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Ellis Abel Learns.

Engineering Summer Camp in Columbia, SC

The Columbia, SC metro area has about 879,918 residents, ranking 71st in the country. The case for engineering summer camp here is not that the area lacks camps — it is that most of them end without the child being able to explain what they made.

Ages 7-14 · For families · South Carolina · South

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Columbia, SC
Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Columbia, SC

What the week actually is

Engineering week is constraints week. A bridge that must hold a weight, with a fixed pile of materials and a deadline. Children who have never been told no by a problem before meet one here, and learn that the answer is a redesign, not a tantrum.

Day by day

  1. Constraints and a materials budget
  2. First build, first collapse
  3. Redesign from what failed
  4. Load test to destruction, record the number
  5. Showcase: defend the design choice

Columbia, SC — what applies locally

  • The Columbia, SC metro area has about 879,918 residents, ranking 71st in the country.
  • Metro area: Columbia, SC
  • State: South Carolina · Region: South

Questions we get from Columbia, SC

What do they build?
Load-bearing structures, simple machines, catapults, water filters — physical things that either work or fall over.
Is it messy?
Yes. That is not incidental.
Do they work alone or in teams?
Both. Solo build first, then a team build where they have to defend a design choice out loud.

Other camp themes in Columbia

STEM Summer CampAges 5-14Robotics CampAges 8-14Coding CampAges 7-14Science CampAges 5-14Math CampAges 5-14Space CampAges 7-14Drone CampAges 9-14Game Design CampAges 8-14AI CampAges 10-14Electronics CampAges 8-14Chemistry CampAges 9-14Nature Science CampAges 5-133D Printing CampAges 9-14Minecraft STEM CampAges 7-12Girls STEM CampAges 7-14Neurodivergent STEM CampAges 6-14Preschool STEM CampAges 3-5Elementary STEM CampAges 5-10Middle School STEM CampAges 11-14High School STEM CampAges 14-18Half-Day STEM CampAges 5-12Week-Long STEM CampAges 6-14Affordable STEM CampAges 5-14Virtual STEM CampAges 7-14Curriculum LicensingAges K-8Church Youth STEMAges 5-14After-School LicensingAges 5-14District Summer STEMAges K-8Parks & Rec STEM CampAges 5-13Homeschool Co-op STEMAges 5-14YMCA STEM CurriculumAges 5-14Daycare Summer STEMAges 3-6Start a STEM CampAges K-8

Engineering Camp elsewhere in South Carolina

Greenville, SCMetro areaCharleston, SCMetro areaMyrtle Beach, SCMetro areaSpartanburg, SCMetro areaHilton Head Island, SCMetro areaFlorence, SCMetro areaSumter, SCMetro areaAnderson, SCCity

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