High School Returner Programs
Ages 16 - 18
Welcome to the Sternberg Science Camps+ earth and life science high school programs! Click on any of the program titles below to learn more.
Research Academy Kansas (returners' camp)
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Start date: 6/14/2026
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End date: 6/26/2026
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Camp location: FHSU campus/Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays, KS
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Airport: Hays Regional Airport
- Travel guidance for Kansas programs.
- Expected physical exertion level: 1/5
- Description: Research Academy Kansas invites students to step into the world of scientific discovery through hands-on paleontological research at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History. Led by UC Berkeley mammal carnivore researcher Emily Bogner, this camp centers on real scientific datasets, analytical methods, and the investigative process that drives modern paleontology. Students will work with Emily’s extensive 3D dataset of skeletal elements from 44 living carnivoran species along with scans from extinct members of the group, including the bone-crushing dog Borophagus. Campers will learn to read scientific papers, master anatomical terminology, identify functional traits, and build research questions just as professional scientists do. Using the free software 3D Slicer, participants will landmark skulls and limb bones, perform geometric morphometric analyses, and take linear measurements to explore how bone form relates to locomotion, feeding, and ecology.
As the program progresses, students will integrate extinct “mystery” fossils into their datasets, applying everything they have learned to test hypotheses about species identity, lifestyle, and evolutionary relationships. This immersive research experience mirrors real scientific workflows, from background reading and data collection to interpretation and presentation. Group discussions and collaborative problem-solving sessions will deepen students’ understanding of carnivoran evolution while giving them experience with the analytical tools used in contemporary paleontological research labs. Research Academy Kansas offers an exceptional opportunity for students excited about majoring in science to gain college-level experience with authentic datasets, professional software, and museum-based research practices.
Note: Applicants must have successfully participated in one or more Sternberg camp programs at the high school level in a prior year. ("Alumni Only")
- Camp activity highlights:
- Working with 3D datasets of modern and extinct carnivoran mammals, including Borophagus.
- Using 3D Slicer software to landmark skulls and limb bones for geometric morphometric analysis.
- Learning anatomical terminology, functional trait identification, and how to read scientific papers.
- Building and testing research questions using authentic museum datasets and analytical methods.
- Integrating extinct “mystery” fossils into datasets to investigate species identity and ecology.
- Participating in collaborative research discussions modeling real paleontology lab workflows.
- Registration fee: $4,452
- Scholarships are available! For more information, please visit our Scholarships page.
- Fee covers:
- Meals and accommodations during camp
- Transportation during camp
- Group equipment
- Materials for activities
- Fee does not cover:
- Flights to and from camp location
- Personal gear including clothing and toiletries (see the packing list linked above for more details)
- Accomodations before the camp begins and after the camp ends
- Food before the camp begins and after the camp ends
- Travel guidance: There are at most two flights a day at the Hays regional airport via the Denver International Airport. We recommend participants of our Kansas camps arrive the Saturday night before camp starts. Students who choose this option will be picked up by Camps staff and taken to the FHSU dorms for the night before starting their camp the next morning. We will provide transport from the FHSU dorms to the Sternberg Museum to meet the rest of their group. We do charge $50 a night for dorms use and pre-camp transport, which is placed as a fee on the participant's CampDoc account.
Field Paleontology North Dakota (returners' camp)
- Start date: June 21, 2026
- End date: July 3, 2026
- Camp location: Bismarck, ND
- Primary airport: Bismarck Airport (BIS)
- Travel guidance for North Dakota programs.
- Expected physical exertion level: 3/5
- Description: This field paleontology program is being offered in collaboration with the North Dakota Geologic Survey, and will be making use of established Cretaceous Hell Creek field sites. Students will work with NDGS paleontologist Dr. Clint Boyd as well as Sternberg Camps+ TAs on ongoing field projects as well as visit other regional sites for shorter exploratory trips. The Hell Creek is one of the most famous and prolific fossil-producing geologic settings in the world. In North Dakota, components of the Hell Creek have yielded large marine and terrestrial reptiles along with incredibly complete geological and paleobiological records.
While this is program is predominantly field-based in its planned activities, the group will be staying in a local AirBnB unit instead of tent-camping. In past years we have had issues in the dakotas with severe weather severely damaging tents and vehicles, so we are opting for a pragmatic approach to reduce risks. This also makes the program a bit friendlier to students wanting to get field experience, but possibly have little or no prior camping experience.
Note: Applicants must have successfully participated in one or more Sternberg camp programs at the high school level in a prior year. The age range is also 16-18, as per request of our program partners in North Dakota.
- Camp activity highlights:
- Working with the NDGS state paleontology crew including instructor Dr. Clint Boyd.
- Fieldwork in the world-famous Hell Creek Cretacous fossil sites on North Dakota.
- Indoor activities such as screen-washing and sorting microfossils using on-site lab facilities.
- Lessons and skill-building in stratigraphic geology fieldwork.
- Behind the scenes visit to NDGS museum in Bismark, ND.
- Registration fee: $6,669
- Scholarships are available! For more information, please visit our Scholarships page.
- Fee covers:
- Meals and accommodations during camp
- Transportation during camp
- Group equipment
- Materials for activities
- Fee does not cover:
- Flights to and from camp location
- Personal gear including clothing and toiletries (see the packing list linked above for more details)
- Accomodations before the camp begins and after the camp ends
- Food before the camp begins and after the camp ends
Field Paleontology Tennessee (returners' camp)
- Start date: July 12, 2026
- End date: July 24, 2026
- Camp location: Eastern Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
- Primary airport: Tri-Cities Airport, Blountville, TN
- Travel guidance for Tennessee programs.
- Expected physical exertion level: 5/5
- Description: Building on the success of our Paleontology Academy Tennessee program, this camp will get students learning the intracies of safe, successful paleontological fieldwork in caves! Implementing a college-level curriculum developed by co-instructor Dr. Blaine Schubert, students will get hands-on with mammal fossil deposits in area caves. In these deposits lay the remains of prehistoric organisms that fell, washed or blew into the cave and were buried in mud, secure from the destructive natural forces outside. The cave walls themselves are also fossiliferous, made up of ~300 million year old limestone from an ancient sea. Skeletal remains of vertebrates found in these cave deposits are ~1.8 million years old, and can include organisms such as sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths, giant aramdillos, and mastadons, along with much smaller mammals such as voles. Cave fossils are a remarkable resource, and the skills we present in this program to study them are relevant to paleontological field projects around the world!
Note: Applicants must have successfully participated in one or more Sternberg camp programs at the high school level in a prior year.
This is a dorms-based camp, with students and staff staying in the Eastern Tennessee State University dormitories and eating in the ETSU dining hall as a group.
- Camp activity highlights:
- Learning to use proper safety equipment for cave-based paleontology field work.
- Assisting ETSU faculty in fossil surveying and collection in area cave sites.
- Team management and planning procedures needed for technically hazardous field paleontology to be done safely and successfully.
- Learning to identify skeletal remains of organisms found in visited cave deposits.
- Behind the scenes visits the Gray Fossil Site Museum.
- Registration fee: $5,136
- Scholarships are available! For more information, please visit our Scholarships page.
- Fee covers:
- Meals and accommodations during camp
- Transportation during camp
- Group equipment
- Materials for activities
- Fee does not cover:
- Flights to and from camp location
- Personal gear including clothing and toiletries (see the packing list linked above for more details)
- Accomodations before the camp begins and after the camp ends
- Food before the camp begins and after the camp ends
Research Academy North Dakota (returners' camp)
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Start date: July 12, 2026
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End date: July 24, 2026
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Camp location: Bismarck, ND
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Airport: Bismarck Airport (BIS)
- Travel guidance for North Dakota programs.
- Expected physical exertion level: 2/5
- Description: Research Academy North Dakota is a program for returning high school campers ready to immerse themselves in the paleontology and geology of incredible soft-tissue fossilization taphonomy. This program is run in partnership with the North Dakota Geological Survey and NDGS paleontologist Dr. Clint Boyd, who have been pioneering techniques to work on such specimens including "Dakota", a fossil mummy Edmontosaurus. Working at established field localities, participants will investigate the extraordinary conditions that allow soft tissues and their microscopic and chemical traces to persist over tens of millions of years. Students will prospect, excavate, and document fossils using the same field strategies employed by professional paleontologists. Additional excursions to regional sites will highlight how shifting geological and paleoenvironmental settings influenced fossil preservation potential in the region during the late Mesozoic.
Working directly with NDGS scientists, participants will contribute to ongoing research efforts while gaining practical experience in the delicate specialized work on soft-tissue fossil prepartion, preliminary lab documentation, and research techniques suitable for such important fragile fossils. Research Academy North Dakota is designed for returning Sternberg high-school–level participants (ages 16–18) seeking a deeper, research-oriented comprehensive experience in one of the world’s most intriguing fossil-producing regions. Students and Camps TAs will stay together in a comfortable local AirBnB rather than any tent-camping. This approach has been chosen to reduce risks from severe North Dakota weather while keeping the focus on hands-on scientific work. Evenings will include group discussions on topics such as designing independent research projects, navigating academic pathways in the geosciences, and the challenges of interpreting soft-tissue preservation in deep time.
- Camp activity highlights:
- Fieldwork at established North Dakota fossil sites, prospecting and excavating soft-tissue specimens.
- Hands-on experience with delicate fossil preparation and preliminary lab documentation.
- Collaboration with NDGS paleontologists, including Dr. Clint Boyd, on ongoing research projects.
- Excursions to regional geological sites to explore fossil preservation and paleoenvironmental changes.
- Evening discussions on research design, geoscience careers, and interpreting soft-tissue preservation.
- Comfortable group lodging in a local AirBnB to support focused, immersive scientific work.
- Registration fee: $6,463
- Scholarships are available! For more information, please visit our Scholarships page.
- Fee covers:
- Meals and accommodations during camp
- Transportation during camp
- Group equipment
- Materials for activities
- Fee does not cover:
- Flights to and from camp location
- Personal gear including clothing and toiletries (see the packing list linked above for more details)
- Accomodations before the camp begins and after the camp ends
- Food before the camp begins and after the camp ends
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