Are you a student looking for a camp that provides more than the typical summertime experience? Something that will excite you about meteorology and STEM careers? Then weather camp might be the perfect place for you.
There are now more than a dozen summer weather camps for middle or high school students across the country (some are for commuters; others are residential). Along with hands-on experiences, campers can get a glimpse of the various careers associated with meteorology.
“These camps provide an amazing opportunity for students,” says Mike Mogil of How the Weatherworks, an organization that spearheads the camps. “The program works to broaden exposure to meteorology, the physics behind it, and more. Observation skill building is a key component of many of the camps.Campers are engaged in hands-on activities, field experiments, seminars, tours of research facilities, and other opportunities that expand their knowledge in these areas.”
Programs are run by various groups, including local museums, colleges and universities, and even some student AMS chapters. The camps are designed to encourage all students (with an emphasis on reaching bright, underrepresented populations) to consider science and engineering education in college and to increase the pipeline of talented and focused students pursuing careers in these areas. Partial funding for camps is provided by NOAA and many local businesses.
“The camps are an incredible way to help kids enjoy learning,” comments Mogil, an AMS CCM and CBM who often presents at the AMS Annual Student Conference.. “In the atmosphere of the camps, even the teachers become kids.”
Deadlines for camp registration are quickly approaching. If you are aware of other weather camps not listed here, please share them in the comments section of The Front Page.
If you have any questions about the overall camp program, please contact Mike directly.
National camp page
Lyndon State College – Lyndonville, VT
Blue Hill Observatory – Milton, MA (Weather Programs)
City University of New York – New York, NY
2014 National High School Weather Camps
– Jackson State University – Jackson, MS
– University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, PR
– Howard University, Washington, DC
University of Oklahoma – Norman, OK
North Carolina A&T, Greensboro, NC (Science & Engineering Camps)
Arizona State University and Arizona Science Center
Museum of Science – Miami, FL
Southwest Florida
Western Kentucky University – Bowling Green, KY
St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
University of Nebraska – Lincoln, NE
Weather Museum – Houston, TX
Penn State University – State College, PA