Learning STEM skills is a major focus in education these days. Houston has numerous innovative tech, agricultural, and aerospace research centers, so it’s a great place for STEM camps. Many of these acclaimed institutions and universities open their doors for kids to get real-life experience during camp sessions.
STEM camps in Houston are available for students K-12 and at the university level. The acclaimed programs include robotics, coding, data collection, and science research and many offer exciting field trips and outdoor activities along with their tech and science labs.
Kids have the chance to dive into their favorite subjects and experiment with new ones. They allow kids to have summer fun in Houston’s outdoor green spaces while immersed in studies that help prepare them for the future.
1. Rice University Tapia Center
Tapia STEM Camps are award-winning overnight camps for high school students located at the acclaimed Rice University in Houston. The action-packed program for rising 8th-12th grade students runs for 6 days.
A typical day starts at 7:30 am and finishes by 9:30 pm, with students housed in same-gender campus dorms. Throughout the session, students work on all types of STEM projects. Classes take place in university buildings which inspire campers for a future at college.
Interacting with their peers and professors helps students step up in their confidence and practice their teamwork and communication skills.
There are English and Spanish options with room, meals, plus one exciting field trip like a visit to the Johnson Space Center included in the camp fees.
2. Steve & Kate’s
Steve & Kate’s Houston day camp puts your child in charge of the activities they participate in and how the whole experience plays out. They can create their own stop motion animation movies or program robots in their Media Lab. Steve & Kate’s also offers a Tinker Lab where campers can create crafts and other projects they can proudly bring back home. They can also build a foundation on coding by using their hand selected apps and games.
The camp also offers sports, outdoor water games, sewing, baking and much more. Steve & Kate’s is the perfect way for kids to get a combination of STEM learning along with outdoor play. Open to ages 4-12, you can send your children as long as you need by booking a select number of days with a day pass or a full summer pass. Any days not used are refunded at the end of the summer!
With camp hours lasting from 8 am to 6 pm, their all-inclusive day also features lunch and snacks.
3. Summer Science Caravan
Summer Science Caravan has a unique 5-day, M-F summer camp based on live-action experiences around Houston. The field trip program offers 6-9th graders the chance to do STEM activities in real settings instead of classrooms.
Activities range from touring the Texas A&M University campus for a rocket-building demonstration to taking a certified SCUBA diving class. Other days might include visiting a marine aquarium or conducting real experiments at a medical lab with doctors.
Summer Science Caravan includes video game coding labs, bee farm visits, Zero Gravity Jump Zone Center fun, and watching a nightly bat swarm. Campers come back from Summer Science Caravan totally excited about their education.
Camp hours are 7 am to 6 pm, and all kids need to do is bring lunch each day and come ready to learn.
4. Apogee Stem Discovery Learning Academy
Apogee Stem offers 5 to 12-year-old kids a learning experience that’s a real blast! Qualified teachers guide students through solo and team projects, research, and experiments.
The camp activities take place indoors and outdoors, so kids never get bored. Developing communication and technical skills is key at Apogee STEM, along with lots of social time with friends.
Each day has a different focus on creation and exploration. Awesome field trips are a highlight, as children get real-world experience. For Friday’s competitions, campers make presentations and show what they’ve learned throughout the week.
Summer camp runs from June 5 to July 28, between 9 am and 4 pm. Apogee also has after-school programs and daily daycare for younger kids. Healthy homemade breakfasts, snacks, and lunches are included.
5. Learn To Bot
Learn To Bot features camps and after-school sessions in The Woodlands. They have morning, afternoon, and full-day coding camps for kids 6-16 years old. Learn To Bot teaches children the basics of computer coding in an interactive way in weekly and 3-5 day blocks.
Foundation Camp teaches robotics to kids using the Scratch coding language. Their Python Camp is for children 9+ who already have some experience in programming. They use Arduino to teach kids the foundations of robotics.
At Learn To Bot camps, kids learn to build mini pianos, custom video games, and RC cars. Learn To Bot blends coding challenges and robotics with dynamic activities that keep kids eager to learn.
6. UHV Virtual Data Science Summer Bootcamp
The University of Houston Victoria hosts a 4-day online data science boot camp for middle schoolers interested in the STEM field. The boot camp teaches principles of data science and provides hands-on experience through engaging projects.
The online format makes it easy for kids and parents. Each day focuses on various aspects of data science important to students planning a STEM-based career.
The first two days give an overview of data science and artificial intelligence, comparing traditional learning with machine learning. The third and fourth-day focus shifts to image processing and resizing. Augmented, virtual, and mixed reality concepts are examined through team project collaborations.
Boot camp ends with Q&A talks and announcements of project competition winners. While not strictly targeted to only those in the Houston area, enrolling in this class by the University of Houston-Victoria can provide insight into what the experience is like here for potential local students.
Visit our other Austin STEM camps page.
7. Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science receives children ages 6-12 for week-long science camps. With fun environments at Hermann Park and Sugar Land, kids partake in science-based experiences, including tech-related and natural world studies.
Young tech enthusiasts excited about physics, coding, engineering, Lego Robotics, and Minecraft can attend fun daily classes. Future forensics specialists can examine fingerprints using a crime scene kit. Hands-on topics for budding scientists include science experiments, creating bridges, designing homes for wildlife, and building an electric generator.
Your child will have a ball at these fascinating Houston Museum of Natural Science camps! Classes take place from 10 am-3 pm daily, with extended stay hours, and all you need to worry about is sending kids with their lunch.
8. Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston has year-round Explorer camps for kids 4-11. These dynamic programs can get kids started and progressing through STEM subjects.
Sign them up for 1-day to 5-day seasonal break camps. One-day options introduce kids to the science of space exploration. Topics include the basics of space travel, the solar system, and all about rockets and robots sent into space.
The five-day sessions at Space Center Houston get kids curious about robots and rocket engineering. Study of the lunar surface and Earth-Moon space programs are favorite highlights of these sessions. Evening Explorer features a live planetarium show about the solar system.
9. Sloan Stem + Arts
Sloan Stem + Arts is a non-profit organization that prepares the youth to excel in STEM. Sloan’s mission is to introduce kids to STEM at an early age and mentor them for future success.
Their summer camp is for students in grades pre-K through 6h grade. Campers can enjoy the full range of activities from robotics training to coding with top-of-the-line tools.
Fun sports and playful competitions round out the days, so campers get lots of fresh air and exercise. The schedule includes team games, plus creative drawing, music, drama, and painting. Scholarships are available and sessions take place at the Luke Life Center in Humble, Texas.
10. The Health Museum
The Health Museum sponsors summer camps filled with fun health-related experiences for kids ages 5-13. They dive into the fascinating world of health.
Using state-of-the-art equipment at the museum, campers can learn about cell structures, perform simulated doctor’s tests on stuffed animals, and practice CPR. Younger kids might make a robot to study automation in science or put on a chef’s cap and study edible chemical reactions during a cooking lab.
Older campers can head outside and practice piloting skills with drones or learn basic surgical and nursing skills for healthcare. The Health Museum camps run from June 3 to August 13, 9 am – 3 pm daily, with before and aftercare hours available as well as camp scholarships. Campers should bring a lunch and water bottle although snacks are also offered at the end of each day.