Time flies when you’re having fun, and next thing you know, you’ll be standing around scratching your head and wondering where summer went. There’s only a little under two months left of summer, so let this be your reminder to maximize your time and take advantage of school-less days. Summer break never felt so good.

There are so many wonderful chances in Nebraska to spend time engaging with STEM and learning more about the fields in a very interactive, dynamic way. The end of July and early August are times for some excellent day camps for this purpose exactly: To help kids, teens, and adolescents learn about STEM while having fun in the process.

Some camps are more specific than others, some are workshops, and some are sold out. If you’re interesting in taking advantage of some of the learning opportunities Nebraska has to offer, we’re here to help! Below is a list of available learning experiences this summer that you can still register for. However, hurry! Many of these classes fill up quickly, and are in popular demand.

Kaneko is a non-profit cultural organization that aims to encourage the process of creativity and recognize opportunities for creative effort. International artist Jun Kaneko and his wife Ree established Kaneko in the Old Market District in Omaha, and offers programs focusing on design, ideas, performance, and innovation. Sadly, the 3D Prototyping Summer Camp is sold out (better luck next year), but there are two camps left this summer that you can register for! Two sessions of Architecture Design Camp are coming up in July, and they are each a week long (Monday-Thursday from 9am to 4pm). Students will participate in visual literacy lessons, walking tours of architecture in Omaha’s Old Market District, digital modeling and 3D technologies, visits to local design firms, physical model building, and architectural drafting. Phew! What a week!

: The Lux Center for the Arts is a non-profit art center in Lincoln that teaches art classes for both youth and adults, and is an important resource for visual arts in the city. Many of their classes may appeal to little future makers, like the Sculpt-a-saurus for children ages 5-9 to learn about prehistoric beasts that walked the earth long ago (on Saturdays in August). Future welders ages 10-13 can learn how to make jewelry with metal, acquiring valuable sawing, hammering, riveting, and stamping skills along the way (Saturdays in August).

Many of these camps and mini-camps held on a historic farm south of Lincoln have already passed for the season, but there are a few left worth registering for. From July 13-24, kids can learn about simple machines and complex creations: It will “give plenty of opportunities for the mind and the hand to work together to create and understand simple machines like the pulley, inclined plane, wheel-and-axel, and more.”

Questions? Comments? Want to learn more? Leave a comment in the section below, anytime, and let us know about your experiences with any of these opportunities!

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photo credit: via