2025 Summer Camps registration will open on February 19th 2025! Join our mailing list to be notified when camps launch.
Geering Up’s mission is to make STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) exciting and accessible for ALL students! We are dedicated to empowering and inspiring B.C. youth to explore STEM, so we offer summer camps for elementary school students across Greater Vancouver and the Okanagan. These dynamic, 5-day and 4-day camps feature hands-on experiments and creative projects that spark curiosity and foster a love for STEM. Designed to be beginner-friendly and fun, our programs provide the perfect introduction to the world of innovation. Secure your spot by exploring this summer’s programs and signing up for your favourite themes.
- Weekly Programming from JULY through AUGUST
11 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAM THEMES - 9AM – 3PM
PACIFIC STANDARD TIME - UBC Vancouver, Richmond, South Surrey, Coquitlam, and UBCO Kelowna
- Grade Levels: entering grades 1-7
VARIES BY PROGRAM THEME AND LOCATION - Program Pricing: $410 – $490
VARIES BY PROGRAM THEME, DURATION, AND LOCATION.
Every person should be able to participate in our programs. Please see the information regarding our camp bursaries.
2025 ELEMENTARY STEM SUMMER CAMP THEMES:
Please note that each camp theme in the same grade level will feature the same curriculum each week. As such, we do not advise taking the same camp more than once throughout the summer.
Miniminds A/B
Instill curiosity and develop a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) from a young age! Our Miniminds camps introduce your mini-scientists and budding engineers to all areas of STEM through lots of exciting, hands-on activities. We provide a safe and fun space for future grade 1 students to practice their social and classroom skills- all while exploring, engaging with, and having fun with STEM!
We offer two different versions of Miniminds: A and B. Each version will involve different STEM topics, building challenges, and activities. Get ready for a STEM-tastic week!
STEAM
Cultivate your creativity while learning all about the world around us! Our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) camps blend STEM concepts with artistic design. Get ready to tap into your creative side through a variety of exciting hands-on activities while learning about energy, the earth, electricity, and more! Join us for a week filled with design inquiries and fun activities... full STEAM ahead!
Join this camp to unleash your creative side—let’s combine the worlds of art and science!
LOCATIONS: UBC Vancouver, Richmond, South Surrey, Coquitlam
Maker
Get inspired to build creatively and think critically... grab your hardhats and let’s get problem solving! What better opportunity to see what it's like to be an engineer than through a week of creativity-filled, hands-on, and innovative project making? Discover the world of structures, science, building, and more through play and first-hand experiments. This camp is perfect for the future builders and makers of our world!
Join this camp if you are looking for a space to explore your hands-on problem solving and creative thinking skills!
LOCATIONS: UBC Vancouver, Richmond, South Surrey, Coquitlam
STEM Explorations
Are you curious about the world and eager to unravel its interconnected complexities? Our STEM camps invite you to explore and learn about the four disciplines of STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Whether it’s digging into engineering problems or diving head-first into mind-boggling science experiments, engagement STEMS from hands-on, fun, and interdisciplinary activities. Welcome, Junior Explorers!
Join this camp if you have a passion for exploring and want to investigate the interconnectedness of the fields of STEM
Biomedical Engineering 6/7
Healthcare and medicine are as intricate as the human body itself, and we want to work together to tackle the challenges of the future! In this camp, you'll explore the intersections of biology, medicine, and engineering and discover how engineers and doctors collaborate to spur medical advancements and save lives! Through a week of hands-on activities, campers will take on the role of a biomedical engineer, engage in exciting challenges and innovative experiments (including designing and building your own prototypes), explore and replicate biological systems, and so much more.
Put on your lab coat and grab your hard hats, engineers!
Join this camp if you’re interested in medicine, biology, and engineering and want to learn how they impact one another!
LOCATIONS: UBC Vancouver, South Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam
BioExplorers 6/7
Learn about biodiversity and sustainability through direct, real-world experience! The BioExplorers camp takes a different teaching approach that focuses on outdoor education. Students will spend the majority of the camp outside visiting the different biomes of UBC Vancouver to learn about scientific exploration and environmental engineering practices. The land can be our most powerful teacher, so we would like to acknowledge and thank the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Peoples on who's traditional, stolen, and unceded territories we teach, learn, and live on and whose stewardship of this land for time immemorial makes a camp like this possible. To be sustainable engineers and scientists, we need to respectfully explore and understand the land on which we live.
Join this camp if you want to take your STEM experience out of the classroom and into the field to conduct experiments, study nature, and design innovative solutions to environmental issues... Rain or shine!
ELEMENTARY CODING CAMPS
Geering Up provides week-long beginner-level coding camps for elementary students (Grades 2 to 7) each summer. These specialty camps in Computer Science aim to ignite interest in computational thinking and enhance related skills. Activities encompass visual block coding, binary puzzles, basic game creation, computer graphics and animation, and coding robots. Check out our 2025 summer offerings for elementary coding programs below.
2025 ELEMENTARY SUMMER CODING CAMP THEMES:
Please note that each camp theme in the same grade level will feature the same curriculum each week. As such, we do not advise taking the same camp more than once throughout the summer.
Computers & Me
Technology is all around us; how can our young curious minds explore the world of computer science? The answer is our Computers and Me camp! From exploring exciting computer games to working on our very first block code, this camp is the perfect digital playground for creative imaginations to run wild. Our curriculum teaches the basic principles of computational thinking and coding in byte-sized chunks! We focus on introductory computer-based activities, so campers do not need previous computer experience.
Join this camp if you want to become more acquainted with how computers work and get an early introduction to computational thinking!
LOCATIONS: UBC Vancouver
Creative Coders
A computer programming program programmed to foster curiosity about coding! (Say that quickly five times!) Get creative through exploring a variety of coding and digital design platforms to build your knowledge and grow your skillset! If you’re excited about the wonderful world of technology and design, then you’ll want to join us for a week of hands-on coding adventures that will bring your ideas to life! Creative Coders does not focus on a specific coding language; instead, we introduce and explore several styles of coding platforms to give campers exposure to the vast world of code. Whether you're completely new to computer programming or come with some experience, we welcome all skill levels. Come be part of the Coder Crew!
Join this camp if you want to develop new or enhance your current coding skills and create all sorts of fascinating tech-based projects
LOCATIONS: UBC Vancouver, South Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam, UBCO Kelowna
Robotics 6/7
Unlock the future of STEM and dive into the thrilling, growing world of robotics! As robots become more accessible to hobbyists and their presence in professional settings grow, this camp offers the perfect opportunity to get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology. Campers will design, code, and build their very own robots to tackle real-world tasks and challenges all while learning the nuts and bolts of robotics. Kids will use multiple programming languages to unleash their creativity and unique designs through exciting projects. Grab your tools, ignite your imagination, and build the robots of tomorrow! Come sign up... YOU BOT THIS!
Join this camp if you are interested in building or creating robots and the science behind them. This camp features beginner-level coding languages. No previous coding knowledge is required!
Game Design 6/7
Calling all video game enthusiasts and creative minds! If you’re curious about what goes into making your favourite games and want to explore a variety of game design elements, join your fellow coders for a week of fun and educational gaming activities! From designing unique characters and crafting vibrant game worlds, - to working with multiple coding languages and learning about programs used in game development, this camp will level up your experience beyond the screen and immerse you in the innovative world of game design. We welcome all skill levels. No previous programming experience is necessary.
Join this camp if you like video games, enjoy creative design, want to learn the basics of game design, and make some cool interactive projects and scripts.
CAMP POLICIES & FAQ
Please read the information below regarding our policies in place for camps this year.
Registration Deadlines: Registration for each camp will close at 11:59 PM on the Sunday the week before the camp begins.
(i.e., if the camp begins Monday, July 25th, registration for it will close on Sunday, July 17th)
Geering Up operates as a non-profit organization and incurs substantial fees for each cancellation. The later the cancellation, the harder it is for us to fill the spot with somebody on the waitlist. To offset these costs, our cancellation and transfer policy is as follows:
| Date of Cancellation | Amount Refunded |
|---|---|
| More than 7 business days before the program’s start date: | 100% refund of program price, minus a $35 cancellation fee |
| 7 business days or less before the program’s start date: | 50% refund of program price |
| After 9am the Friday before the program’s start date: | No refund provided |
Camp Hours: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Recess & Lunch: Campers will go outside for a 30-minute recess and a one-hour long lunch each day.
Activities: In our camps we will have a variety of activities including engineering building challenges, coding projects, experiments, creative design projects, and more.
Before & After Care: Geering Up offers supervision for campers who need to be dropped off before camp or picked up after camp ends. We offer before care from 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM Monday through Friday. We offer standard after care from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM or the extended after care from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM. We offer both after care programs Monday through Friday. If provincial health restrictions due to COVID-19 change and Geering Up must cancel Before and After Care, participants will be contacted with advanced notice and refunded for this service in full.
*Only our UBC Vancouver and UBCO Kelowna locations offer Before & After Care.
Lunch Program: If purchased, campers receive a main course, side, and drink for their lunch each day. The lunch program costs are for each day of the camp week.
*Only our UBC Vancouver and South Surrey Camps offer a lunch program.
Geering Up programming is deigned and intended for individual participants, not groups. Having a group (local or visiting) register for our programming greatly impacts the quality of the individual participant's experience; something that is extremely important to us. As such, group registrations are prohibited.
Please note that Geering Up will withdraw all participants without a refund who are found in breach of the group registration policy at any point before or after programming begins.
Check out our FAQ, or reach us at camps.geeringup@ubc.ca.
