2023 Summer Technology Camps

Are you enthralled by PlayStation 4 or Xbox One games? Do you have an idea for a gaming world that you want to bring to life? Take advantage of this unique opportunity to become a beginning game developer! Using Unreal 4—the world's leading game engine that was used to create "Batman: Arkham Asylum," "Gears of War," and the "Final Fantasy 7" remake—you'll learn to create a fully playable, original 3-D world complete with lands, buildings, and all kinds of objects from the world of gaming. You won't need previous experience.

We will take a first look at how to create 3D models and textures, and how to make animations the way the professionals do it. You will learn the basics of using Maya, the industry-standard animation package, as well as how to make animations feel lifelike. Over the course of the camp, you will work on a final 3D animation of your choosing. No previous experience necessary.

Students will need to bring a smartphone or tablet to run Augmented Reality projects. If their device can run Pokémon Go, it will work for this workshop. If a student cannot bring a device, they will work with previews of AR projects on a desktop computer.

On average, 99.9% of human DNA is common among all humans. What parts of the human genome are variable? How can 0.1% difference lead to different hair colors, eye colors, blood types, and all the other characteristics that make us all unique? How can we use computers to help answer these questions? In this summer camp, we'll examine these questions and more, as we harness the computing power of modern computers and dive into the world of human genetics. You won't need any previous programming or biology experience.

Do you love creatures and aliens? Do you have a sketchbook full of original creations? Now you can bring them to life through technology! You'll learn to draw, animate, and create a creature, alien or other characters to share with your friends and family—and how to use the Spore Creature Creator Engine. To help bring your creations to life, you'll study myths, legends, biology, and evolution—and how your creatures fit into video games, comic books, movies, and more. You'll also explore the creation of Pokémon and its worldwide success.

In this camp, you'll dive into the foundations of 2D Animation both narratively and graphically. We will discuss The Hero's Journey, which will give you an understanding of how stories are structured and why they're structured that way. Then we'll spend the majority of your time with the 12 Principles of Animation and the Animation Pipeline to explore how stories are presented visually. You will leave this camp with a complete property—a whole story you've developed on your own, ready to tell through comics, television, or film.

This workshop offers participants the opportunity to engage in data-driven projects in the emerging field of data science. You will have the opportunity to learn and develop your skills in our hands-on summer STEM camp for high school students. All our sessions will focus on individual and group projects where you will work with different teams to address everyday problems in our society. You will also be able to learn the foundations of data science and create visualization dashboards for your unique idea. Our one-week camp will provide learning experience that improve students' computing and critical thinking skills. Faculty from the School of Informatics and Computing will teach the sessions and help students to explore in-demand career options.