15 Innovative Camps Introducing Girls To Tech Careers
Girls are less likely than boys to be told by parents and teachers that they would be good at computer science. Girls are also less likely to participate in extracurricular tech programs and less aware of how to learn computer science via the internet. Yet, tech sector jobs are among the highest-paying occupations for women. Just as important, technology provides a powerful medium for girls and women to create meaningful solutions to global problems and to tell stories that shape how we view the world.
Why girls' tech camps?
The all-girl programs listed here are thoughtfully designed to spark a girl’s interest in tech. All-girl camps aren’t about thinking pink. Rather, they make coding fun by focusing on projects that matter to girls. They also work hard to create safe environments where girls are supported to take risks, try new ways of thinking, and to pick themselves up and move on from initial failures.
If you can’t find an all-girl program near you, look for a course that gives students a choice of coding projects so that they can pick one that fits with their interests. Like YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki’s young daughter, who thought that it was “ ‘super lame’ to like computers,” my daughter had a negative perception of coding after first trying it in a co-ed class. Then she tried one of Google’s Made with Code projects that incorporated her interest in fashion. Now she’s hooked and onto building a website!
15 tech camps for girls
1. Girls Make Games
Gaming is a big industry with high projected job growth and very few female game designers. This three-week camp introduces girls to game design, art, and programming through hands-on activities, discussions with games industry professionals, and field trips hosted at local game companies. They have a very low 4:1 student to counselor ratio and provide long-term mentorship to girls, including college and internship applications and contest guidance.
Age range: 11-14, but they’ll consider hosting younger and older girls
2. Alexa Cafe
Alexa Cafe combines tech, entrepreneurship and social activism to empower the next generation of women in tech. Endorsed by the Society of Women Engineers, Alexa Cafe offers several types of weeklong day and overnight camps that teach girls about coding, design, filmmaking, leadership, and entrepreneurship to make the world a better place.
Age range: 10-15 for all-girl summer camps, 7-17 for related co-ed courses
3. Black Girls Code
“Imagine.Build.Create” is the motto of this organization that aims to teach 1 million girls of color to code by 2040 with the ultimate goals of succeeding in tech and creating social impact through their work. Their two-week summer camps provide girls of color with hands-on, project-based instruction and mentorship in web design, game design, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, by women who they can look up to as role models. Operating year-round programs in 13 US cities, BGC will host summer camps in NY, CA, and TX.
Age range: Summer courses for ages 11 to 14; other courses, ages 7-17
4. App Camp for Girls
At this one-week day camp, girls, transgender and gender non-conforming youth design and build apps while also learning about important business aspects of software development. At the end of the camp, girls pitch their apps to a panel of women business leaders while parents and friends cheer them on.
Age range: Entering grades 8 or 9 in the fall.
5. Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code's free, intensive, seven-week program offers girls 300+ hours of deep instruction in web development and design, robotics, and mobile apps, with mentorship from female engineers and entrepreneurs. Girls get exposure to tech jobs and become part of a resource-rich national alumni network sponsored by leading tech companies that have pledged to share internships.
Age range: Summer courses for girls entering 10th and 11th grade take place in 11 cities. After-school programs are available for 6-12th grade girls.
6. Girls STEM camp
Girls choose among three project areas, including Art & Design, Building and Coding. During the week-long day camp, which takes place at various locations across Massachusetts, students may complete 2-3 projects and are awarded badges for completing tracks in technologies, learning the ropes through tech demos.
Age range: Entering grades 2-8 in the fall.
7. SHE Can
Hosted by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, SHE Can is a two-week camp open to underrepresented communities living in D.C., Maryland or Virginia. Students learn about the world of aviation through instruction, activities and hands-on challenges. They'll also gain exposure to careers in flight.
Age range: Entering grades 6-8 in the fall.
8. Curious Jane
Offering a range of courses for students in different levels, children have the opporunity to explore areas like space craft, kitchen chemistry, stop motion animation and more. Girls will participate in activities and hands-on projects at the day camp, with is available in New York City, San Francisco, Berkeley and Denver.
Age range: Grades k-6 (different programs available for k-2, grades 1-2 and grades 3-6).
9. DigiGirlz High Tech Camp
Sponsored by Microsoft, DigiGirlz High Tech Camp for girls aims to dispel stereotypes about girls in tech. Campers have the chance to listen to executive speakers, participate in technology tours and demonstrations, engage in hands-on workshops, and network with professionals in the field.
Age range: varies by location (middle and high school only).
10. Emagination
At Emagination, campers participate in courses across areas such as Digital Art & Media, Coding, Engineering and Game Design. They also take electives to augment their learning. While the camp is not specific to girls, it does offer a special "Girls Night at Camp" for female attendees and staff to participate in activities together. Day and overnight options are both available.
Age range: 8-17.
11. WVU STEM Summer Academy for Girls
Girls participate in projects in areas such as robotics, computer science and renewable energy and attend field trips during this week-long program at West Virginia University. Attendees will learn from expert WVU professors and college students and hear from women guest speakers in STEM professions, all while conducting experiments and learning about STEM careers.
Age range: High school.
12. Made By Girls: Adventures in Wearable Tech & Fashion Design
Girls explore the intersection of design and technology, learning about the engineering design process and wearable technology. They will participate in hands-on design projects and, using computer-aided design software, create unique accessories during this one-week camp hosted by the Digital Media Academy.
Age range: Ages 9-12.
13. Made By Girls: Adventures in Game Design
Another program hosted by the Digital Media Academy, Adventures in Game Design teaches girls how to develop games, learning about principles such as game theory, character creation, digital storytelling and publishing. Students will also build problem-solving and creative-thinking skills as they create their own game to bring home.
Age range: ages 9-12.
14. Summer Engineering Experience for Girls (SEE)
SEE takes place on Carnegie Mellon University's campus in Pittsburgh, where girls will learn about different forms of energy and how to create sustainable, environmentally-friendly forms of it. Topics include heating a house, fueling a car and creating efficient sources of electricity. Participants will work with engineers across many different areas, including chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, computer and electrical.
Age range: Entering grades 8 and 9 in fall.
15. T.E.C.H. Camp
This one-week camp takes place at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, NJ and introduces girls to engineering and computer science careers. Students participate in four courses of their choice, such as programming, 3d printing, web page creation and Arduinos.
Age range: Entering grades 7 and 8 in fall.
Don’t see a camp that works for you?
If you’re curious about what it would be like to help a girl learn about tech at home or in an afterschool workshop, then Techshopz in a Box by TechGirlz is for you. These fantastic, free workshop guides and curricula are rated by difficulty for the instructor, from basic to advanced. With topics ranging from making a website to smart textiles to entrepreneur summer camp, there is likely to be a workshop that meets your girl’s interests.
Finally, look into coding classes at your local library. Google is partnering with the American Library Association to bring Libraries Ready to Code to a library near you.
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Kara Sammet, PhD, is a strategy, communications and program design consultant for companies and foundations that want to improve the inclusion, retention and leadership of women of all colors in tech. She previously worked with Google on projects to diversify computer science for women and underrepresented minorities. Reach her at [email protected] and @karasammet.
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