Young Scientists Bootcamp

About the Bootcamp

A seven-week virtual bootcamp for motivated students ages 10–18 who want to move from loving science to actually doing science.

Schedule

Ages: 10–18
Dates: July 11 – August 29, 2026
Length: 7 weekly sessions

Course Focus

• Scientific questions
• Hypotheses and variables
• Study design and ethics
• Evidence and data
• Poster and presentation skills

What Students Will Learn

Most middle or high school students who say they love science have never actually done science. This track walks students through the full arc of scientific work: question, hypothesis, design, evidence, communication, and presentation.

• What is science, actually? Students learn what makes a scientific question and why real research is not as linear as textbook science.
• Asking a good question Students sharpen broad curiosity into testable hypotheses and learn basic literature search using Google Scholar, PubMed, abstracts, and peer-reviewed papers.
• Designing the study Variables, controls, confounders, sample size intuition, observational versus experimental design, and ethics in research.
• Evidence and data Students learn what counts as evidence, basic data collection, descriptive statistics, graph reading, common errors, and bias.
• Communicating science The anatomy of a science fair poster, the structure of a five-minute research talk, and how to answer questions from judges.
• Project workshop A working session where students present progress in small groups, receive instructor and peer feedback, and refine their projects.
• Presentation competition Each student delivers a seven-minute presentation followed by judging questions. Top projects receive Distinction certificates and priority access to follow-on mentoring for competitions.

Next Steps for Students

Strong projects can be developed for science fairs, middle & high school research journals, and summer opportunities.

• Regeneron ISEF For eligible students, a strong project can become a serious science fair entry.
• Genius Olympiad An accessible international high school competition with science, engineering, robotics, environmental, and creative categories.
• IJHSR Strong student projects may be developed toward submission to the International Journal of High School Research.