“This was the best camp [my child] has attended in our four years of living on the Coast!”
—S3 Parent
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, engineering challenges, art projects, and more!
Register for camps here.
2026 DATES CURRENTLY ENROLLING: 9/28 - 10/2
TIMES: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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 snacks.
Note: Do not pay for a camp unless your children are accepted. Refunds are not available for those who pre-pay without authorization.
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.
S3 Camp Details
Attend one or all—no two camp sessions are the same!
S3 CAMP DATES
Camps will take place on the following schedule in 2026, 2027, and 2028:
1 spring session
2 summer sessions
1 fall session
2026 Session 1: March 30 - April 2; Session 2: June 29 - July 2; Session 3: July 20 - 24; Session 4: September 28 - October 2
2027 Session 1: March 29 - April 2
S3 CAMP HOURS + MEAL INFORMATION
Camp runs daily from 9 am (drop off starting at 8:45) to 3:30 pm.
Campers brought early or picked up late will incur an additional $10 penalty that must be paid before returning to camp.
Campers must bring their own lunch. We also request campers bring refillable water bottles. S3 provides morning and afternoon snacks.
S3 PAYMENT & DISCOUNTS
$10 discount on 4-day weeks.
10% sibling discount for multiple campers enrolled by one family.
Our online payment portal accepts Master Card, Visa, and American Express credit and debit cards.
Do not pay for a camp unless your children are accepted. Refunds are not available for those who pre-pay without authorization.
S3 SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
The safety of our campers and our staff is our highest priority. In the unlikely event of severe or hazardous weather making attendance at the camp unsafe, The University of Southern Mississippi reserves the right to cancel operations. No refunds will be issued unless the entire event from start to finish cannot take place.
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.
S3 RESEARCH & TEACHER TRAINING
The S3 project has been funded by the National Academies Gulf Research Program to do three things:
Provide campers an opportunity to learn about, explore, and examine their communities.
Empower campers to identify and address local problems and provide potential solutions.
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.
S3 campers move through four integrated learning studios during each session.
-
Studio Move
PHYSICS OF MOTION, ENERGY, ROBOTICS, MECHANICS
-
Studio Life
ECOSYSTEMS, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL/PLANT CARE
-
Studio Build
CONSTRUCTION, CIRCUITS, DESIGN, PROTOTYPING
-
Studio Art
TECHNICAL DRAWING, COMMUNICATION DESIGN, MODELING, AESTHETIC FUNCTION