Summer Camps

Gopher STEAM Summer Camps 2025

Build-a-Bot Camp (For Jr. Engineers that are entering second grade and up)

Our Build-a-Bot camp will introduce your Jr. Engineer to the amazing field of robotics. Students will learn about sensors, motors and coding by building and programming LEGO robots in small groups. We will also build a robot kit from OWI, the Agent bot or the Cyber Crawler that they will take home. Yes, batteries are included! Throughout the week we will play with a variety of robots, use color to program Ozobots, build our own robot hand, design our own bristlebot. The highlight of the week will be building their own OWI kit robot that they will take home and more. We will use the design cycle and add sensors to our LEGO robot so it can take on new challenges. Attention Scouts! This camp fulfills some of the key requirements for the BSA Robotics merit badge and the Girl Scout series robotics badges. This camp is for Jt. Engineers entering second grade and up.

NEW! Advanced Build-a-Bot (For Jr. Engineers going into 3th grade and up or has completed the Build-a-Bot Camp)

If you want a real robotics challenge this camp is for you. In this camp we will focus on building one of our favorite kit robots of all time, the OWI Arm Edge. The OWI Arm Edge is a fully articulated robotic arm with 5 degrees of motion. The best part is your young engineer will get to take it home! Batteries are included. This is a large complicated kit, so we will spend most of the week building the arm. Once your Jr. Engineer finishes their OWI arm we will break out my LEGO robotics kits and build and program a variety of robots.

Space Exploration (For Jr. Scientists entering second grade and up)

3… 2… 1… Lift Off! This camp will launch your imagination into the stars. The focus of this camp is building and launching model rockets. We will also explore the wonders of our solar system and beyond as we learn about the planets, moons, comets, asteroids and stars. Activities will include building a glow in the dark constellation, making your own planisphere to guide your stargazing, a DYI planet to hang in your room and more. You will learn about the physics of spaceflight by building and flying model rockets that you get to take home to continue your STEM journey. This camp is engineered for students entering second grade and up. This camp will fulfill some key requirements for the Space Exploration merit badge and Cub Scout NOVA through BSA.

Your instructor Mr. Kilbane is a local scout leader and a veteran STEM teacher. He has been writing and running STEM camps for over 20 years and just completed his 11th season as a FIRST Robotics Competition mentor and coach. He is a STEM teacher with the Minnesota Astronomical Society and has a level 2 Certification in high power rocketry though Tripoli.

NEW! Adventures in Aviation (For Jr. Scientists entering second grade and up)

Campers please prepare for takeoff! Let your Jr. Engineer’s interest in STEM fly as we explore all the aspects of aviation. We will learn how Leonardo DaVinci studied the flight of birds and test his design for a parachute. Learn how a simple paper bag led the Montgolfier brothers to finally achieve the dream of flight with their hot air balloon. Discover the adventure and peril of lighter than air flight as we fly a blimp and learn how the tragedy of the Hindenburg brought the age of airships to an end. Discover how early aeronauts like Otto Lilienthal inspired inventors like Langley and the Wright brothers in the race to invent the first airplanes. We will experiment with the forces of powered flight by building gliders and rubber band powered aircraft. We will explore pioneers of aviation and the advancements that took us from Orville’s first 14 second flight in 1903 to the Moon and beyond. Through hands-on activities we will experience the forces of flight and discover how airships, airplanes, helicopters and even rockets help us defy gravity and reach for the stars. Each day your Jr. Aeronaut will make an aviation themed project to bring the STEM excitement home.

NEW! Let's build it! (For Jr. Scientists entering second grade and up)

Ask it, Imagine it. Design it. Build it. Test it, Repeat! Your Jr. Engineers will spend the week exploring learning engineering first hand through the design cycle with my favorite classroom engineering projects. We will learn about the history of technology and engineering as we build catapults, bridges, engineer egg drops, design wind turbines, fly airplanes, launch rockets and so much more. We will discover how engineers through the ages made our modern world what it is today. Each day your Jr. Engineers will make a project to bring home to keep the STEM education going.

NEW Super Science Camp (For Jr. Scientists entering first grade and up)

Let's get some summer science going! In this camp I am collecting all my favorite activities from my workshops and after school programs. We will go on a dinosaur dig and take home a model T-rex tooth. We will learn all about electricity and circuits. I will even bring my Van de Graaff generator and make your hair stand on end. Explore the depths of the ocean and learn about the amazing animals that live there. Discover how some slick science makes magic tricks possible. Learn about the rock cycle, why earthquakes happen and how volcanoes form. Yes! We will make slime as we learn about the chemistry of polymers. We will explore how bubbles are made and your Jr. Scientists will even have the opportunity to get inside one. We will make and break secret codes. Use some forensic science to discover who-done-it! I will bring my leaf blower powered hovercraft to learn about the power of air. Get ready to have a blast with Gopher Steam’s Super Science Camp this summer