About
Headwaters Summer Science Camps offers hands-on outdoor science camps where kids take part in hiking, water exploration, and guided nature investigation. Campers explore plants, wildlife, insects, and water through field-based investigation, including activities in water science, plant life, local wildlife, and exploring local biodiversity and water science. Some programs focus on investigating the mountain ecosystem, including plants, animals, weather, and geology, and certain camps guide students to design and carry out real environmental research projects and develop their findings.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Truckee Summer Science Day Camp is a week-long outdoor science day camp; Girls Summer Science Research Camp is a 4-day, 3-night overnight science camp; Introduction to Research Overnight Science Camp is a 3-day, 2-night overnight field camp
Since 2014, Headwaters has strived to help kids understand how to do research and to access the confidence to complete research independently and to ask questions about the natural world. The organization’s mission is to foster curiosity through science, with the hope that students become intrigued by scientific discoveries and begin to question the greater world around them. Headwaters uses a process called Student Driven Research, guiding students to design and perform experiments that answer their own questions through the scientific method, and programs are designed to meet NGSS standards. The range of programs includes day camps and overnight field camps, including a Girls Summer Science Research Camp where campers work alongside professional female scientists on real environmental research projects and an Introduction to Research Overnight Science Camp that introduces students to the scientific research process in an outdoor setting. Overnight programs are immersive 3–5 day experiences on Donner Summit in Northern California where students design their own research projects and collect data in the field, and Headwaters offers financial assistance for programs.
Headwaters Science Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The leadership team includes founder Megan Seifert; co-founders and helpers Spencer Eusden and Mary Ellen Benier; Bay Area Youth Program Coordinator Matt Ellis-Ramírez; Program Coordinator Baylee Goodwin; Senior Marketing, Communications, and Development Manager Jenn Cotton; Bay Area School Program Manager Mary Kathryne Schumaker; Communications Director and Research Program Manager Megan Joyce; Program and Fundraising Assistant, Bay Area, Monique Allen; Program Coordinator of the Bay Area Chase Oishi; Youth Programs and Research Experience Manager Brea Gillespie; and Program, Marketing, and Fundraising Assistant Eva Bradman. Staff credentials include interdisciplinary ecologist Matt Ellis-Ramírez, who studied coral viruses as an NSF Microbiomes Fellow at UC Berkeley, led field and professional development programs with Florida International University’s Coastal Everglades REU, co-created and taught a high school course on sea level rise, and is an Aspen Institute Future Climate Leader and former youth climate advisor to the Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Program Coordinator Baylee Goodwin earned a degree in Zoology from Oregon State University and has six years of experience in environmental education and conservation across eight states. Senior staff member Jenn Cotton holds a B.S. in Event Management from the University of Central Florida and has over 15 years of experience in education and science, including marine science instruction and work as a Risk Manager at NASA. Bay Area School Program Manager Mary Kathryne Schumaker has a Bachelor of Science in Coastal Environmental Science from Louisiana State University and A&M College with a minor in Mandarin Chinese and Disaster Science & Management. Communications Director and Research Program Manager Megan Joyce graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences and from Syracuse University with an MPA in Environmental Policy. Program and Fundraising Assistant Monique Allen graduated from Vassar College with a double major in Biology and Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and a minor in Education, and Program, Marketing, and Fundraising Assistant Eva Bradman has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from UC Santa Barbara with minors in Science Communication and Spatial Science.
Headwaters Science Institute has served over 225 students in Richmond, San Pablo, and El Cerrito in January and has completed an Introduction to Research Field Science Program at McKeesport Area High School. The WCCUSD Summer Science Camp is for WCCUSD students only (TK–6th grade), and staff member Brea Gillespie volunteers with local organizations such as the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Pollinator Posse, and the California Native Plant Society. One camper from the Girls Summer Science Camp, Ashley Alarcon, stated that she loved learning and improving science skills while having fun and interacting with females from across California who love science, and she shared that the camp opened her eyes to science fields and helped her realize that science can play a big role in selecting her career. Another overnight camp participant thanked the program for contributing to a camp that supported their interests while learning the importance of the natural sciences and said they had a lot of fun. Ashley Alarcon, a Girls Summer Science Camp Scholarship Recipient in 2019, also said that the camp sparked an interest in science she had never felt before and that she learned how science is everywhere and about the importance and impact of increasing the number of women in science fields.
Last updated May 13, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Truckee Summer Science Day Camp is a week-long outdoor science day camp; Girls Summer Science Research Camp is a 4-day, 3-night overnight science camp; Introduction to Research Overnight Science Camp is a 3-day, 2-night overnight field camp
Since 2014, Headwaters has strived to help kids understand how to do research and to access the confidence to complete research independently and to ask questions about the natural world. The organization’s mission is to foster curiosity through science, with the hope that students become intrigued by scientific discoveries and begin to question the greater world around them. Headwaters uses a process called Student Driven Research, guiding students to design and perform experiments that answer their own questions through the scientific method, and programs are designed to meet NGSS standards. The range of programs includes day camps and overnight field camps, including a Girls Summer Science Research Camp where campers work alongside professional female scientists on real environmental research projects and an Introduction to Research Overnight Science Camp that introduces students to the scientific research process in an outdoor setting. Overnight programs are immersive 3–5 day experiences on Donner Summit in Northern California where students design their own research projects and collect data in the field, and Headwaters offers financial assistance for programs.
Headwaters Science Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The leadership team includes founder Megan Seifert; co-founders and helpers Spencer Eusden and Mary Ellen Benier; Bay Area Youth Program Coordinator Matt Ellis-Ramírez; Program Coordinator Baylee Goodwin; Senior Marketing, Communications, and Development Manager Jenn Cotton; Bay Area School Program Manager Mary Kathryne Schumaker; Communications Director and Research Program Manager Megan Joyce; Program and Fundraising Assistant, Bay Area, Monique Allen; Program Coordinator of the Bay Area Chase Oishi; Youth Programs and Research Experience Manager Brea Gillespie; and Program, Marketing, and Fundraising Assistant Eva Bradman. Staff credentials include interdisciplinary ecologist Matt Ellis-Ramírez, who studied coral viruses as an NSF Microbiomes Fellow at UC Berkeley, led field and professional development programs with Florida International University’s Coastal Everglades REU, co-created and taught a high school course on sea level rise, and is an Aspen Institute Future Climate Leader and former youth climate advisor to the Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Program Coordinator Baylee Goodwin earned a degree in Zoology from Oregon State University and has six years of experience in environmental education and conservation across eight states. Senior staff member Jenn Cotton holds a B.S. in Event Management from the University of Central Florida and has over 15 years of experience in education and science, including marine science instruction and work as a Risk Manager at NASA. Bay Area School Program Manager Mary Kathryne Schumaker has a Bachelor of Science in Coastal Environmental Science from Louisiana State University and A&M College with a minor in Mandarin Chinese and Disaster Science & Management. Communications Director and Research Program Manager Megan Joyce graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences and from Syracuse University with an MPA in Environmental Policy. Program and Fundraising Assistant Monique Allen graduated from Vassar College with a double major in Biology and Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and a minor in Education, and Program, Marketing, and Fundraising Assistant Eva Bradman has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from UC Santa Barbara with minors in Science Communication and Spatial Science.
Headwaters Science Institute has served over 225 students in Richmond, San Pablo, and El Cerrito in January and has completed an Introduction to Research Field Science Program at McKeesport Area High School. The WCCUSD Summer Science Camp is for WCCUSD students only (TK–6th grade), and staff member Brea Gillespie volunteers with local organizations such as the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Pollinator Posse, and the California Native Plant Society. One camper from the Girls Summer Science Camp, Ashley Alarcon, stated that she loved learning and improving science skills while having fun and interacting with females from across California who love science, and she shared that the camp opened her eyes to science fields and helped her realize that science can play a big role in selecting her career. Another overnight camp participant thanked the program for contributing to a camp that supported their interests while learning the importance of the natural sciences and said they had a lot of fun. Ashley Alarcon, a Girls Summer Science Camp Scholarship Recipient in 2019, also said that the camp sparked an interest in science she had never felt before and that she learned how science is everywhere and about the importance and impact of increasing the number of women in science fields.
Last updated May 13, 2026.
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