Summer@IMSA – Aurora Campus

Summer@IMSA – Aurora Campus offers a project-based curriculum that includes exploring computer science applications, mission planning, analyzing real Mars mission data, designing and engineering spacecraft, and building scale models. Participants take part in hands-on challenges, experiments, investigations, creative engineering challenges, building, robotics, coding, logic, and digital creation, along with hands-on scientific experiments and discoveries in nature. Activities also include creative expression, working with patterns, games, puzzles, a math escape room, designing a prototype, pitching to potential investors, forming a team, and researching market and earning potential.

• Ages: 6–15 years old
• Schedule: One-week residential CS+X camp running Sunday, June 21–Friday, June 26, plus week-long Summer@IMSA day camps with morning sessions from 8:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and afternoon sessions from 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m., with families choosing either AM or PM for each camp week
• Price: CS+X residential camp at $1200 for Illinois residents, $1800 for non-Illinois residents, and $500 for commuter students; Summer@IMSA day camps at $200 early-bird until 3/31/2026 and $240 from 4/1/2026–5/15/2026; RoboThink STEAM Explorers Camp (PM only) at $250

The STEM-based curricula for Summer@IMSA – Aurora Campus are developed by IMSA Curriculum Specialists and aligned with NGSS science and engineering standards and practices. Programs are taught by SITE Interns, supported by IMSA STEMbassador students as group leaders, and mentored by IMSA Curriculum Writers, Professional Development Specialists, and Faculty. The CS+X summer camp is an immersive one-week residential experience with a dynamic, project-based curriculum developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that shows how computer science tools can be applied across various fields. The Lifecycle of a Startup camp is a business incubator boot camp that simulates the first three months of a start-up in one week, is presented by its original developer Carl Heine along with IMSA TALENT (Total Applied Learning for Entrepreneurs), and may serve as a springboard for participants to enter contests like IMSA’s Power Pitch competition.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy states its mission as “To ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds that advance the human condition.” IMSA is described as a public residential Academy and a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, and as a catalyst for the advancement of STEM teaching and learning statewide with responsibility for Educator Development and Youth Outreach Programs, including student enrichment such as summer camps and entrepreneurship and makerspace education. IMSA has a copyright notice of ©1993–2026. IMSA is ranked the #1 college preparatory public high school in Illinois and #1 STEM high school in Illinois by Niche.com and has been named among the top 40 public and private college preparatory institutions in the world by The Wall Street Journal, and has been profiled by NBC-TV’s Dateline, CNN’s Science and Technology News, USA Today, the New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Motorola is providing scholarships for students specifically interested in the impact of women in computer science, especially those from backgrounds that have historically been underrepresented in STEM. The leadership team connected to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy includes President Dr. Evan M. Glazer, Director of Admissions April Wells, Admissions Specialist Clarissa Jimenez, Admissions Counselors Simone Moore and Hye Min Yoon, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Linsner.

Last updated May 26, 2026.