No matter whether you are a first-time player or an experienced chess player, our chess camp has a spot for you. Our coaching team will have National Master Alex Betaneli, International Master Erik Santarius, and other professional coaches. During the chess camp, we will have masterclasses and interactive discussions of strategy and tactics supplemented by thematic tournaments and puzzle solving workshops. Plenty of time is set aside for outdoors and sports.

Series: Chess
Open to: Rising Grades 3-12
Offered: Session 1 (June 17-21: no camp June 19)

Register via Popsicle

The Great War is finally over, and now it is time to make peace, but as you’ll soon discover, making peace is harder than making war. You will play the role of a real-life diplomat from the 1919 Paris Peace Conference in this Model UN-styled simulation. Can you bring everlasting peace to Europe and still satisfy your country’s lofty demands? To achieve these goals, you will need to develop important skills like researching, writing, public speaking, negotiating, and role-playing, as well as learning about World War I and its many consequences.

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5–7
Offered: Session 1 (June 17-21: no camp June 19)

Register via Popsicle

Think like a limnologist! Embark on a two-week field study program where students develop lab techniques and data analysis skills to answer the enduring question: “What is the health of Lake Wingra and what role do humans have in this?” In order to answer this question, students will gather data from the field, hear from experts in local limnology, and propose future topics of advocacy for exploration. The program will culminate with a State of Lake address where students present research and propose future advocacy opportunities. Comfort being on and near the water (e.g. kayaking for 1+ hours at a time) is required.

Series: Summer Research Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 8–10
Offered: Session 1–2 (June 17-28) This is a TWO-WEEK course. No camp June 19.

Register via Popsicle

No matter whether you are a first-time player or an experienced chess player, our chess camp has a spot for you. Our coaching team will have National Master Alex Betaneli, International Master Erik Santarius, and other professional coaches. During the chess camp, we will have masterclasses and interactive discussions of strategy and tactics supplemented by thematic tournaments and puzzle solving workshops. Plenty of time is set aside for outdoors and sports.

Series: Chess
Open to: Rising Grades 3-12
Offered: Session 1 (June 17-21: no camp June 19)

Register via Popsicle

What plants and animals do we find in different ecosystems? How do they all get along in the same space? Together we will explore the ecosystems around our campus and see what variety of life exists and learn how they work together!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Everyone needs shelter whether they are people, birds or frogs. We know what kinds of homes people live in, but what about the other creatures in an ecosystem? Together we will explore the ecosystems on our campus and look for animal homes. We'll answer questions like: How are they built? What materials do they use? How long do they last? And we will try our hand at building our own animal homes!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Our environment provides us with valuable ecosystem services! How do we use the resources our environment provides? How did people use these resources in the past? Together we will embark on an exploration of the biodiversity in plants and animals right outside our door!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Have you ever wondered what makes a healthy watershed? Learn about the Yahara River Basin through water sampling, finding macroinvertebrates, and experimenting with how runoff can impact our environment by building models of our watershed.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 2 (June 24–28)

Register via Popsicle

Think like a limnologist! Embark on a two-week field study program where students develop lab techniques and data analysis skills to answer the enduring question: “What is the health of Lake Wingra and what role do humans have in this?” In order to answer this question, students will gather data from the field, hear from experts in local limnology, and propose future topics of advocacy for exploration. The program will culminate with a State of Lake address where students present research and propose future advocacy opportunities. Comfort being on and near the water (e.g. kayaking for 1+ hours at a time) is required.

Series: Summer Research Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 8–10
Offered: Session 1–2 (June 17-28) This is a TWO-WEEK course. No camp June 19.

Register via Popsicle

No matter whether you are a first-time player or an experienced chess player, our chess camp has a spot for you. Our coaching team will have National Master Alex Betaneli, International Master Erik Santarius, and other professional coaches. During the chess camp, we will have masterclasses and interactive discussions of strategy and tactics supplemented by thematic tournaments and puzzle solving workshops. Plenty of time is set aside for outdoors and sports.

Series: Chess
Open to: Rising Grades 3-12
Offered: Session 2 (June 24-28)

Register via Popsicle

Explore your five senses and how they can teach us about our world. We'll spend will spend lots of time outside connecting our experiences with the science of our senses!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)

Register via Popsicle

Learn about nutrition and the digestive system in this camp that is sure to satisfy your hunger for learning!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)

Register via Popsicle

Learn about the biomechanics of the human body! Build functional, robotic models of your body to help you understand how and why it moves the way it does.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)
 

Register via Popsicle

No matter whether you are a first-time player or an experienced chess player, our chess camp has a spot for you. Our coaching team will have National Master Alex Betaneli, International Master Erik Santarius, and other professional coaches. During the chess camp, we will have masterclasses and interactive discussions of strategy and tactics supplemented by thematic tournaments and puzzle solving workshops. Plenty of time is set aside for outdoors and sports.

Series: Chess
Open to: Rising Grades 3-12
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)

Register via Popsicle

Explore the brain and the nervous system through hands on activities in this camp that is sure to electrify your curiosity!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)

Register via Popsicle

No matter whether you are a first-time player or an experienced chess player, our chess camp has a spot for you. Our coaching team will have National Master Alex Betaneli, International Master Erik Santarius, and other professional coaches. During the chess camp, we will have masterclasses and interactive discussions of strategy and tactics supplemented by thematic tournaments and puzzle solving workshops. Plenty of time is set aside for outdoors and sports.

Series: Chess
Open to: Rising Grades 3-12
Offered: Session 3 (July 8-12)

Register via Popsicle

Pop quiz: what state capital is the home of the oldest publicly-funded historical society in the United States? If you answered Madison, Wisconsin, you’re right! Historians in our area have been preserving documents, collecting stories, interpreting information, and sharing their work with the public since at least 1846 (two years before Wisconsin even became a state!). This course will follow in that rich tradition, as students will learn basic principles of historical inquiry and investigation by working together to identify and solve a local “historical mystery.” Over the course of this two-week session, we will: a) get hands-on experience working with different types of documents at area archives, including the Wisconsin Historical Society and local colleges/universities; b) find and connect with relevant community organizations to expand and contextualize our knowledge; and c) collaboratively create a public history “product” (i.e., an editorial, documentary, podcast, mural, etc.) in order to share our work with a wider audience.

Series: Summer Research Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 8-10
Offered: Session 3 (July 8–12)

Register via Popsicle

In this session, you'll learn to think like a geneticist and to use biotechnology to explore the effect of mutations on yeast cells. Students will get to use laboratory techniques like PCR, electrophoresis and cellular transformation to alter the genes in yeast cells using recombinant DNA plasmids. We will also use 3D modeling of proteins to predict how mutations might affect the function of proteins. Using these tools, students will design their own experiments to better understand how yeast cells work.

Peter Kuhn, PhD is an associate professor of Biological Sciences at Edgewood College, where he teaches courses in genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. Before Edgewood he studied yeast genetics at UW-Madison and plant genetics at Michigan State University. Outside of the lab, Dr. Kuhn raises chickens and enjoys cross-country skiing.

Series: Summer Research Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 8-10
Offered: Session 3–4 (July 8–19) This is a TWO-WEEK course.
Location: Edgewood College 

Register via Popsicle

Explore the materials that our planet is made of and the processes that create them. We'll explore the beauty and mystery of rocks, minerals, soils, volcanoes, glaciers and oceans through fun, hands-on activities.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

Our bodies are made up of about 60% water and over 70% of our planet is covered with water! What is this amazing substance that is so important in shaping and sustaining plants, animals and our planet? We will explore water in its many forms and its power to transform out planet.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

The plants and animals that have inhabited our planet have not always looked the way they do now. We can learn so much from exploring the world of fossils! From dinosaurs to trilobites we will explore a variety of prehistoric organisms and the amazing lives they lived.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

Have you ever wondered what happened to the dinosaurs? Are you fascinated about asteroids? There have been several mass extinctions throughout geologic time that are just as fascinating and mysterious. Join us in walking through an epic timeline exploring prehistoric life!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

In this session, you'll learn to think like a geneticist and to use biotechnology to explore the effect of mutations on yeast cells. Students will get to use laboratory techniques like PCR, electrophoresis and cellular transformation to alter the genes in yeast cells using recombinant DNA plasmids. We will also use 3D modeling of proteins to predict how mutations might affect the function of proteins. Using these tools, students will design their own experiments to better understand how yeast cells work.

Peter Kuhn, PhD is an associate professor of Biological Sciences at Edgewood College, where he teaches courses in genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. Before Edgewood he studied yeast genetics at UW-Madison and plant genetics at Michigan State University. Outside of the lab, Dr. Kuhn raises chickens and enjoys cross-country skiing.

Series: Summer Research Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 8-10
Offered: Session 3–4 (July 8–19) This is a TWO-WEEK course.
Location: Edgewood College 

Register via Popsicle

Summer Wordworking Intensive during Summer Discovery will teach students grade 5 through 12 how to operate a wood lathe and hand tools. Students will learn how to read a design drawing, evaluate a blank piece of wood and use woodturning tools to create a two-tier wall mounted shelf unit. This will start students on the path of turning design concepts into the tools they need to bring their larger ideas to life. This class will alternate between two locations depending on equipment needed and skills being taught: The Bodgery at 740 Oscar Ave and MCDS Makerspace. Transportation will be provided by MCDS as students need to move between locations.

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-12
Offered: Session 4 (July 15-19)

Register via Popsicle

What are the properties of different materials? Some are hard, others are soft, some are bendy, while others are slimy or runny. We will explore the properties of materials, make some of our own creations, and experiment with different formulas that yield different, exciting results!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

So, you want to build something. What material would be the best for your project? What do you need to take into consideration? We will test different materials for our chosen projects and determine which are the best ones to use based on our criteria.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

Bodies are complicated things for many reasons. One is the variety of materials that organisms are made of that enable their survival. From the tiniest butterfly to the largest oak tree, we will look at the materials of life and how they enable the growth and function of organisms

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

Spend time selecting, building and perfecting one or more model kits. This activity is perfect for kids who enjoy both engineering and art. Skills learned will include model building, gluing, painting & finishing. Model building time will be interspersed with activities such as prairie walks, PE class and camp games.

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

Fabric that collects solar energy, recyclable plastics, artificial bones: all of these innovations call for new kinds of materials. We will explore the science and engineering of new materials and try our hand and creating some of our own to address a current human need.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

Spend time selecting, building and perfecting one or more model kits. This activity is perfect for kids who enjoy both engineering and art. Skills learned will include model building, gluing, painting & finishing. Model building time will be interspersed with activities such as prairie walks, PE class and camp games.

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 5 (July 22-26)

Register via Popsicle

Explore natural engineering from nest building to flowering plants. Spend a week immersed the art and engineering of the natural world!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

Electricity is being used for everything from lighting the darkness to powering our transportation and storing human knowledge. We will explore what electricity is, what it does, and how we can direct it to power the future!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

Design and build your dream tree house! Experiment with building forts out of different natural materials. Learn the physics of strong structures and princles of architectural design, all while having lots of outdoor fun!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

From prosthetics to water filtration, the future demands new and better technologies to create a quality life for all. Spend some time exploring design principles and working with 3D printing and other modern maker space technology!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

Our Dungeon Master Maggie Richardson provides students with a customized fantasy campaign drawing from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Students will design their characters, develop their backstory, and interact with their fellow group members as they engage in problem solving, storytelling, and overcome challenges. This class is an excellent vehicle to practice a variety of Social Emotional Learning skills including:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 6 (July 29-Aug 2)

Register via Popsicle

What do you see when you look up at the night sky? Is the moon really changing shape? How can you tell time with the Sun? We will explore our sky and solar system through imaginative fun and games here on earth!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades Pre-K–K
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle

Do you have what it takes to be an astronaut? We'll plan a space mission and try living like astronauts while doing science experiments and learning about our universe!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 1-2
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle

Build a rocket that really soars! It might not make it to the moon, but you will learn about forces, gravitational energy, and the aerodynamics of flight while experimenting and testing your creation!

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 3-4
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle

Learn about the amazing new research being done by astrophysicists using new techology such as space telescopes, including exoplanets, black holes, dark matter, and supernova.

Series: STEAM
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle

Learn the art of persuasion! Students work in rotating groups and practice their debating skills in a supportive environment, including developing arguments, issuing rebuttals, providing examples, rebuilding their case and summarizing points of view. Students learn to think on their feet and enhance their public-speaking skills, gaining self-confidence in the process.

Series: Business Academy
Open to: Rising Grades 5-7
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle

Summer Wordworking Intensive during Summer Discovery will teach students grade 5 through 12 how to operate a wood lathe and hand tools. Students will learn how to read a design drawing, evaluate a blank piece of wood and use woodturning tools to create a two-tier wall mounted shelf unit. This will start students on the path of turning design concepts into the tools they need to bring their larger ideas to life. This class will alternate between two locations depending on equipment needed and skills being taught: The Bodgery at 740 Oscar Ave and MCDS Makerspace. Transportation will be provided by MCDS as students need to move between locations.

Series: Humanities
Open to: Rising Grades 5-12
Offered: Session 7 (Aug 5-9)

Register via Popsicle