“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, robotics, coding challenges, art projects, and more!
Register for camps here.
2026 DATES CURRENTLY ENROLLING: 2026: 9/28 - 10/2; 2027: 1/4 - 8; 3/29 - 4/2
TIMES: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Before- and after-care (7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) available for additional per day fee ($5 each/$10 both) paid in advance.
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. Scroll for more info on before- and after-care fees and multiple camp/sibling discounts. 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.
S3 Camp Details
Attend one or all—no two camp sessions are the same!
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 9 am (drop off starting at 8:30) to 3:30 pm. Before- and after-care are available for an additional additional per day fee ($5 each/$10 both).
Caregivers who have signed up and paid for before/after care can bring campers beginning at 7:30 am and retrieve them by 5:30 pm. Parents must 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 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, Visa, and American Expess credit and debit cards.
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:
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.
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Studio Move
PHYSICS OF MOTION, ENERGY, ROBOTICS, MECHANICS
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Studio Life
ECOSYSTEMS, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL/PLANT CARE
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Studio Build
CONSTRUCTION, CIRCUITS, DESIGN, PROTOTYPING
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Studio Art
TECHNICAL DRAWING, COMMUNICATION DESIGN, MODELING, AESTHETIC FUNCTION