You’re a smart parent—you know tech camp is one of the best ways to keep your child learning over the summer. But what project will they actually be making at camp?
It’s one of the most common questions we get, and one we’re happy to answer.
One of the best things about iD Tech summer programs is the flexibility our average 8:1 student-Instructor ratio fosters. When you remove the need to compete with 29 other students for the teacher’s attention, our blended learning environment works for your child instead of against them.
This means that while your child is encouraged to follow our project path, they don’t have to. If they come to camp with a unique project idea, our Instructors invest the time to work one-on-one with your child to bring it to life.
It also means it would take dozens of blog posts to describe every project your camper could possibly make over the summer. However, here are some real projects our campers have dreamed up and created in our programs.
So grab your child and get inspired!
iD Tech Camps
CodeMaker: Code and Design Games with Scratch, ages 7–9
The video below is a recording of a game a camper made in our CodeMaker course.
Here, students are introduced to programming concepts via visual drag-and-drop software to create stories, games, and animations. The creative potential of the final projects in this course is huge! Students learn foundational programming skills like functions, if-then statements, and variables, that they can take with them into their next coding adventure.
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Build, Invent, and Code Your Take-Home Laptop, ages 10–12
Your student gets immediate hands-on hardware experience, spending the first morning assembling their own pi-top laptop from a Raspberry Pi and other circuit boards.
Students then boot up their laptop and learn Python programming, and explore electrical engineering concepts to add cool accessories and programs to their computer.
Best of all, when the course is over, the laptop is your child’s to take home!
3D Modeling with Autodesk Maya, ages 13–17
In this 3D modeling course for teens, students use Autodesk Maya—a versatile and powerful toolset used by professionals—to create characters, environments, models, and more. The only limit to what they can create is their imagination.
They’ll learn how to implement effective 3D modeling practices, taking inspiration from their real-world surroundings, and then render those models, adding details like lighting, shadows, textures, and more.
While first-time campers might not be able to make such detailed models, check out how intricate they can get with practice!
Our all-girls summer program for ages 10–15 fosters tech learning paired with collaboration, entrepreneurship, leadership, and social movements. Girls gather around moon chairs and café tables for a unique, fun, and social approach to STEM education.
Photo Booth: Pro Photography for Instagram, ages 10–15
Is your student a budding photographer? In this photography summer course, she’ll learn how to capture the perfect shot (many, in fact!) using professional DSLR cameras. Then she’ll dive into Adobe Photoshop to explore the technical and creative sides of digital editing. Once she’s got her photos picture-perfect, she’ll post them on Instagram, creating a personal brand and online presence, learning about responsible digital citizenship along the way. Check out some pictures our campers have personalized!
iD Tech Academies
Our Academies are intensive, teen-only (ages 13–18), pre-college programs. These two-week overnight sessions get even more in-depth than our one-week iD Tech Camps courses, meaning projects have the potential for even more variation and intricacy.
iD Coding & Engineering Academy — Robotics Engineering & Coding Lab
Week one of this course is dedicated to the sophisticated NVIDIA Jetson TX1 robotics system. Working in small groups, students immediately start building with metal and electricity to put their robot together.
Week two introduces C++ and Linux so students learn to program their ‘bots with C++, external libraries, sensors, and actuators. The second week also increases the challenges, including troubleshooting their self-made circuitry to test students’ ability to refine and implement various robotic systems. They’ll also explore leveraging computer vision to make their robot navigate more fluidly and with purpose.
Parents and students alike frequently ask what they get to take home from their robotics courses. Alas, we can’t send campers home with a robot, so students take home a DVD with footage of their week as a visual representation of all their new electrical engineering, coding, and troubleshooting knowledge. Students will also take home their project files and an online college portfolio.
iD Game Design & Development Academy — Game Studio: Level Designer and VR Developer
Unreal Engine 4 is an astoundingly versatile game engine, responsible for many big-name game titles from Epic Games. Students in this course get hands-on experience designing gameplay elements, like environmental art, to create their own levels.
Working in groups, students found their own indie game studio to learn the full development cycle of video game production in this unique and completely revamped Academy experience. The project below (while not exactly what the combined group project will look like) is indicative of what the level designers will be doing in terms of creating the world, determining placements for various elements of the level, and designing specific level events.
Students take home all their project files, including any audio or Photoshop files they created during their two-week session, as well as, of course, their games.
Don’t miss out on a chance for your child to see their vision come to life and take home a project they’ll be proud of for years to come.
Read iD Tech Camps reviews or click the button below to download our 2018 camp brochure.