Keeping students' academic skills sharp during the summer is a challenge, but summer learning is much more enjoyable when using hands-on STEM tools. If you're designing a summer STEM camp for children this year, our team can definitely help. A lot of the time, this means you're searching for coding and engineering tools or robots for elementary students. Or, perhaps you'll be working on advanced coding and piloting drones for upper middle school or high school students. Whatever your situation, we can help you design summer camp experiences of any length, provide consultations on STEM products, and offer our suggestions for reliable tech tools to build summer programs, like these favorites from all different areas.
1. Ready, Set, Drone! Full Camp Set
As drones grow in popularity in both STEM education and public use, students' interest may be piqued by the possibility of using drones themselves. Heading to summer camps may mean they're learning in a new location, and piloting drones can help them explore safely while still experiencing the benefits of STEAM learning. With the Ready, Set, Drone! Camp Set, campers receive 12 days' worth of the drone education curriculum and fun summer STEM projects. Children in Grades 4–8 will love the variety within the activities, which support as many as 30 students. Each takes about an hour and includes topics like flight safety, drones and the future, drone ethics and rules, and more—a creative and captivating opportunity for your summer campers to practice their STEM skills.
2. CoDrone EDU Classroom Kits
Along with the Ready, Set, Drone! kits, the CoDrone EDU drones are another great option for summer camps. Among the best drones for education, the CoDrone EDU is fully programmable in block or text languages. The drones come as single units or as packs of 10, 20, 30, or 50, which are ideal for summer camps of various sizes. With the CoDrone EDU Classroom Packages, you'll get the educational drones, batteries, controllers, extra motors, propellers, landing pads, charging hubs, and even more accessories. Their compact yet powerful design and versatile coding options make them great for summer STEM.
3. Discover Drones Club and Classroom Packs
Next, students can dig deeper into the inner workings of drones with the Discover Drones Club Pack or a Classroom Pack. With Discover Drones kits, students aren't just flying the drones. They'll also build them, which gives kids a much more thorough understanding of how these drones work. After they assemble the drones, they'll explore flight safety, drone ethics, radio communication, and more with the included STEAM curriculum. The comprehensive curriculum also includes personalized quizzes along the way, which helps kids bolster their retention and track progress.
With these two different pack sizes, Discover Drones kits can work across a variety of summer camps. The Club Pack helps camp leaders get students working together on building two drones, while the larger Classroom Pack includes five drones and supports up to 25 students. Kids could even build up their social skills while assembling their drone together, learn engineering strategies and flight basics that help prepare them for the future, and stay invested in learning all summer with the engaging Discover Drones activities!
4. Phidget Getting Started Kit
While effective, drones aren't the only option for working STEAM experiences into summer learning. For a more makerspace-oriented experience, students can try the Phidgets kits, which feature building blocks that can sense the world around them—with a bit of help from student-written programs. Even though students need a screen to create the code for their Phidgets projects, these components are still incredibly versatile. They're compatible with Windows and Mac computers, along with Android tablets and phones, so children can head outside at their summer camps to measure environmental data on the go. With the Phidgets kits and components, children don't have to spend summer camps sitting at a desk. Rather, they can use the assorted sensors to measure humidity, temperature, distance, sound, magnetism, light, and more. Kids can get coding—and moving—while using Phidgets to interact with the world wherever they are.
5. Squishy Circuits
Continuing with the MakerEd theme, there are plenty of easy makerspace ideas leaders could incorporate in a summer camp. The Squishy Circuits kits are great for combining simple, experiential DIY projects with learning important concepts of electricity and circuitry. With these affordable Squishy Circuits kits, students of all ages can form conductive dough into whatever shapes they can imagine. Then, using the included LEDs, they can make their creations light up! Beyond that, the Deluxe Kit comes with various motors, fans, buzzers, switches, and more, so students can expand their ideas and create more complex designs. These kits provide more than just an approachable introduction to circuits. They empower young children to build confidence in their ability to realize their own ideas.
6. Makey Makey Get Up + Go! Booster Kit
There are too many great MakerEd tools to feature in one list, but one of our favorite product lines remains the Makey Makey. We've recently added various new expansion kits for the Makey Makey, increasing its functions with extra boards, components, and accessories. For the purpose of summer camp learning, the Makey Makey Get Up + Go! kit is a great option. This particular kit includes "ruggedized" connector wires that are more durable—perfect for outdoor inventing—as well as extended cables that allow kids to plug in the Makey Makey from up to 12 feet away. Adding the Get Up + Go! kit to a Makey Makey collection helps kids explore safe circuitry as they attach alligator clips to any conductive object. And, its amazingly simple versatility makes it a great addition to hands-on exploration.
7. MakeDo Invent Kit
Among the most popular STEM tools for a makerspace curriculum, the MakeDo construction kits are a perfect fit for summer camps. They're great for low-tech makerspace activities with plastic versions of common makerspace tools, like screws, screwdrivers, and saws. Students use these plastic pieces with cardboard to hold their designs and inventions together. MakeDo tools also reinforce fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination for younger students. With the MakeDo Invent Kit, in particular, you'll get eight saws, eight fold-rollers, eight screwdrivers, 240 screws, 90 XL screws, 12 mini tools, and one toolbox for storage. Combining play with STEAM learning is always a hit, so check out all our MakeDo offerings to find the right fit for your camp.
8. Edison Robot
As for practicing programming during the summer, the Edison Robot is a popular STEAM tool for both screen-based and screen-free coding. It's compatible with different coding languages, like EdBlocks, EdScratch, and EdPy (Python), but it also provides children with screen-free coding opportunities thanks to its ability to read barcodes. Kids can use this robot in camps over the summer and keep experimenting come fall in an educational robotics club. Plus, with numerous accessories, like the EdCreate Kit and the EdSketch Bundle, students could incorporate everything from engineering and design to art and coding with one versatile and affordable STEM tool. The Edison is a durable little robot—especially the recently released V3 model—making it perfect for learning through play. There are individual Edison Robots and the bundles of up to 30 on our store for all your unique summer camp needs.
9. Wonder Workshop Dash Robot
On the robotics and coding front, you won't go wrong with the reliable Dash Robot for elementary coding. The Dash is super simple to use, and it's compatible with a variety of coding apps. Using Dash Robot, kids get to create their own Blockly programs, complete mazes, and progress through additional coding challenges. Plus, if they have any makerspace supplies lying around their camp setting, kids could design obstacle courses and compete with other teams to see who can get their robots through their courses first. Also, using Wonder Workshop's Make Wonder LMS, camp leaders could find helpful puzzles and lessons for kids with all levels of coding experience. Or, kids could simply code in the virtual Dash's Neighborhood platform to include campers remotely if necessary.
10. Terrapin Tuff-Bot
From the makers of the Bee-Bot, the Tuff-Bot is another coding robot kids can use outside of a traditional classroom. It allows for screen-free coding thanks to on-board buttons, but kids can also program it on tablets using a free app. Best of all, the Tuff-Bot's rugged design and oversized wheels allow it to traverse uneven terrain, which is perfect for summer camps and outdoor educational play. It can even go into the woods! And, its built-in obstacle avoidance capabilities help it to maneuver around barriers, so you never have to worry about its durability. As one of Terrapin's newer additions, the Tuff-Bot is an excellent STEAM tool for summer campers to develop coding skills.
11. Strawbees STEAM School Kit
Finally, we have another low-tech STEAM solution that's equal parts popular and effective. The Strawbees line features a number of unique engineering kits, and children can build inventions from the plastic pieces known as straws. With various accessories, particularly the Robotics Inventions for micro:bit Kit, they're also able to program their Strawbees builds. In maker programs or summer camps in general, the STEAM School Kit is perfect for students to construct structures large or small using its 4,000+ pieces. The straws are all color-coded and incredibly durable, so you can use them all summer long. Plus, if you're interested in additional kits, check out the entire Strawbees product line on our store.
In addition to these hands-on educational robotics and coding tools we've mentioned, there are plenty of digital platforms as well. Kids could try out the completely virtual Dash's Neighborhood, the virtual Root Robot, or a host of other easily accessible online coding platforms, like Scratch, Robotify, Codesters, or RepLit. And, check out some additional resources and STEAM activities from our friend and trusted 21st-century educator, Jeremy Jorgensen!
