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In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: July 6-10
Rising 3-8 grades
Cost: $970

Tired of hearing “No more games!” from grown-ups who just don’t get it?

Your mission: prove that building and playing games makes you a coding wizard, a storytelling genius, a hot shot artist, and a sound effect master! You’ll create epic plots, draw awesome characters, blast wild sounds, and code clever tricks that make your game come alive.

By the end, even your parents might say, “Okay, maybe games are kinda cool…”

Playing games, especially multi-player teamwork games, can help you develop valuable collaboration, critical thinking, and decision-making skills – skills you’ll need to be a “player” in today’s high-tech world.

Skills you will exercise: Story telling / Art / Programming / Sound Engineering / Thumbnastics 

In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: July 13-17
Rising 4-8 graders
Cost: $970

Wanted: Minecraft Artists and Builders

Advanced civilizations have Sphinx-like monuments, Taj Mahal-like structures, and Google-like laboratories that inspire creative builders to invent amazing contraptions. You will build a state-of-the-art Minecraft laboratory where you can invent to your heart’s content.

, one of the most popular computer video games today, enables builders to exercise their creativity in previously impossible ways. Building complex machines, designing logic systems, and creating imaginative structures are enabled in this 3D virtual world. Inventors will experience the thrill of building in a fun, artistic environment.

Advanced Minecraft builders may introduce Redstone contraptions into their designs.

Skills you will exercise: Minecraft construction techniques | architectural design | presentation skills | teamwork | defender of creative thinking

In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: July 20-24
Rising 3-8 graders
Cost: $970

The Lure of Pirates’ Cove 

Shiver me timbers!  Build-It-Yourself is conscripting a crew of scallywags and seadogs to build a fleet of pirate ships that will search the seas for fat cats who have too much gold, jewels, and high-yield treasury bonds. 

Mates will use research, imagination, and premium-quality junk to design and rig menacing (or cunningly inviting) model pirate ships and crews. The privateers will be powered by a remote-controlled hull and navigate around a treacherous Pirates’ Cove, staging epic sea battles and dramatic escapes. Arrgh!

Skills you will exercise:  Art | Construction | Imagineering | Presentation | Swashbuckling

Project site:    

In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: July 27-31
Rising 3-8 graders
Cost: $970

Superman and Lois Lane are on the rocks.  Batman is down in the dumps.  Wonder Woman is contemplating chucking it all for a political career.  And every one of them has costume issues.  Meanwhile, the bad guys just seem to be getting more dastardly, dishonest, despicable, and diabolical by the doggone day. 

It’s just getting harder and harder to count on the old-school carbon-based superheroes to get the job done defending Truth, Justice, and The American Way.  

It may be time to start putting our support behind a new generation of robotic superheroes.  We need a crack crew of engineers to hit the lab and start designing, assembling, testing, and deploying a new class of mega-powered programmable guardians to step into the void.

You’ll go head-to-head against competing designs in contests of speed, strength, and power.  Your brainchild will race, climb, and launch sugar-based edible projectiles in an effort to make also-rans of the competition and build an adoring fan base.  Because costumes are absolutely critical to a superhero’s popularity and effectiveness, you’ll need to jazz up your collection of blocks, gears, and wheels with some suitable fashion accessories.  Finally, you’ll present your ideas, solutions, and the latest and greatest superhero to a grateful public.  And collect sidekick applications.

Skills you will exercise:  Art | Construction | Programming |  Robotics | Presentation | Secret Identities

In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: August 3-7
Rising 3-8 graders
Cost: $970

Before robots and rocket ships, the greatest engineer ever was already hard at work. 
Her name’s Mom … Mother Nature! 
She’s the genius behind bees’ snack-stashing honeycombs, birds’ cozy nests, ants’ underground highways, and plants that stand tall in wild winds. 
Now it’s your turn to learn her secrets and build something amazing where nature, art, and tech all hang out together.  So grab your goggles, channel your inner squirrel, and let’s create a world that even Mother Nature would high-five.

Skills you will exercise: Biology | Mechanical Engineering | Teamwork | Defender of Creative Thinking

Project Site:

In conjunction with .
2026 Dates: August 10-14
Rising 4-8 graders
Cost: $970

Mirror, Mirror on the wall … Who’s the smartest in the land?

Humans have created some major messes … foul pollution, nasty diseases, and mean wars – Yikes!  If we continue on this path, doom and gloom are sure to follow.

Now Earth needs a superhero squad of smart builders (that’s YOU) to team up with brainy robots.  Help us solve some very nasty problems.  Our first step:  Use AI tools to tell a story or sing a song about how we can use technology to make the world even better.  

Join the elite Build-It-Yourself crew and help us spread the word.

As robots get smarter, we humans must learn how to stay king of the mountain.

You’ll sharpen your skills in: Using AI tools wisely | Prompt Engineering | Programming | Survival