and Fun PM

  Join us for an interactive summer camp experience that celebrates the power of food!

  Ages: 7-11

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Robo Battles: The Great Robot Showdown PM

  Build. Code. Compete! Campers explore the world of robotics through fun, hands-on challenges using block coding, creative problem solving and team collaboration. Design battle-ready robots, tackle obstacle courses and put your skills to the test. Learning the foundations of engineering and coding has never been more fun!

  Ages: 7-11

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• STEAM Explorers Wonder Workshop AM

  This summer, let curiosity take the lead! Build a mini machine. Paint with the patterns of nature. Tour campus with an interactive scavenger hunt. At STEAM Explorers Wonder Workshop, campers explore the wonders of science, technology, engineering, art and math through hands-on experiments, creative problem-solving and exciting projects. Variety is the spice of life as you do, make and explore. Come discover with us

  Ages: 7-11

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Speech and Debate: Fun With Forensics

  Speech and Debate: Fun With Forensics camp at NIU DeKalb Campus.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Health and Medicine Careers

  Are you interested in doing hands-on activities to explore careers in health and medicine? In this STEM careers camp, you'll work with medical professionals to test for the spread of disease, dissect a cow eye to learn about eye-related health conditions, and learn about biomedical engineering design. You will also visit the NIU health, wellness, and literacy center to learn about audiology, speech, and language tests, as well as work with professionals working in careers related to health and medicine.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Energy Innovators

  Could you build a model house that stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer—without using a lot of energy? That's exactly what you'll do at our STEAM summer camp for future energy innovators. Dive into science, technology, engineering, art, and math to learn how to reduce carbon emissions and use renewable energy in innovative and creative ways. Explore solar power, wind energy, insulation and energy efficiency to build your own sustainable model house. Have fun with fellow campers while you build your real-world career skills.

  Ages: 11-14

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Robots in the Ocean: Deep Sea Exploration Adventures

  Dive into the depths with your team of young marine explorers! Join us to design and program robotic submarines, investigate mysterious ocean environments, and tackle hands-on STEAM challenges. Guided by teamwork, curiosity, and creativity, you'll uncover secrets of the deep sea while discovering real-world ocean careers. Every mission is an adventure—can you uncover what lies beneath?

  Ages: 11-14

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Steam Careers

  Do hands-on activities to learn more about STEAM careers in this introductory camp. Carry out mock urinalysis tests as a medical laboratory scientist. Act as a genetic counselor to test DNA samples and evaluate a family's inheritance pattern for genetic conditions. Create a project in our makerspace using digital fabrication and engineering. Daily projects introduce a wide range of science, technology, engineering and arts careers in a fun, hands-on way.

  Ages: 11-14

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Sparking Change: What Makes a Revolution

  See history come alive through hands-on activities as we ask: What makes a revolution? The Scientific Revolution. The Disco Movement of 1970s America. The Industrial Revolution and the political revolutions of the U.S., France and Haiti… In all these cases, how and why did people spark change in their societies? Play interactive games, dive into discussions and find and interpret real historical documents. Walk away from the course with college-level research skills and a revolutionized understanding of revolution.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Monster Makers: Frankenstein, Texts and Technology

  Love Monsters? Love writing? Join us this summer for Monster Makers! We'll create projects inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a classic gothic novel, and later adaptations. Use NIU's BookLab to create your own lab notebook. Design a digital Zine. Explore Artificial Intelligence to develop your own monstrous creatures. Make creative projects using NIU's historic printing presses. You'll use a variety of creative technologies to design monstrous projects while reading the original novel and watching early screen adaptations under the guidance of NIU Professor of English Melissa Adams-Campbell. This camp is ideal for creative/humanities-focused high school students, especially those with an interest in writing, reading, art, science fiction and horror.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Engineering the Flow: A Summer Camp in Lean, Supply Chain, and Data Anayltics

  The Digital Fabrication Camp aims to have participants learn the process of using digital tools and fabrication techniques to address real-world scenarios. Campers will gain valuable skills in digital design, prototyping, and fabrication, while working collaboratively to devise and implement innovative solutions.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• 3D Design and Prototyping

  Step into a maker's world and bring your ideas to life! In this hands-on camp, you'll explore digital fabrication tools such as 3D design, laser cutting and 3D printing to engineer creative solutions to real-world challenges. Work through unique problem scenarios to design, prototype and refine your own invention while developing skills in design thinking, technology and collaboration. From concept to creation, get empowered to turn your imagination into reality!

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Mission STEAMPossible AM

  Unleash Your Inner Agent and join our team for a week of spy-inspired STEAM adventures! Campers crack codes, build gadgets and complete hands-on missions using science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Work with NIU Police to solve a mystery with fingerprinting, invisible ink and simple chemistry. Create spy disguises using your design thinking. Solve puzzles with basic coding. Guided by your Huskie spirit, solve challenges, unlock creativity, and prove that with teamwork and imagination, every mission is STEAMpossible!

  Ages: 7-11

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Film Production

  Create your own film using state-of-the-art filmmaking technology in this comprehensive multimedia camp. Campers of all experience levels will learn each step of the filmmaking process. Work in small groups to write an original script, act, direct, shoot and edit your film. Then, present it at our end-of-the-week film festival. During the filmmaking process, you'll have access to state-of-the-art filming and production technology, including the latest 4K+ Blackmagic cinema cameras, a green screen studio, lighting kits, audio and microphones, editing technologies and more. Industry professionals, along with graduate and undergraduate media production students working as camp counselors, will lead you through skills and techniques for filming, editing and using the various equipment. Campers all receive a digital copy of their short films.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• The Kinetic Edge: Sports, Science and Success

  A person can go 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. In this camp, we will be looking at issues in food systems that can be influenced and impacted by teens. Campers will investigate topics concerning food waste, insecurity in underrepresented communities, climate change mitigation, and food safety and nutrition.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Next Gen Urban Designers: Project Sustainability

  This is a special interest camp designed for high school students graduating in 2026 who have a documented disability impacting their education, who intend to go to college and are interested in STEAM careers. An application is required to ensure campers meet program eligibility.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Engineering Spark

  Spend a week living the college life with NIU and the Migrant Education Program. This leadership academy will focus on identifying different opportunities for high school students to find success. Future leaders will be exposed to a variety of different careers through hands-on activities, tours, and engagement with university professionals.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Huskies BELONG

  This is a special interest camp designed for high school students graduating in 2027 who have a documented disability impacting their education, who intend to go to college and are interested in STEAM careers. An application is required to ensure campers meet program eligibility. Students with disabilities are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) fields. Huskies BELONG aims to increase participants' understanding of STEAM majors and career opportunities, as well as their belief that they can succeed in college.

  Ages: 17-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Summer Leadership Academy

  Summer Leadership Academy at NIU DeKalb Campus.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Black History and Culture – Learning from the Past, Shaping the Future

  Campers of all backgrounds are invited to explore the richness of Black history and culture through engaging discussions and hands-on activities. We'll bring African culture and history to life through a drum making workshop, African song and dance workshop and other activities. With Professor T. Ajewole Duckett, director of Black Studies Program, as your guide, you'll explore the great kingdoms of Africa, African and African American textiles and fashion, key writings, oral history and hip hop. Sankofa comes from the Akan people of Ghana, and it teaches us that progress comes from understanding and honoring history. Join us to build a community of scholars from many backgrounds who together become Sankofa Scholars!

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Physics Careers

  Are you a high school student fascinated by the universe's biggest questions? Join the NIU Physics Career Camp for a hands-on experience that unlocks real-world applications and exciting career paths in physics! Explore current areas of physics research, from particle physics to materials science, and see how theoretical concepts translate into world-changing innovations. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the world-class science conducted at nearby national laboratories, including Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. Learn about NIU's leadership roles in major international collaborations, such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermilab, and research conducted at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. This camp is your chance to connect with leading scientists, see how local research impacts global discovery, and find your place at the frontier of physics.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Science Detectives: Forensic Analysis

  Crime scene investigation isn't like the movies… but it's still an exciting career field with hands-on applications of science and technology! In this STEAM careers camp, you'll dive into forensic science with a variety of investigations. Learn how evidence is collected and processed during crime scene investigations as you practice DNA fingerprinting, blood typing and identifying unknown substances. You'll also meet with NIU police officers to learn how they process real-life crime scenes. Throughout the week of this day camp, create a simulated crime scene model, which includes an analysis of the evidence you choose to include.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• The Chemistry Behind Medicine Design

  Every year new medications are created and approved to treat conditions ranging from blood clots to diabetes, kidney disease to cancer. Chemists are part of every step of the process from designing new compounds, through testing and refining before rigorous clinical trials. Experience a hands-on introduction to the chemistry of drug design in this camp led by NIU Assistant Professor of Chemistry Chanté Muller. Work in small groups to synthesize aspirin, an "ancient medicine" from willow bark. Extract caffeine from coffee. Conduct solubility tests of various vitamins. Analyze drugs using chromatography, and conduct microscopic observation of brain activity. Discussion combined with hands-on lab activities offer an exciting introduction to this vibrant career field.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb

• Forensics: Evidence and Collection

  Are you interested in doing hands-on activities to explore careers in forensic science? In this STEAM careers camp, you'll carry out a variety of investigations related to evidence collection and processing at a crime scene, including DNA fingerprinting, documentation, identifying unknown substances, blood typing, and hair/fiber analysis. You'll also work with professionals working in forensics related careers to learn about how they process evidence at a real crime scene. At the end of the week, you will create a simulated crime scene model, which includes an analysis of the evidence included in your diorama.

  Ages: 14-18

  Cost: Contact for pricing

  Dates: TBD

  City: DeKalb