About the Host

Learn Something New This Summer!

UW Summer Youth Programs are designed for curious children and teens who want to keep learning over summer break.

Every summer, we offer a variety of educational camps and courses to pique your child’s interests — from screenwriting to engineering and everything in between. 

Choose from half-day and full-day options. Most programs are held at the UW campus in Seattle. High school students also have the option of taking courses in downtown Seattle or Bellevue. 

Highlights

Elementary School Camps

This summer, your child can unleash their creativity and learn new things at the University of Washington!

Our full-day camps for kids entering  first through fifth grades combine daily arts and STEM-related classes and activities. There's also plenty of time for fresh air and outdoor play, too. Each camp is centered around a different theme, so you can sign up for one or all.

At the end of the summer, we also offer a full-day drama camp for the budding actors in your family.

All camps meet on the UW Seattle campus.  

Middle School Courses

Middle school is a time for trying new things! At Summer Youth, your middle schooler can jump into topics like microbiology, 3-D design, coding, engineering and more. Get ready for lots of hands-on learning and campus field trips.

Interested in combining two half-day courses to make a full day for your student? Your child can stay for a supervised lunch period at no additional cost. 

All courses meet on the UW Seattle campus. 

High School Courses

Experience life on a college campus and tap into some unique learning opportunities. Our half-day or full-day courses for entering 9th through 12th graders let your teen build skills or explore a new interest.

Our high school programs are held at three locations: the UW Seattle campus, at Puget Sound Plaza in downtown Seattle and at the UW's facility in Bellevue. 

Schedule

Elementary School Camps:

DebateAble: Debate for Kids!

Debate helps young people find their own voices and listen to the voices of others! DebateAble camps use debate to teach critical thinking, public speaking and collaborative teamwork, all with a focus on keeping it fun. You’ll spend the first week learning debate skills and the debate format through games and other activities. Tnen you’ll use these skills during the second week to team up and prepare for a final debate. You must be able to attend and participate in the debate match held on Friday, August 16. Family and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend! 

Summer Youth Programs is excited to partner with DebateAble, which has brought its unique curriculum to schools throughout Seattle Public Schools.

Who It's For

This camp is for incoming fourth to sixth graders.

Instructor

Melanie Wienecke is an accomplished debater, elementary school teacher, tutor, biochemist and park ranger. Her debate background includes participation in speech and debate classes during junior high, high school and college, and teaching debate instruction to elementary students in Seattle schools since 2012. She earned a M.A. in education from the University of Southampton in England. Melanie loves teaching and is passionate about introducing and teaching debate to kids!

Details

Middle School Courses

3-D Design & Printing

Explore 3-D design and printing — from concept and design to product creation. Using the engineering design process, you’ll identify a problem and solve it through your own invention or innovation. Turn ideas into 3-D models using SketchUp and Tinkercad software and take home a 3-D printed project.

Who It's For

This program is for incoming sixth to eighth graders. 

Instructors

John Parker is a STEM specialist and former middle school science teacher for Seattle Public Schools who enjoys exploring nature and bringing the classroom into the outdoors. He and his family enjoy tide pooling, hiking and foraging.

Brad Shigenaka is a middle school science curriculum specialist for Seattle Public Schools. He is an active Maker hobbyist, always planning for his next summer project (this year: an augmented reality sandbox). He is a Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and received his B.A. in chemistry and master’s in teaching from the University of Washington.

Details

High School Courses

Coding in Java I

Explore computer science and coding in the Java programming language. This introductory course will focus on fundamental computer science concepts, control and data structures, and best practices for programming in Java. Concepts taught include statements and variables, objects, expressions, conditionals and for loops and other control structures. You’ll learn fundamentals of programming that will be applicable to AP Computer Science and to other languages, including Ruby, Python and C++. 

Who It's For

This course is for incoming 9th to 12th graders. No previous programming experience is required, though students should expect to learn at a fast pace.

Note: Java I cannot be taken at the same time as Java II. 

Instructor

Jack Straub spent more than 35 years as a software developer and engineer in the computer industry, where he focused on system-level implementations using a variety of languages and platforms. He also helped develop corporate coding standards in PL/I and C and authored textbooks on several programming languages, including C. Jack has been honored for teaching excellence by UW Professional & Continuing Education.

Details