STEM Discovery Summer Camps for grades K-5

PRICE PACKAGES
SDDC Member: $79
Partner Organization Member: $89
NonMember: $99

Our campers EXPLORE with professional educators that EDUCATE using the hands-on SDDC Learning Pathways curriculum to EMPOWER a confident, curious science identity that prepares young people for the future.

The STEM Discovery Summer Camps provide an experience beyond an at-home Pinterest activity and get campers ready for a possible science career!

PLEASE NOTE:
Campers must check-in and out at the front desk and must be picked up within 15 minutes of the end of camp. A SDDC employee will open doors 15 minutes prior to the start of each camp day and all payments must be made in full prior to the start of camp. 

Parents and guardians are responsible for dressing their student in appropriate clothing for being outside, including close-toed shoes, and applying their camper’s first round of sunscreen. 

If a camp has fewer than 6 campers registered by noon on the Friday before the camp starts, it will be canceled (you will receive notification and a full refund).

Camp materials are provided by the South Dakota Discovery Center out of program fees and donations. Become a supporter today!

Our Teaching Framework: The Learning Pathways

All SD Discovery Center programs deliver fun, hands-on exploration that builds passion for and knowledge of science across generations; students, teachers, families, citizens.

Our teaching framework ensures a high-quality class standard that focuses on lasting effects to help students find their path and hone their talents beyond school while developing college and/or career readiness skills (collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking) to grow a STEM workforce for South Dakota.

STEM Discovery Summer Camps utilizes Learning Pathways aligned with our teaching framework that facilitate individual growth of students in different topics and specialty tracks. Classes are available from ages PreK through 8th grade, and real-world applications (such as leadership and volunteer opportunities, internships or citizen science projects) for high schoolers.

Our camps are divided into the following age levels:
Seedlings (PreK)
Sprouts (K-2nd grade)
Shoots (3-5th grade)
Saplings (6-8th grade)
Canopy (9th-12th grade interns & SDDC Educators)

Camps are offered in specialty tracks for every age level with specific camp availability rotating on a three-year cycle, allowing for age-appropriate lessons that build upon each other. Our campers can become experts in a real STEM field by taking a different class within a specialty every year.

Our Learning pathways tracks and specialties are:
EXPLORE: Naturalist, Storytelling, Environment
SCIENCE: Life Science, Physical Science, Space Science
TECH: Engineering, Coding, Entertainment 
HEALTH: Fitness, Cooking, Gardening