STEM Research Academy & Camps

SIU STEM Education Research Center

The STEM Education Research Center (SERC) at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU) is a research and public service unit of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). SERC is a community of faculty, staff, educators, and industry partners working together to prepare the next generation of STEM educators, researchers, and professionals. SERC addresses critical issues in STEM education at local, state, and national levels through multidisciplinary and integrative strategies in research, education, and service. SERC builds regional and state-wide collaborations with other institutions to strategically advance STEM literacy and learning. SERC creates new programs for students to engage in STEM learning like the camps listed below.

SERC-produced camps include; Challenge to Excellence, STEM Research Academy, Involving Girls in STEAM, and, Sensory Engineering.

Interactive engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is at the core of each camp. Fostering critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills while encouraging teamwork and collaboration, each camp immerses campers in real-world challenges and cutting-edge technologies. These camps inspire curiosity and prepare the next generation for the rapidly evolving workforce. Campers will gain technical knowledge and develop essential soft skills like communication and adaptability, which are crucial in today’s fast-paced, innovation-driven world. Ultimately, SERC camps provide a unique platform to inspire young minds and cultivate the skills needed for future success.

SERC STEM Camps

Details about each camp are listed below.

Challenge to Excellence

Challenge to Excellence (C2E) Summer Camp is an immersive and engaging week-long experience for middle and high school students. This residential and commuter camp blends academic enrichment with creative expression, cultural exploration, and recreational activities. Campers participate in hands-on classes ranging from the science of learning and astronomy to 3D printing, theatre, and geology.

Each day is filled with dynamic experiences such as sustainable projects, anatomy observations, bowling, swimming, and outdoor field trips to local nature destinations. With guidance from expert instructors and dedicated counselors, students explore new interests, build lasting friendships, and develop skills that inspire excellence in and beyond the classroom.

Now in its 42nd year, Challenge to Excellence is one of the most respected and long-standing summer residential programs for academically-talented students in the Midwest. The program’s major goal is to provide students with opportunities to “stretch themselves” in learning experiences that promote higher level thinking skills and creativity in a variety of academic subjects, such as math, art, psychology, drama, biology and many others. Camp staff are creative teachers and counselors who are dedicated to providing safe, fun learning experiences for campers.

Many of our former campers have matriculated at our finest universities and are now teachers, doctors, engineers, journalists, computer scientists and pharmacists. One of our former Challenge to Excellence students received a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

June 7-12 Challenge to Excellence High School, Grades 9-12

Registration Form

A Camp Release Form is required for each camper, click below to download a copy.

Camp Release Form

June 21-26 Challenge to Excellence Jr High, Grades 7-8

Registration Form

A Camp Release Form is required for each camper, click below to download a copy.

Camp Release Form

Contact Information

Shannon Weger
Camp Director
For camp questions
shannon.weger@siu.edu

STEM Research Academy

The STEM Research Academy at Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a dynamic summer initiative coordinated by the STEM Education Research Center (SERC). It offers high school students the unique opportunity to engage in authentic research experiences alongside SIU faculty and staff. In 2024, the program featured diverse research projects across disciplines such as physics, biology, computing, media arts, agriculture, and environmental science. Students are also encouraged to propose their own research ideas, with SERC assisting in faculty-student matching. The academy fosters early exposure to higher education research, inspiring future STEM careers through immersive, hands-on learning.

Southern Illinois University is excited to announce a new 4-week Summer Researchers Camp. A wide range of projects are available and campers submit their top choices when completing camp registration. Studies include whitel light solar flares, the US Supreme Court, Mississippi River Wetlands, algae, white-tailed deer and more.

Learn more and apply here

Sensory Engineering In The Field

This July, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) is joining forces with SIU Carbondale to bring a high-tech, hands-on summer experience to Southern Illinois. Both organizations are devoted to enhancing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy of the general public as well as the development of future leaders in these fields.

Students will engage in hands-on explorations into engineering lead by staff from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) and SIU STEM Education Research Center, assisted by future math and science education teachers working toward their undergraduate university degrees. Most of the activity will take place in Pulliam Hall, but students will also have an opportunity to be outside and see other areas of the SIU Carbondale campus.

If your child is entering 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, they are invited to step into the world of Sensory Engineering. There is no cost to attend this camp.

July 20-24, Grades 6-8

Register Online

Registration Form

A Camp Release Form is required for each camper, click here to download a copy.

Phone 618-536-7751

Registration deadline is July 7, 2025

Contact Information

Patrick Young
Camp Director
For camp questions
patrick.young@siu.edu