SPARK Summer Program

SPARK Summer Program

STEM is for everyone.

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Applications open now until May 1, 2026!

About SPARK

SPARK is a summer camp designed to support the success of middle school girls interested in STEM.

We offer a unique, project-based and hands-on experience designed and delivered by current UConn undergraduate women studying engineering and science. With guidance from UConn faculty and staff, as well as input from our corporate and non-profit partners, our program provides real-world insights into engineering and innovation.

We are proud to partner with Next Minds! Sparklers will engage in daily innovation sessions where they can be creative and go through the invention design process! 

Winners within our SPARK program are invited to compete at the Connecticut Invention Convention! 

There’s Layers to This!

Excellence Through Intentionality on Multiple Levels

At SPARK, nothing is accidental and every experience is designed with purpose. 

Our STEM Layer empowers Sparklers to learn real science and engineering while building the skills, habits of mind, and hands‑on confidence they need to thrive in labs, makerspaces, and beyond. Alongside it, our Life Lesson Layer honors that Sparklers are humans with great potential and impact; they will discover their individual strengths, practice leadership and teamwork, build community, and leave feeling empowered. 

Each week’s activities intentionally weave these layers together so SPARKlers are not just completing challenges; they are growing as creators, problem solvers, and people.

Who’s Eligible?

Must be a current 5th – 7th grade student during the school year (rising 6-8th graders).  Home schooled students are welcome!

Applicants who are not in the grade range but are interested in the program are encouraged to apply to be placed on the waiting list.

Rising 9th graders are eligible for our Explore Engineering program.

As housing is provided, out of state students are welcome. Airport transportation can be arranged.

Neurodivergent students are welcome, and we are ready to support you.

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Program Schedule

Take a look at each week and learn about the STEM and Life Lesson Layers. Each week is catered for a variety of majors you might be interested in. Don’t forget to check out the Program Overview!

Sunday, June 28th – Friday, July 3rd

STEM Layer: Bioscaffolds and Healing

Life Lesson Layer: Resilience and Grit

During this hands‑on week, campers become mini–bioengineers as they explore how cells grow, change, and respond to the world around them. From streaking real agar plates to building 3D‑printed cell structures to experimenting with hydrogels, SPARKlers discover how living things handle pressure and challenging environments, and how they can, too. This week blends real science with powerful life lessons about resilience, adaptation, and growing stronger through challenges.

Ideal for students interested in:

  • Pre-Med or Health Care Careers
  • Biological Sciences (like Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics)
  • Biomedical Engineering (like Tissue Engineering, CRISPR, Biotechnology)
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering

Week 1 Highlights: Grow Through What You Go Through

Built to Thrive: A Virtual Journey Inside the Human Body

SPARKlers explore the human body in an interactive virtual anatomy lab, uncovering how organs and systems work together to support growth, healing, and resilience from the inside out.

Tiny Worlds, Big Lessons: Seeing Growth Up Close

Using microscopes, students observe real cells they helped grow, discovering how tiny changes in environment can make a big difference in how living systems thrive.

Inside Dr. Burke’s Lab: Where Healing Begins

During this lab visit, SPARKlers see how biomedical engineers study cells and materials to improve health outcomes, connecting classroom science to real‑world research.

Journey Through You: A VR Tour of the Human Body

Through immersive virtual reality, students travel through the human body to better understand how structure, function, and movement are connected.

When Systems Break: What Cells Teach Us About Recovery

By examining what happens when cells are disrupted, SPARKlers learn that failure is not random but informative, and that recovery depends on restoring balance and support.

Built to Grow: Feeding Life from the Outside In

Students investigate what cells need to survive by growing cultures in different environments, learning how nutrients and conditions shape growth.

Scaffolds for Strength: Designing Support for Life

Using 3D printing and design thinking, SPARKlers create scaffolds that mimic how structures support cells, drawing parallels between biological and personal support systems.

Pressure Makes Power: Walking Through Resistance

Through hands‑on experiments with non‑Newtonian fluids, students explore how pressure and stress can change behavior, both in materials and in ourselves.

How Healing Moves: The Science of Diffusion

SPARKlers model how medicine travels through the body using colorful hydrogels, learning how diffusion plays a critical role in healing and health.

DNA: Discovering the Code Within

By extracting DNA, students explore the building blocks of life and reflect on how information, identity, and potential are encoded within us all.

Sunday, July 5th – Friday, July 10th

STEM Layer: Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Life Lesson Layer: Flexibility and Creativity, and Understanding Uniqueness

During this dynamic week, SPARKlers become young engineers as they explore how different materials, structures, and designs respond to stress, load, and real‑world challenges. Through hands‑on builds, break tests, and redesign challenges, campers learn why no single material is perfect in every situation, and why thoughtful engineering matters. This week invites SPARKlers to see that their own differences are strengths, helping them understand how both systems and people are built with purpose.

Ideal for students interested in:

  • Product Design, Architecture, or Industrial Design
  • Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Civil or Structural Engineering

Week 2 Highlights: Built Different by Design

Design That Cares: Engineering for Everyone

SPARKlers explore accessibility and human‑centered design, learning how engineers create solutions that work for people with different needs and abilities.

Where Ideas Take Shape: Werth Makerspace Tour

Students visit a campus makerspace to see how ideas move from concept to creation using tools like laser cutters, 3D printers, and design software.

From Concept to Creation: How Engineers Build at the iShop

This tour introduces SPARKlers to professional engineering workflows, showing how engineers prototype, test, and refine real‑world designs.

Dream It. Design It. Do It.

In this inspiring session, students learn how creativity, confidence, and iteration come together to turn ideas into impactful designs.

Carry the Load: Engineering Comfort and Care

SPARKlers redesign backpacks to improve comfort and safety, discovering how thoughtful engineering can make everyday life easier and healthier.

Standing Strong on Shaky Ground

Teams design and test structures that must withstand unstable conditions, learning how materials, geometry, and flexibility affect stability.

Re‑Think It: Redesigning What Already Exists

Students analyze everyday objects and redesign them to work better, practicing the engineering mindset of improvement through iteration.

Ideas Activated: The 3D Print Lab

From digital models to physical objects, SPARKlers design and 3D print their own creations, experiencing the full engineering design process.

Solve It Your Way: Engineering Everyday Life

Students pitch creative engineering solutions to common problems, learning that there are many valid ways to solve a challenge.

July 13 – July 18

STEM Layer: Sustainable and Secure Engineering
Life Lesson Layer: Boundaries, Protecting your Energy, and Advocacy

In this immersive week, SPARKlers explore how systems stay safe through filters, films, barriers, and pharmaceutical delivery designs. Campers experiment with water and air filtration, protective coatings, and controlled‑release materials to see how engineered systems manage threats, separate what is helpful from what is harmful, and keep essential elements protected. At the same time, SPARKlers learn that people also need healthy boundaries and protection mechanisms so they can use their energy wisely and thrive.

Ideal for students interested in:

  • Sustainability, Water Purification, or Air Quality Science
  • Environmental Engineering or Environmental Science
  • Chemical Engineering or Chemistry
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences, Drug Delivery, or Public Health
  • Coding and Cybersecurity

Week 3 Highlights: Protect Your World

Second Chances for Water: Reclaimed Water Tour

SPARKlers explore how engineers clean and reuse water, learning how technology gives vital resources a second life.

Environmental Justice with TIP

Students examine who has access to clean air and water, connecting engineering solutions to equity and community impact.

Seeing the Invisible: Micro‑Threats and Micro‑Defenses

Through microscopy, SPARKlers investigate tiny organisms and particles, learning how unseen threats are detected and controlled.

Materials That Shield and Sense

In this lab tour, students explore advanced materials that can protect, detect changes, and respond to their environment.

Truth or Tech? Reading Signals and Stress

SPARKlers learn how sensors and signals are used to measure physical responses, exploring the science behind data, perception, and trust.

From Gross to Great: The Water Glow‑Up (Parts 1 & 2)

Students design and build water filtration systems, learning how layers, materials, and design choices improve water quality.

Splash Proof Science

By making surfaces water‑repellent, SPARKlers explore how engineers design invisible barriers that protect everyday technology.

Hack‑Proof Digital Aura: Cybersecurity

Students learn how to protect their personal information online, gaining skills to recognize risks and build strong digital boundaries.

Skin: Your First Line of Defense

Through hands‑on experiments, SPARKlers investigate how skin and sanitizers protect the body from harmful microorganisms.

Hidden Messages, Hidden Power

Using invisible ink and creative chemistry, students explore how information can be hidden, revealed, and protected.

Financial and Transportation Information

Early Bird Applicants (Apply by March 1, 2026): $1000 per week

Standard Applicants (Apply by May 1, 2026): $1500 per week

We welcome applicants to apply for as many weeks as desired! 

Please note, if participating in multiple sessions, campers must go home Friday evening and return Sunday in between sessions. We do not offer weekend programming.

You may leave your belongings in the dorm room over the weekend if desired. 

Payment Plans: Monthly payments available with final payments due by the summer program move in date. 

25% Waiver: $375 off, $1125 due

50% Waiver: $750 off, $750 due

75% Waiver: $1125 off, $375 due

100% Waiver: $1500 off, $100 refundable deposit due

Combination plans (waiver & payment plan) are also available.

This is built into our program application (no separate application needed)!

Financial Assistance is awarded on a demonstrated need basis. 

The application will ask you to upload documentation (i.e.. unemployment, tax return, demonstration of free/reduced lunch, etc.)

For an additional ~$50 round trip, we can provide safe and reliable transportation to/from camp.

Pick Up Locations:

  • Bradley Airport
  • Hartford (UConn Hartford AND Union Station Pick Up Sites)
  • New Haven (University of New Haven Pick Up Site) 
  • Stamford (UConn Stamford AND Stamford Train Station Pick Up Sites) 

Early Bird Acceptance Notification: March 15, 2026

Standard Acceptance Notification: May 15, 2026

Payment Window Without Financial Assistance: May 15 – June 30, 2026

6 month payment plan: June – December 2026

9 month payment plan accelerated: June 2026 – March 2027

9 month payment plan early: September 2026 – June 2027

Interested?

Apply Now

UPDATE 2/9/2026

Thanks for your interest in Spark! Applications for Spark 2026 are now open. For questions, email engr-spark@uconn.edu.

Also, please note that the website is currently being updated. If you have any comments or questions regarding previous website content, please contact us.