Science Camp Course Descriptions

Grade 1: Creative Engineers
Unleash your inner inventor! Are you a builder with a knack for creating amazing structures? Or perhaps a designer who loves transforming ideas into working models? Dive into the world of engineering, exploring how things are built, designed, and tested. Collaborate with friends, experiment with different materials, and see your projects come to life. Whether you're launching rockets or crafting mechanical wonders, you'll discover the thrill of engineering while developing skills that could shape the future!

Grades 2-3: Build the Awesomest Playground
You’ve played on many playgrounds. Get ready to design the best one yet! First, we’ll focus on what makes your favorite playground equipment go. Then we’ll apply the principles of simple machines, force and motion, gravity, friction, and more to design, engineer, and build the ultimate miniature playground.

Grades 4-5: Start Your Engines
Discover the thrilling world of race cars through the lens of physics! Explore the forces that drive performance, from aerodynamics and friction to momentum and energy transfer. Learn how engineers balance speed, stability, and safety by studying real-world applications of Newton’s Laws, center of gravity, and torque. Build and test a variety of car models to see how design affects motion and handling, and assemble a motorized engine block to uncover the mechanics behind propulsion.

Grades 6-8: A Puzzling Escape
Time is of the essence and the clock is ticking—the Science Center is in danger! Use logic, mathematics, circuitry, and 3D printing to create ciphers, design codes, and solve puzzles. Can you solve a series of intertwining puzzles and save LSC?

Grade 1: Animal Detective
Grab your magnifying glass and get ready for some furry forensics! Through meet-and-greets with live animals, our animal husbandry team, and hands-on crafts, we will work together to solve mischievous animal mysteries.

Grades 2-3: Mind Games
It’s not magic, it's science! Use the power of science to become an illusionist and fool your friends and family. Learn the science of optical illusions, sleight of hand with card tricks, and how your brain learns about the world around you. Play the immersive and stimulating games in LSC’s Brain Games exhibit.

Grades 4-5: Secret Agent
Liberty Science Center needs secret agents for a new mission! A Mad Scientist has turned LSC into their evil secret lair to build a giant shrink-ray and steal the Statue of Liberty. Are you ready to take on the challenge as we navigate mazes, crack codes, find clues, go on mini missions, and design spy gadgets? We need you to stop the Mad Scientist before it’s too late!

Grades 6-8: CSI: LSC
Experience a thrilling, hands-on adventure that immerses campers in the fascinating world of crime solving. Get with real-life training in criminalistics, forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, facial reconstruction, and much more! Join our team of leading forensic scientists and help solve the case—because every BODY has a story.

Grade 1: Explore the Planets
Get to know the fascinating planets of our solar system through hands-on activities, songs, and games. Explore each planet’s place in space. Then see all of them as NASA does in the biggest planetarium in America and on LSC’s giant, glowing globe called Science On a Sphere.

Grades 2-3: Launch Pad
Get ready to embark on an out-of-this-world adventure at LSC! Discover the science of space travel, build and launch your own model rockets, and explore the mysteries of the cosmos. Through engaging activities and challenges, campers will learn about engineering, physics, and astronomy in a fun, interactive environment featuring the nation's largest planetarium. Get ready to ignite your curiosity and reach for the stars!

Grades 4-5: Lift Off: Aeronautics
Take off on a high-flying summer adventure! Investigate and test the dynamics of flight by building different aircraft models. Learn about combustion and trajectory by launching rockets. The sky’s the limit as we explore the science of aeronautics.

Grades 6-8: Drone Flight School
Soar to new heights! Campers will learn to operate drones, diving into coding lessons to program a drone for exciting challenges. Explore the physics of flight, master drone operations, and discover real-world drone applications. Bring your creativity and coding skills to tackle thrilling aerial missions!

Grade 1: Get My Game On
Have you ever wanted to create your own video games? Well this summer’s your chance! Join us as we use block coding to create a fun game made from scratch with Scratch! We’ll look at retro video games like Super Mario, Sonic, and Pac-Man to see how video game designers did the same things we’ll be doing to make our own games come to life.

Grades 2-3: Science of Toys
Explore the science behind your favorite toys in this hands-on, interactive camp! Through experiments, challenges, and projects, campers will explore engineering, physics, technology, and design, all while igniting their imagination. Get ready for a week of discovery, building, and play that shows how toys are more than just fun!

Grades 4-5: Invent a High-Tech Toy
Enter the world of high-tech toys and gadgets! Learn the basics of circuits, coding, and engineering while designing interactive toys, robots, and games. Whether you're a beginner or an aspiring inventor, this hands-on camp offers endless opportunities to experiment, create, and innovate with the latest tech tools. Get ready to spark your creativity and make your wildest ideas come to life!

Grades 6-8: America's Next Game Designer
Design your own playable, fun video game that you and your family will love. Learn to create your very own characters, develop the function and logic behind your game, and master game programming and prototyping.

Grade 1: Rockin' Robots
Join fellow campers in an exploration of the world of robotics. Using Cubelets, mBots, and other cool tools, discover what defines a robot, how they communicate, and how this technology is transforming the world around us.

Grades 2-3: Explore the Universe
Do you ever look up and wonder about the night sky and what might be beyond our solar system? You’re not alone! Investigate the night sky, its planets, and its stars. Hear stories of the night sky from around the world. See it through the eyes of modern-day astronomers and space probes in LSC’s Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in America. Then imagine what we might discover in the future.

Grades 4-5: Exoplanet Explorers
Embark on a journey to the stars! Join LSC's expert educators as we explore distant planets, stars, and galaxies. Learn about space stations and how they can help astronauts journey through space.

Grades 6-8: Build the Future
Design a home that reduces the impacts of climate change by adopting sustainable solutions. Take a virtual journey around the world using Google Earth to explore sustainable structures and use open-source software tools like Tinkercad to create a 3D model. Take your 3D model to the next level by handcrafting a physical model. During the week, you will take up residence in LSC's SURE House, a Solar Decathlon award-winning home designed by Stevens Institute of Technology students.

Grade 1: Find My Science
Discover the scientist within you! Are you a physicist able to explore the wonders of light and sound? Or maybe a super-cool chemist with the secret behind the perfect slime? Are you a biologist with a passion for interacting with animals? Or are you an engineer that can build the tallest tower? Explore LSC’s diverse exhibits and examine the world around you to figure out your favorite kind of science.

Grades 2-3: Messy Chemistry
Ready to get messy? Explore the world of chemistry to uncover the cool science all around us. Investigate things that squish, fizz, bubble, pop, gush, and splat! Learn the chemistry behind LSC’s awesome Boom Time show, and witness the spectacular results of cool chemistry experiments.

Salt, fat, acid, heat, yum! Get ready to explore science in the most delicious way—from your kitchen. Campers will immerse themselves in the world of gastronomy, learning about the science of everyday edible ingredients, conducting edible experiments, and discovering the science behind cooking and baking. This camp will be equal parts food science, recipe experimentation, and fun, with some epic snacking along the way.

Grades 6-8: Science Showtime
Do you have what it takes to be one of LSC's premier STEM presenters? Team up with fellow campers and produce a Live Science show! Use science to bust a myth or educate the public. Research and re-create science demonstrations to amaze your audience and inspire others to become scientists. Incorporate good science practices, audience participation, oversized props, and humor! Best of all, present your show live at Liberty Science Center to our guests.