STEM Summer Camps
Please click here for registration form and tuition and return completed form to andrew@poly-ed.com.
Please note that, in anticipation of a wide range of ages and programming experience levels this year, 2 differentiated programming classes will be instructed when appropriate.
Math and Algorithms in Scratch and Python
June 17-21
We focus on computers as what they truly are – tools for
computation. Topics have included search algorithms, prime-finding algorithms, and the generation of fractals. Student will use Scratch or Python depending on their level, with advanced students often using Scratch as a prototyping tool.
Robotics with Arduino
June 24-28
Students will build and program robotics using the Arduino platform. Past projects include: GPS in 6-wheeled rover bots, 2-wheeled battlebots that sense each other using ultrasonic, and a robot that could speak using randomly generated text and a text-to-speech module for Arduino. Come and embrace the future overlords!
Web Design
July 1,2,3,5
This week students will create their own websites with free hosting using HTML and Javascript, among other technologies. Our lessons will initially focus on the structure of a basic website, and branch out into user interaction with a dynamic site. This year we will also focus on databases, online shopping carts, and security.
Hacking and Cracking
July 8-12
Hacking returns! Past topics have included SMTP headers, SQL injection, RSA encryption, cryptography, and use of Linux network tools. We have also hacked games and had an extensive discussion of memory structure and addressing. We promise that this week is white hat only!
Weather Balloon Telemetry – aka Leaving the Ground Behind
July 15-19
Returning for a fifth time! We will spend the week designing and programming a payload for a weather balloon, equipped with GPS, altimeter, camera, comms, etc. We will then venture out, launch the payload, and attempt a recovery with tracking. A substantial challenge for a young engineer! This week is suitable for new students and students who have undertaken this project previously. The continuity is helping the Poly Ed space program grow over time. Our week concludes with a Friday launch. Take a look at our history of launch photos, videos, and flight paths on the blog.
MicroMouse Intensive – NEW
July 22-26
MicroMouse has become a major undertaking at Poly Ed in the last 12 months. It started as a discussion in 2023 camp that took over hacking week with maze algorithms. This past school year, a small team of middle school engineers has been hard at work creating and prototyping the hardware platform we plan to use in future competitions. This project has proved to be a synthesis of software, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and math. In this week of camp, we will delve into the project as it currently stands, ideally working on maze algorithms and software improvements. Newcomers are welcome to share fresh ideas and get caught up on the progress we’ve made so far. At its base, this is an Arduino robotics project but it has branched into PCB design/manufacture using KiCad, Fusion 3D design, forays into the Nim programming language, and even challenges like casting our own wheels out of silicone.
AI and Learning Algorithms in Python
July 29-August 2
Get with the times! This year, for the first time, we will delve into transformer neural networks (the background of GPT). Specifically, students will be learning with OpenAI’s GPT Python AI. Students will create their own, original projects. Past projects have included a perceptron for binary classification of data, a tic-tac-toe learning AI, and a Go AI.
Board Game Design Week Returns
August 5-9
By student request, board game design week returns! This is our unplugged week where we focus on designing and playing board games. We often conduct interviews with published game designers. On Friday, we will showcase and play the games we have designed over the course of the week. Additionally, we try to learn 2 new boardgames every day of the week.
We are currently building a fantastic schedule of trips in and around NYC that mesh closely with our curriculum. Details will be finalized closer to the start of camp. Our destinations will include museums that align with our STEM themes (as travel permits at the time).
As always, our enrollment ages/grades are flexible, so if you believe your student belongs in a different age group, please let us know.