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Ellis Abel Learns.

High School STEM Summer Camp in Pope County, IL

Pope County is one of 102 counties in Illinois. The case for high school stem 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 14-18 · For families · Illinois · Midwest

High School STEM Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Pope County, IL
High School STEM Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Pope County, IL

What the week actually is

By high school a camp has to be worth a teenager's summer. This one runs on a real project with a real deliverable — something that can be shown to an admissions officer or an employer without an explanation attached.

Day by day

  1. Pick the problem and write the prediction
  2. First build, first failure
  3. Diagnose what actually went wrong
  4. Rebuild and test against the prediction
  5. Showcase: explain it to the room

Pope County, IL — what applies locally

  • Pope County is one of 102 counties in Illinois.
  • Every public school district inside Pope County is eligible for the district licensing terms.
  • State: Illinois · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Pope County, IL

Does it help with college applications?
A finished, documented project helps. A certificate of attendance does not, and we do not pretend otherwise.
What is the deliverable?
A build, a dataset or a piece of working software, documented well enough to hand to a stranger.
Can they work on their own idea?
Yes, if it can be scoped to the time available.

Other camp themes in Pope County

High School STEM Camp elsewhere in Illinois

All High School STEM Camp locations · Full camp directory · Ask about a place