Our mission is to use science, technology and engineering to develop persistent curiosity and to show that knowledge is empowering.
IRIDESCENT SUMMER ENGINEERING CAMP
We have two camps this year:
- New York Studio
- Bay Area
The camps are an opportunity for students to experience learning in ways that are not supported by the formal school curriculum:
- focusing on process, learning to iterate and come back to the same model with a different approach -> persistence
- learning from experts
Students are invited to come build exciting models and learn about science and engineering from our engineers. Courses illustrate real-world applications of physics principles. Each course is five days long.
2012 Iridescent South Bronx Engineering Summer Camp
July 23–August 17, 9am–4pm daily, grades 3–12 (entering)
Iridescent Science Studio—890 Garrison Ave, Bronx NY 10474
Join us this summer as we explore science, technology, engineering, and design in an interactive, hands-on manner—and use what we learn to invent new things! Students will be mentored by scientists, engineers, older students, and their peers throughout the summer, having lots of support in their explorations and inventions. Elementary and Middle School students will spend 4 weeks working on a variety of projects and topics. High School students will teach and mentor younger students, and have the chance to work on design projects of their own.
Elementary & Middle School Camp
Students entering grades 3–8 will spend 4 weeks immersed in hands-on science and engineering. They will first explore the ecology of Hunts Point from an engineering perspective, learning about, designing, and creating solutions to environmental challenges in the community. Students will then turn to the biomechanics of the human body, taking lessons from the body to design devices and machines that carry out similar tasks—a process called biomimicry. Finally, we’ll return to a favorite topic from last year, musical instrument engineering, exploring how sound works, and inventing machines to harness and produce sound.
Students will work in small, mixed-age groups alongside high school students, scientists, engineers, and teachers. They will have support to pursue their wild ideas and crazy inventions as they grow comfortable with learning new and complex content, and immediately applying it in a creative way—a skill that translates to any pursuit.
High School Camp
High Schoolers will work with elementary and middle schoolers to teach and mentor them in science and engineering content and design. They will also have the chance to participate in an engineering design team, working with scientists and engineers to use science and technology to build and implement innovative solutions to local problems—such as a solar powered ice cream cart, or an underwater robot water quality tester. High Schoolers will start on July 9th for a 2-week training period.
Previous Camps: 2012 Iridescent Los Angeles Engineering Summer Camp
The four-week LA summer camp is open only to students from the Iridescent family of schools. Note that three of the sessions are full.
Animals as our Engineering Inspiration
July 16 – 20, 2012 Ages: 6-9
When attempting to create man-made flying machines, both Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright brothers studied the way birds fly! Today, scientists and engineers continue to study animals to get inspiration for new inventions and technologies. Children will learn how animals are inspiring new technologies from airplanes to wind turbines. Hands-on projects allow children to practice bio-inspired engineering!
Musical Instrument Engineering
July 23 – 27, 2012 Ages 6-9
Musical instruments create sound by vibrating in different ways. Children will investigate the physics of sound using musical instruments that they create. They will learn how sound is made and how sound travels through different materials.
Underwater Robotics
July 30- August 3, 2012 Ages 13+
The underwater robotics course involves SeaPerch robots which are remotely operated underwater vehicles. The SeaPerch Program (http://seaperch.org/index), created by the MIT Sea Grant Program allows students to build underwater robots for various research activities.
Playful Inventions
August 6 – 10, 2012 Ages: 8-12
Playful Inventions is an approach to using new technologies that integrates art, science, and engineering. The goal is to enable children to create, invent, and explore.This course will teach computer programming using the PicoCricket Kit. Participants will design and program their own artistic creations with lights, sound, music, and motion.
LA camps run Monday – Friday from 9am-3pm. The cost is $300 per week.
Camps will be held at the Iridescent Science Studio – 553 W. 23rd Street, LA 90007
2011 Topics
Animals as our Engineering Inspiration 
When attempting to create man-made flying machines, both Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright brothers studied the way birds fly! Today, scientists and engineers continue to study animals to get inspiration for new inventions and technologies. Children will learn how animals are inspiring new technologies from airplanes to wind turbines. Hands-on projects allow children to practice bio-inspired engineering! (LA & NYC)
Musical Instrument Engineering
Musical instruments create sound by vibrating in different ways. Children will investigate the physics of sound using musical instruments that they create. They will learn how sound is made and how sound travels through different materials. (LA & NYC)
Playful Inventions
Playful Inventions is an approach to using new technologies that integrates art, science, and engineering. The goal is to enable children to create, invent, and explore. This course will teach computer programming using the PicoCricket Kit. Participants will design and program their own artistic creations with lights, sound, music, and motion. (LA)
Underwater Robotics
The underwater robotics course involves Sea Perch robots which are remotely operated underwater vehicles. The 
SeaPerch Program, created by the MIT Sea Grant Program allows students to build underwater robots for various research activities. (LA & NYC)
Worms vs. Robots
Discover how technology copies nature! Study nematodes (worms) with the scientists from the Bio Bus, then build and program a robot that mimics worm behavior. Engineer your robot and test how it fares in a no holds barred survival-of-the-fittest robot competition! (NYC)
