AR/VR Development with Unity, C#, and Spark AR (2 Weeks)

Game Design Path

For kids entering grades 7-12

For campers ready for the next-level programming challenge of creating a game in VR technology. Campers will take home a copy of their VR game and a hands-on, foundational education in a rapidly-expanding industry loaded with potential career pathways.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; some prior text-based coding experience with Python, Java, or C#.

Video Game Development 101-102 (2 weeks)

Game Design Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For campers looking to expand on their game-making skills and ready to begin the process of coding video games. Campers will produce their own fully-realized video game and a digital copy to take home and continue playing, while building the foundations for success in collaboration and technology, along with the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to continue creating.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; some prior video game design experience.

Coding with Java

Coding Path

For kids entering grades 4-8

For campers with a solid coding background and passion for video games looking to take a deep dive into this specific coding language. Campers will absorb ideas about syntax, code structure, and object-oriented programming and, by week’s end, produce a 2D simulation or interactive playable video game to take home! They’ll also build the foundations for success in coding, along with the inspiration, confidence, and focus to seek out future pathways in computer programming.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior Python 101 or equivalent experience.

Girls STEM (Elementary)

Girls STEM Path

For girls entering grades 2-5

For girls who want to explore a wide range of fun technology, find out what options are out there, and begin to realize their areas of greatest passion. Campers will create several small projects, such as a digitally-animated movie, a playable video game, or a 3D print of an original creature to take home. Campers build the foundations for success with technology, along with the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to do even more!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Girls STEM (Middle School)

Girls STEM Path

For girls entering grades 6-8

For middle school girls with an interest in technology, looking to explore a broader range of options, or for girls who have a budding interest in specific kinds of technology. Campers will produce several small projects, such as building and programming a robot, producing a stop-motion animated film, or designing a playable video game. Campers build the foundations for success with technology, along with the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to seek out future pathways!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

2D Video Game Design Fundamentals with Flowlab

Game Design Path

For kids entering grades 2-5

For campers with a passion for not just playing video games, but for the “how-to” and “behind-the-scenes” of it all, as well. Campers will build simple video games step-by-step, experimenting with specific tasks and movements, and sharing gameplay with their peers, exploring design, problem-solving, and trial/error concepts along the way. All games will be stored online, so campers can gain access after camp ends!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Coding with Python 201

Coding Path

For kids entering grades 4-8

For campers with a solid coding background and passion for video games looking to take a deep dive into coding structure. Campers will learn code structure by tinkering with alternate physics and designs in games, integrate new features into their worlds, and produce a playable PyGame project to take home. They’ll build upon and enhance their coding fundamentals, along with the confidence and knowledge to seek out future pathways in programming.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior Python 101 or equivalent experience.

Coding with Python 101

Coding Path

For kids entering grades 4-8

For campers with some coding experience who want to focus on a “Python Only” track, delving deeper into the language’s possibilities. Campers will write several short scripts and produce a Hangman-style video game to take home. They’ll build the foundations for success in coding, along with the inspiration, confidence, and focus to seek out future pathways in computer programming.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Coding Expeditions

Coding Path

For kids entering grades 4-8

For middle school campers with an interest in programming and looking to explore the fundamentals of computer languages or for kids who want to focus on a particular path of programming. By week’s end, campers will have simple video games, animations, a few short Python scripts, and/or a Java “turtle” game to take home. Campers build the foundations for success with this particular technology, along with the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to seek out future pathways.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Coding Expeditions

Coding Path

For kids entering grades 2-5

This program is for campers new to the programming game who want to explore the fundamentals of computer languages, discover what options are out there, and begin to realize their areas of greatest passion. By the end of the week, campers will produce a Scratch video game or animation and a few short Python scripts to take home. Campers build the foundations for success with this particular technology, and the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to do even more!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Minecraft Modding with MCreator

Minecraft Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For campers who want to focus on a “Modding Only” track within the Minecraft platform and customize their unique worlds. Campers will create modded objects like volcanoes, waterfalls, or even a game version of themselves, save them to their Minecraft world, and examine how their designs influenced gameplay and establish a foundation for understanding game design.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior Minecraft experience.

Advanced Minecraft (Elementary)

Minecraft Path

For kids entering grades 2-5

For campers with a bit more Minecraft experience who want to take a deeper dive into visual design and world-building. Campers will produce a project (like a mini-game or roller coaster) and an adventure map to take home. They’ll also gain a foundation for understanding how circuitry and mechanisms work.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior Minecraft experience.

Advanced Minecraft (Middle School)

Minecraft Path

For kids entering grades 6-8

For campers who have graduated from the exploration phase and are ready to dive deeper into the customization functions of the game. At the end of the week, campers will take home completed projects (like a mini-game or mechanized fireworks display) and adventure maps to share and re-examine. They’ll also gain a rich foundation for understanding pathways of circuitry and how complex mechanisms function.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior Minecraft experience.

Robotics Using Spike Prime

Robotics Path

For kids entering grades 3-5

For new robotics campers who want to explore the design and programming of robots and gain an understanding of how they work. Campers will absorb engineering concepts like friction, traction, drive train, and center of gravity. They’ll learn how code works and develop logical thinking skills and technology literacy. At the end of the week, campers will take home the code and a video of their projects in action!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Robotics & Electronics

Robotics Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For more experienced robotics campers ready to explore how robots and electronics work together. Campers will build and code in Microsoft Makecode; absorb information about motion, light, sound, and neopixel LEDs; and develop logical thinking skills and technology literacy that can be applied to potential career paths. They’ll also be able to take their CPX home at the end of the week.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Arduino Robotics Engineering

Robotics Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For more experienced robotics campers who want to enhance and expand their hands-on engineering skills and build their own robot. Campers will learn to read schematics and assemble electronics, write a sketch in Arduino IDE, explore obstacle avoidance, line following, and IR remote control, and build a functional Smart Robot Car to take home. Campers will acquire a foundation of knowledge about robotics, programming, and engineering for use in exploring future tech pathways.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior experience with block-based coding and LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3.

Junior FLL Academy

Robotics Path

For kids entering grades 1-3

For kids who have a love of robots and want to explore the fun in building and making them run. Campers will build an operational robot from the LEGO kit and learn to command their robots to carry out tasks and movements. Videos of their robots in action are theirs to take home, as well as a foundation for understanding how robotics works.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

FLL Academy

Robotics Path

For kids entering grades 3-5

For kids who love robots and want to explore how they’re built and programmed to perform functions. Campers will build an operational robot from the LEGO kit, learn to code using a simple drag-and-drop interface, and command their robots to carry out tasks and movements. Code and videos of their robot in action are theirs to take home, as well as a foundation for understanding how robotics functions in our world.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse; prior experience with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3.

3D Arts & Architecture

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For campers who love construction, blueprints and maps, designing spaces and structures, and have a budding interest in exploring the art of architecture. Campers will create design files with renderings of each floor of their dream home, videos that explore each of the rooms, and digital snapshots of whatever spaces they’ve designed. Campers will also build an understanding of how spacing, measurement, flow, and customization work together to establish a foundation of success in construction.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

3D Arts & Architecture

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 2-5

For campers with a budding interest in art & construction, design, and 3D printing, looking to explore the range of options the technology has to offer. Campers will produce several small 3D prints, which could include an original creature of their own design, name tag keychains, game pieces, or a Pokemon figure. Campers build pathways for success in 3D technology, and the inspiration, confidence, and enthusiasm to do even more!

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Digital Animation

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 2-4

For campers with an emerging curiosity about how digitally-created characters are produced and animated to convey action, emotion, and movement. Campers will complete their own, digitally-animated scenes. They’ll explore the principles of digital animation and basic movie editing through planning, designing, animating, and ordering, supplying them with a foundation for exploring storytelling and visualization.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Stop-Motion Animation Movie Production

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 5-8

For campers with a passion for making videos or movies and want to explore the precise process of stop-motion animation. Campers will learn the principles of stop-motion animation and digital editing. They’ll produce a short animated movie, learn the techniques and principles of stop-motion animation and digital editing. This will supply them with production experience and tech skills to be independent creators. They can then upload their finished movie to YouTube.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse. Some digital editing and script writing experience is recommended.

Minecraft Explorations

Minecraft Path

For kids entering grades 2-5 or 6-8

This program is focused on new and emerging Minecraft campers interested in visual design, exploring worlds, creating structures, and understanding how mechanisms work. Campers will build their own Minecraft world, collaborate on a friend’s world, create animated characters, and take home digital files so that they can keep exploring their world after camp has ended. They’ll also gain an understanding of how one of the most popular platforms in the world works.

Prerequisites: Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse.

Tech & Design Exploration

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 6-8

This program is ideal for middle schoolers with an interest in technology, looking to explore a broad range of options, or for those who want to dive a bit deeper into two or three topics.
Campers have a wide range of options to explore, including Video Game Design, Digital Animation, Stop-Motion Animation, EV3 Robotics, 3D Art & Printing, 3D Architecture, Digital Audio Production, and Coding/Programming Fundamentals in Scratch, Python and Java. Campers are encouraged to explore several options over the first two days and then either dig deeper in areas that excite them – so they can tackle larger projects – or continue to explore the wide range of options.

Prerequisites: None.

Tech & Design Exploration

Tech & Design Path

For kids entering grades 2-5

This is our most popular program and the ideal starting place for elementary school age kids who want to explore a wide range of fun technology. Campers will have numerous options to explore, including Video Game Design, Digital Animation, Stop-Motion Animation, EV3 Robotics, 3D Art & Printing, 3D Architecture, Digital Audio Production, and Coding/Programming Fundamentals in Scratch and Python. Campers will create several small projects, such as a digitally-animated movie, a playable video game, or a 3D print of an original creature — all of which they can take home.

Prerequisites: None. Basic keyboard skills and ability to use a mouse are recommended.

My son does a various summer camps and this one is always his favorite! He was really happy with his project and was able to learn new programs. Eric is a fantastic camp director: he is really patient, understanding and has a genuine interest in connecting with and supporting the kids. Thanks!

–Maureen in Concord

I had two boys at your camp. One focused on robotics and the other on music. They both had great fun and learned too!

– Parent in Belmont

My son attended this week, and the entire staff was great… He was really happy to go – never something we take for granted!… Celebrate yourselves! You deserve it!

-Steve in Needham

My son attended this week, and the entire staff was great… He was really happy to go – never something we take for granted!… Celebrate yourselves! You deserve it!

-Steve in Needham

Learning game design and robotics at Empow really encouraged my creativity, and taught me that creativity and science could be done together. It opened up paths and college and my career that I didn’t know existed. Thanks!

– Camper Alumni

Thank you and your outstanding and creative staff for such a wonderful experience! My son couldn’t wait to get there in the morning and never wanted to leave.

–Megan in Newton

Thank you and your outstanding and creative staff for such a wonderful experience! My son couldn’t wait to get there in the morning and never wanted to leave.

–Megan in Newton

If I could come here all the time, I definitely would!

– Student

My child had a phenomenal experience! He RAN intro camp everyday and did not stop talking about it for the entire night upon his return home. We were so pleased to find a program where the instructors were fun, engaging and supportive, and where each child was able to work at his own level and to really be challenged. I can’t believe how much got accomplished in one week!

–Donna in Belmont

My child had a phenomenal experience! He RAN intro camp everyday and did not stop talking about it for the entire night upon his return home. We were so pleased to find a program where the instructors were fun, engaging and supportive, and where each child was able to work at his own level and to really be challenged. I can’t believe how much got accomplished in one week!

–Donna in Belmont

My daughter thought your program is one of the best she has ever been in.

– Westborough parent

Coding – Python

For students who have mastered Scratch, Python is a great first step into professional-grade, text-based programming languages. Python is both widely used and, we believe, the most accessible, user-friendly and intuitive text-based program. Students will learn to apply the programming concepts they learned in Scratch using Python’s syntax. More advanced students will tackle more complicated challenges including variables, arrays and methods for efficient algorithm design.

Prerequisite: Scratch

Digital Arts – Digital Animation

For students excited about making their own movie or inspired by digitally animated movies like Toy Story, Minions and Frozen, this is a great place to start. Using Stykz – a program accessible to beginners – every student will design unique characters, storyboard a scene, map out the action, and create a complete digitally-animated movie. More advanced students can produce longer scenes with background music and sound effects. All students can choose to upload their movie to YouTube when they’re done!

Computer Aided Design – TinkerCad

TinkerCad is brought to us by Autodesk, the industry leader in 3D design and engineering software, as an easy and intuitive first entry-point. Students will engineer 3D objects which can be printed on a 3D printer and learn the important 3D concept of Constructive Solid Geometry.

Coding – Scratch

This is the ideal starting place for kids curious about coding, kids with a little coding experience, and kids who have learned Scratch at school but have not yet mastered its most advanced capabilities. Students will use this accessible, block-based programming language to make a video game or a short animated scene, and learn basic techniques common to all programming including loops, conditionals and events.

Digital Arts – 3D Sculpting

Did you know that you can take a sphere of virtual clay and shape it into whatever you want? The program we use, Sculptris, was designed to be the ideal first step for those new to the world of digital sculpting. Students’ finished projects can be imported into digital animation programs or printed on a 3D printer!

Designer: Minecraft Mod Makers

$424

Campers of any skill level can use our custom Minecraft worlds to learn concepts in electrical engineering, computer science, and 3D modeling. We start with architecture and pixel art, and then guide the more experienced campers through the secrets of Redstone and Command Blocks. The expert campers can explore modding, learning to code in a drag-&-drop environment.

Experience: Just a curiosity or love of Minecraft

Course Details

Location: Acton, MA
Grades: 2 – 3
Dates: June 29 – July 3
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Course Status: Open