Course Information & Sessions

Students attending the Dance Science course of the Youth Adventure Program will get an introduction to what Texas A&M undergraduate Dance Science students learn in their collegiate courses. Under the direction of TAMU dance faculty, students will learn technique, performance quality, and anatomical awareness while being introduced to different styles of dance such as ballet, modern, and jazz. The integration of science and art allows dancers to be creative while making safe and healthy choices to prolong their dance careers. At the conclusion of the course, students will participate in an informal showing of the skills they’ve learned that parents are encouraged to attend.

In this class, students’ passions for Engineering will be “sparked” as they are challenged to think outside the box with an introduction to the Engineering Design Process. Through an intensive, hands-on, skill-based learning approach, students will be tasked with defining a problem, designing a solution, making a model, testing that model, and reflecting/redesigning their creations. As a part of their design process, students will be introduced to multiple different engineering skills including designing and creating a prototype, introductory CAD design, 3D printing, laser cutting, soldering, robotics, and more! This course will certainly “lay the foundation” to see if a career in Engineering is right for you!

Using the high-tech facilities at Texas A&M’s Health Science Center, students will be immersed in a simulated medical environment through specially designed laboratories and demonstrations. Learn basic surgical skills including suturing and stitching. Practice starting an IV and taking blood on synthetic limbs. Learn anatomy to properly read and analyze x-rays. Take vitals and work on your bedside manner as you diagnose and treat a robot patient who will voice their symptoms and complaints. All instruction is geared to give a real-life and hands-on glimpse into the field of medicine. This is your opportunity to determine if a career in medicine is right for you!

The VizKids: Game Design course will give campers the opportunities to design and create their own video game with a small team of partners. Campers will be responsible for developing the game theme, art, game mechanics and interaction design using an easy-to-learn platform. A willingness to embrace technology is essential. Experience as an artist and/or programming skill is helpful, but not required. The most important criterion is that the camper be intrigued by the pursuit of making fun and creative interactive experiences.

Want to learn what the “big idea” is with Entrepreneurship? Have you thought of innovative products or services that you’re eager to develop into multi-million dollar companies? Learn all about business by creating a business of your own in just the course of five days. Whether you already have a “spark” of an idea or not, participants in this course will get an in-depth look at global entrepreneurship and product innovation. Led by Texas A&M faculty and professionals (with backgrounds in Startup Aggieland, the DesignSpark Innovation Center, and the Aggie Angel Network), students will be taught the principles of customer-focused design, marketing, creativity, website development, and more! Students will have unbelievable access to coaches from the “Shark Tank” television show and cutting edge NASA patents. Their experience will culminate in a “Shark Tank” style pitch to a panel of experienced investors!

From hamming it up on stage to studying the cultural phenomenon of “Hamilton,” scholars and artists in the academic discipline of Performance Studies look at performance across all aspects of everyday life. This course will help students cultivate their talents and interests in the fine A.R.T.S. (artistic representation and thinking skills). Students with interests in music, theatre, and world cultures will thrive in this course through participation in sessions focusing on music, acting, directing, performance technology, cultural history, choreography, and craftsmanship. Exciting, hands-on sessions include steel pan band, costume design staging, lighting, music, and movement. Students will work in a creative and collaborative environment to devise and develop a unique performance which will be presented at the end of the course.

*Must be a rising 9th-11th grader to attend this course

This program will introduce participants to what it takes to get into vet school, what it’s like once you are in, and what career options you have once you get out. Get a closer look at radiology, see if you can handle herpetology, and get a gut feeling about parasitology fields. Ruminate whether you can stomach a stomach as you get hands-on (and even hands-in) experience with large animals. Sew up your interest in the field by completing a small animal surgery using plush pets as patients. If you love learning about creatures that slither, crawl, bounce, and pounce, this class is for you!

The VizKids: Graphics & Animation course will provide students with experience with storytelling through animation giving students a “bit” of a look at what working at Pixar is all about. Using a variety of media, including hand-drawn and computer software, students will work individually and as part of small teams to develop animated shorts. They’ll learn how to create expressive character movement, stage cameras, convey emotion through timing and posing. Campers are not required to have past experience with technology or design, but will be expected to embrace both traditional and computer enabled processes.

Is it your desire to attend Texas A&M? Want to spend Saturday sawing ’em off at Kyle Field? Want to stroll through campus saying “Howdy” to your fellow Aggies? Dreamed about participating in traditions from Midnight Yell to Muster? If so, this class will help you meet your goal of getting into one of the preeminent universities in Texas and the most prestigious school in the SEC. Especially designed for rising 11th and 12th graders beginning the college application process, this course is structured to educate and equip students with the knowledge, skills, and resources to enhance their college readiness level and plan and prepare for entrance into higher education. This high-impact college readiness course includes: customized writing workshops; assistance with a writing coach in the development of resumes and generation of responses to the “Apply Texas” college application essays; personalized meetings with undergraduate academic advisors from several colleges on the TAMU campus; scholarship information; and in-depth camp activities and events that help students experience the “overall” Spirit of Aggieland.

*Rising 11th – 12th graders only

Designed to get a true “reaction” from participants as they explore the fun-damental elements of Physics and Chemistry, this class is programmed full of exciting laboratories and interactive demonstrations led by two of the most notable teaching professors at TAMU. Viral TikTok sensation Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova (@tamuphysastr) will magnetically attract students to the Physics domain through hands-on exploration of both cutting-edge and fundamental concepts related to motion, matter, and cryogenics. Dr. Jim Pennington (TAMU Chemistry Road show) will engage participants in explosive activities related to chromatography, color, and alchemy.  In addition, this class will feature components from the modern world of Biotechnology as students learn how to read and manipulate genetic code in an A&M laboratory funded by the National Science Foundation. This class will highlight all of the scientific aspects that “matter” and serve as a “catalyst” for anyone interested in a career in scientific research through direct “interface” with the concepts that form the “base” of these two fields.

True to the nature of the forensics fields, students will learn to use anthropological, biological, chemical, and mechanical procedures to analyze a crime scene and determine the nature and cause of a crime. Trace evidence collection techniques (dusting for prints, shoe tread and type, document analysis, etc.) will be combined with advanced criminal techniques (blood spatter analysis, black light technology, forensic entomology) to help students work on a realistic crime scene in which students must piece together all the evidence towards the goal of cracking the case!

Have a “sustained” interest in attending law school? In this class, you will take a case from the beginning all the way through trial in front of a real judge in a courtroom. Students will learn rules of evidence and criminal trial procedures as well as the substantive law applicable to your case. You’ll learn about the rules of professional responsibility required of ethical lawyers. Finally, be “briefed” on how to construct opening and closing arguments, interview and cross-examine witnesses, and tell a persuasive story to the jury. The verdict is in … through participating in this class it will be “plaintiff” see if you have what it takes to be a trial lawyer!

This class will give students a Dwight “Look” into the most popular major in the College of Engineering here at Texas A&M University.  Explore the design process and see your creations come to life through 3D prototyping and printing.  Learn the principles of reverse engineering as you build up your visualization skills and work out the “bugs” in design projects.  Get your mind in gear with high-tech automated LEGO labs designed to allow students to build and test their own autonomous vehicles.  Tour the design lab of the national championship TAMU Formula SAE team and learn about race car design. This class allows students to take a test lap to see if they are on the right track for an Engineering career!

Ready to level up your game and learn from the best? Participants in the eSports session will work hand in hand with Texas A&M University faculty and student eSports athletes to fine tune their gaming abilities with the most popular games like Valorant, League of Legends, Smash Bros, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and many more, based on student interest. Campers will be mentored by TAMU’s eSports athletes and will get to meet and hear from eSports professionals, and there will be opportunity for competitions. During the course campers will also hear and learn about different jobs available in the field including content creation and shout casting, and students will learn the best ways to prepare for them.

Students who take part in this once in a lifetime destination camp will immerse themselves into the cultural, environmental, and ecological features of the Dominican Republic. As part of this interactive experience students will become “citizen scientists,” using real-world skills to systematically explore the world through inquiry and investigation.

Flora and fauna will be explored in their natural habitat through purposefully chosen field trips and environmental encounters, both on land and sea. Through a partnership with the Fundacion Grupo Puntacana, students will see with “indigenous eyes” the sustainability efforts designed to protect endemic species (sea turtles), restore habitats (coral reefs), and promote conservation of natural resources. In the Los Haitises National Park region, participants will gain specialized knowledge from local experts as they engage in field work within dynamic ecosystems, including rainforests and mangrove swamps. And along the coast of Punta Cana and in the capital city of Santo Domingo, students will learn about the atmospheric and ocean sciences through their engagement in field work that will have them explore a depth of information that ranges from the cloud canopy to the ocean floor. Throughout their entire journey, students will be engaged in activities and events that will reveal, through discovery, the symbiotic relationship between life and earth sciences as they explore the fascinating features, creatures, and cultural heritage of the Dominican Republic.

EARTH SCIENCES highlights include:

• Oceanography – students will explore the “bikini bottom” of Bayahibe Bay through an active ocean cruise that will have them conduct field investigations while out at sea and explore “current” events through a “deep dive” into the waters of the Caribbean.
• Meteorology – students will learn the “fun”damentals of weather through visiting the Dominican Republic’s National Meteorology Office and engage in field research that will have them explore and observe the unique characteristics of the tropics and its climate.

LIFE SCIENCES highlights include:

• Zoology – students will learn about the habits and encounter the habitats of the animal life of this area through bird watching and a visit to the Monkeyland ecopark.
• Entomology – students will take a “sweet” visit to an active apiary and engage in an insect scavenger hunt to see if they can find rare (or unidentified!) species of insects.
• Anthropology – students will spelunk through white sand caves and encounter petroglyph carvings and pictograph etchings left by indigenous people.

The trip will conclude at the Nickelodeon resort in Punta Cana, where aside from using the “pineapple under the sea” as a basis of exploration of the coastline of the Dominican Republic, students will soak up the sun like a sponge, get covered in slime by the pool, and interact with some “animated characters” at special meals.