**Registration Opening In April
Drop-Off/Pick-Up Information
Please drop-off students at 8:30am on the day of each workshop and pick-up students at 3:45pm at Champion Way behind the Health & Athletics Center on the UC Merced campus.
Elementary School Offerings for 1st - 3rd Grade
Eligibility Requirement: Students entering 1st grade in Fall 2024 are eligible to attend elementary academies for 1st - 3rd graders)
Nature Trail Academy (1st - 3rd Grade)
Academy Dates: (This is a 2-day academy offered twice. ONLY REGISTER YOUR STUDENT FOR ONE OFFERING)
- July 8th - July 9th (M/T)
- July 22nd - July 23rd (M/T)
Academy Description:
Storybook Engineering (1st - 3rd Grade)
Academy Dates: (This is a 2-Day academy offered twice. ONLY REGISTER YOUR STUDENT FOR ONE OFFERING)
- July 15th - July 16th (M/T)
- July 29th & July 30th (M/T)
Academy Description:
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Elementary School Offerings for 4th - 6th Grade
Eligibility Requirements: students exiting 6th grade in Spring 2024 are eligible to attend elementary academies!
Weather Discovery Lab (4th - 6th Grade)
Academy Date: Monday, June 24th, 2024 - Friday, June 28th, 2024
Academy Description: In this academy, students will learn about weather and climate and the impacts of climate change on animals and their environment.
Young Engineers Toolbox Academies (4th - 6th Grades)
(The Young Engineers Toolbox Academies are a group of 2-day academies that offer different focuses within the field of engineering and invention! Students can be registered for one, or all of the Young Engineers Toolbox Academies. No restrictions apply!)
1. Young Engineers: Mechanical Engineering Academy
Academy Date: Wednesday, July 10th - Thursday, July 11th, 2024
Academy Description: Students will get an introductory experience within the field of mechanical engineering! Using the engineering and design process, students will explore levers, pulleys, wheels, and gears!
2. Young Engineers: Energy and Materials Academy
Academy Date: Wednesday, July 17th - Thursday, July 18th, 2024
Academy Description:
3. Young Engineers: Aerospace and Robotics Academy
Academy Date: Wednesday, July 24th - Thursday, July 25th, 2024
Academy Description:
4. Young Engineers: Scribble Academy
Academy Date: Wednesday, July 31st - Thursday, August 1st, 2024
Academy Description:
Middle School Offerings (open to 6th-8th grade students)
Eligibility: Students entering 6th grade in Fall 2023 and students entering 9th grade in Spring 2023 are eligible to attend!
Composting Academy
Academy Dates: June 17th - June 21st, 2024
Academy Description:
Academy Flyer:
Secure Water Future's: Super Soaker Water Academy
Academy Dates: June 24th - June 28th, 2024
Academy Description: This is a week-long program that will teach students all about water and how it is stored and used in California. By the end of the week, students will have participated in water activities to teach them the relationship between water, agriculture, climate change, and how we can use technology to help our water systems. Includes a 2-hour kayaking field trip to Lake Yosemite.
Academy Flyer:
The Magic of Marine Microbes
Academy Dates: July 8th - July 12th, 2024
Academy Description: Marine microbiomes - introduction to ocean, water cycle, microbes, climate change and using microbes to help ocean climate change.
Academy Flyer:
Ohms, Sweet Ohms! Exploring Electrical Circuits through LEDs
Academy Dates: July 8th - July 12th, 2024
This workshop will consist of building a night light using electric circuits. By familiarizing yourself with the elements involved in making an electrical source you will be able to put together a circuit that is efficient and creates a vibrant light using LEDs. Have fun by decorating your nightlight and creating a comforting light to add to your home!
Shark Survivor
Academy Dates: July 8th - July 12th, 2024
Academy Description:
Academy Flyer:
Deep Dive into the Study of Neuropsychology
Academy Dates: July 15th - July 19th, 2024
Academy Description: In this workshop, students will explore the topic of attention, memory, sleep, and the effects of trauma on the brain. They will expand their knowledge of the brain by learning about different brain parts, how neurons work, and how we develop as humans -- from prenatal to adulthood.
Academy Flyer:
Fossils and Food Webs
Academy Dates: June 19th-June 23rd, 2023
Academy Description: This workshop will introduce students to California biodiversity – how species are connected to one another and their environments today and in the past, what those connections say about the future, and why biodiversity is important to humans.
Academy Flyer:
Bobcat Files: Processing Crime Investigation
Academy Dates: June 12th-June16th, 2023
Academy Description: In this innovative forensic academy, students will learn to preserve, gather, and analyze crime scene evidence!
Academy Flyer:
Exploration of Medical Careers
Academy Dates: July 10th-July 14th, 2023
Academy Description: Everyone wants to be a doctor, but did you know there is a huge need in other areas of medicine? Join us for a week-long exploration of various careers in the medical field, including veterinarians, emergency medicine, dentistry, sports medicine, etc.
Academy Flyer:
More than Cows and Plows: Microbits and Programming and Agriculture
Academy Dates: July 10th-July 14th, 2023
Academy Description: What do microbits and rovers have to do with the field of agriculture? Come join us for a week-long workshop learning how technology and sensors can help create more sustainable agriculture. Learn how to program rovers to perform tasks that will simulate the conservation of energy and water resources.
*Academy is offered at a reduced cost as it is part of the IoT grant and is being funded through the National Science Foundation!
Academy Flyer:
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Academy Dates: July 18th-July 22nd
Academy Description: Trees can tell us so much about the past and present environment. Join us for a week exploring biological processes of trees to understand how climate can influence the growth and health of the forest.
Academy Flyer:
High School Offerings (open to 9th-12th grade students)
Get a jump on college readiness by attending our accelerated, college prep academies!
Learn technical and laboratory skills that will give you the experience of working in a university science laboratory. These workshops will introduce you to university research, lab techniques, and data analysis! Your college resume will surely stand out!
Eligibility: Students entering 9th grade in Fall 2023 and students graduating 12th grade in Spring 2023 are eligible to attend!
Get your start in Tech! Drones, Plan a Mission and Code!
Academy Date: TBD
Academy Description: FLY CITRIS inspires students to take flight! High school students can build tech skills and prepare for cool jobs in agriculture, security, and natural resources. This 2-day workshop focuses on flying drones through several methods: flying with controls, programming a mission, and doing tricks in a sequence by coding in Python. By the end of the workshop, pilots will have new spatial thinking skills, data processing of images and video, and use engineering to solve problems all while having fun. No prior experience is needed.
Academy Flyer:
Programming the Universe: Investigation of Dark Matter (Full)
Academy Dates: June 17th - June 21st, 2024
Academy Description: Join us for a week-long academy learning the basics of python programming, to investigate the mysteries of dark matter and the universe. No prior programming knowledge or astronomy knowledge is required.
Academy Flyer:
Data Science for Nature and Conservation
Academy Dates: July 8th - July 12th, 2024
Academy Description: When the environment changes, organisms can either move, adapt, or die out. We’ll analyze ecological and climatic data using the open-source program R to explore how species’ geographic ranges shifted as climate changed in the past, and what might happen to them with future climate change.
Academy Flyer:
Thinking Big by Getting Small
Academy Dates: July 11th - July 12th, 2024
Academy Description: Through the investigation of nanoparticles learn valuable research and techniques in Chemistry and Physics. This is a two-day academy.
Academy Flyer:
InSITE
Academy Dates: The Academy is offered two separate times, only register for one.
- July 15th - July 17th, 2024
- July 29th - July 31st, 2024
Academy Description:
Academy Flyer:
Measuring things which are very fast or very small... like light waves!
Academy Dates: July 15th - July 19th, 2024
Academy Description: Light travels very very fast, while an individual light wave is very very small. So, how do we measure these things in a lab? In this STEM Academy, you will find out: we will learn to use some basic physics lab equipment like function generators, oscilloscopes, and lasers. We will then conduct our own measurements of the physical properties of light and sound and see how close we can get to the true values. Put your skills to the test in this interactive seminar.
Academy Flyer:
Registration will open mid April, 2024. Check out how to sign up for updates when Summer 2024 offerings open HERE
Questions? Email Mariah Gonsalez, CalTeach Special Programs Coordinator at mgonsalez2@ucmerced.edu
View our Frequently Asked Questions here
