Load-bearing structures, simple machines, catapults, water filters — physical things that either work or fall over.

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.

Engineering Summer Camp in Wheeling, IL

Wheeling has a population of about 38,015. Somewhere in it are children who would love engineering summer camp and have never been offered one within driving distance.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Illinois · Midwest

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Wheeling, IL

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

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

Wheeling, IL — what applies locally

Wheeling has a population of about 38,015.
State: Illinois · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Wheeling, IL

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 Wheeling

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Engineering Camp elsewhere in Illinois

Aurora, ILCity DeKalb, ILCity Oak Lawn, ILCity Calumet City, ILCity Belleville, ILCity Crystal Lake, ILCity Addison, ILCity Normal, ILCity

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