S3 Camps for Kids: Explore. Build. Create.

Our week-long STEM day camps for students in grades 3-8, scheduled during breaks in year-round school calendars, spark students’ interest in all aspects of the coast they call home. Activities change every session but include outdoor exploration, robotics, coding challenges, art projects, and more!

Register for camps here.

2026 DATES CURRENTLY ENROLLING: Session 1: March 30 - April 2; Session 2: June 29 - July 2; Session 3: July 20 - 24; Session 4: September 28 - October 2; More sessions coming soon!

Note: Sessions 1 and 2 are each four days (M-Th) due to university staff holidays.

LOCATION: MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center, 1815 Popps Ferry Rd, Biloxi, MS 39532

COST: $50/session ($40/4-day weeks). This activity fee covers materials, field day transportation, and daily breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Before- and after-care offered for an additional fee. Discounts and scholarships available. See camp details page for more info. Pay with a credit card here.

S3 camps foster a positive, inclusive environment. Bullying and unsafe behavior are not permitted.

The Center for STEM Education will be studying the effectiveness of the S3 curriculum, alone and in comparison with other STEM curricula in use in the region, on students’ understanding of STEM concepts as well as students’ attitudes towards learning about science,working with others, caring about the environment, and feeling confident about their ability to make a difference. Learn more about our data collection plan here.

Volunteer for S3 camps!

S3 Camp Details

Attend one or all—no two camp sessions are the same!

Register for camp here
Pay for camp here

S3 CAMP DATES

Camps will run the following in 2026, 2027, and 2028:

  • 1 spring session

  • 2 summer sessions

  • 1 fall session

  • 1 winter session

  • Possible bonus dates each year as scheduling/funding allows.

2026 Session 1: March 30 - April 2; Session 2: June 29 - July 2; Session 3: July 20 - 24; Session 4: September 28 - October 2

SESSIONS 1 AND 2 ARE MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

2027 Session 1: January 4 - 8; Session 2: March 29 - April 2

S3 CAMP HOURS + BEFORE- AND AFTER-CARE

Camp runs daily from 8 am to 4:30 pm.

Caregivers can bring campers up to an hour early and retrieve them up to an hour late for a charge of $15 each/$30 both per day. Parents will be able to purchase credits ahead of time to pay for before- and after-care. Unused credits will be held for future camps unless otherwise requested.

Campers brought early or picked up late without prepaying will need to pay the charges that day with cash or a check. Those who do not will incur an additional $10 penalty that must be paid before returning to camp.

Access our online payment portal here.

S3 PAYMENT, DISCOUNTS & SCHOLARSHIPS

Full/partial scholarships available for students with free/reduced lunch status or who otherwise demonstrate need.

$10 discount on 4-day weeks.

$10 off for each additional session purchased for one child: (1 camp $50, 2 $90, 3 $130, etc.)

10% sibling discount for multiple campers enrolled by one family.

Access our online payment portal here. We currently accept Master Card and Visa credit and debit cards and are in the process of adding American Express and Discover.

S3 CAMP CURRICULUM

The Center for STEM Education has created a unique camp curriculum that combines nationally-recognized STEM instructional models and U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in our unique framework. At an S3 camp, kids tackle real-world challenges in an age appropriate way, designed to build on their natural interests. The four studio structure (Build + Life + Move + Art) keeps kids’ interest high and helps them connect concepts through different activities, while also teaching them transferable technical skills like coding and robotics. But don’t worry—plenty of time is spent outside, and—weather permitting—students have a field day off site every week.  

S3 CAMP PARTNERS

We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mississippi State Coastal Research and Extension in Biloxi. Their educators work with students around the Coast on everything from sea level rise to the importance of native plants to our shoreline to how to fly a drone. We could not have found better partners and daily co-hosts for this project.

Additionally, campers will attend field days with area coastal partners, including the Biloxi Shrimping Trip, the U.S. National Park Service at Gulf Islands National Seashore Davis Bayou, the Port of Gulfport, and more! New partners will be added each camp session.

S3 RESEARCH & TEACHER TRAINING

The S3 project has been funded by the National Academies Gulf Research Program to do three things:

  1. Provide campers an opportunity to learn about, explore, and examine their communities.

  2. Empower campers to identify and address local problems and provide potential solutions.

  3. Enhance teacher education in place-based STEM instruction.

To learn more about our grant, click here. To learn more about our anonymized data collection, click here.

Camp learning philosophy

S3 camps engage kids in age-appropriate STEM activities, anchored in real-world problems and systems thinking, to gain a better understanding of sustainability and our world and to learn technical skills they can use throughout their lives.

The S3 camp curriculum contains four integrated learning studios.

  • Studio Build

    CONSTRUCTION, CIRCUITS, DESIGN, PROTOTYPING

  • Studio Life

    ECOSYSTEMS, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL/PLANT CARE

  • Studio Move

    PHYSICS OF MOTION, ENERGY, ROBOTICS, MECHANICS

  • Studio Art

    TECHNICAL DRAWING, COMMUNICATION DESIGN, MODELING, AESTHETIC FUNCTION