Every year, our students and their parents see the profound personal and intellectual growth that comes from time at camp, surrounded by a diversity of like-minded peers, and learning from passionate educators. Some of our proudest success stories are students who, with the help of our scholarship program, have attended camps for multiple years and are now off to college with advanced skills, knowledge, and inspiration to pursue their interests in science. We know that the curiosity and sense of wonder derived from time engaged with challenging content in a small supportive groups is immensely valuable. Our feedback from students and parents overwhelmingly supports this outlook.
Since 2014, the Sternberg Science Camps program has provided over $50,000 in financial aid to students from low-income families. Our financial aid fund is made possible by generous donors who share our belief that opportunities to explore science and nature should be available to as many students as possible. We use a combination of need and merit metrics to determine how much aid is provided to each student. Need is determined by the student’s qualification for reduced price or free lunches at school. We determine merit by evaluating letters of interest written by the student applicants (all camps), and respective letters of recommendation by science or math teachers (middle and high school only).
Every dollar raised for financial aid is used to help students fascinated with earth and life science access life changing opportunities to learn new skills, build knowledge, and make friends with similar interests. We pride these camps on feeding participant’s academic interests in challenging, supportive environments. Along with science content, we emphasize outdoor skills, problem solving, and respect for the planet. It is our belief that our next generation of earth and life scientists should have ample opportunity to explore our world, get their hands dirty, and find their own questions out in nature.