2025 Themes and Projects
Every week of Camp STEAM features fun and educational projects, wrapped in that week’s theme. There are 4 themes with unique programming that each run twice throughout the summer. If campers join us for multiple weeks, or progress through projects more quickly, we have challenges and projects that continue to build from wherever they are, ensuring no matter what level a camper is at, we meet them there to start their journey! Some weeks, we also have special events, including the opportunity to drive a moon rover!
Welcome to Minecraft Innovators Week, where campers bring the Minecraft universe to life — both on-screen and off! Campers begin their adventure by exploring Minecraft Education Edition, learning to build, craft, and collaborate in immersive digital environments inspired by the classic survival experience. With guided challenges like designing a fully functional campsite, crafting virtual Redstone-powered tools, and creating pixel art avatars, campers build digital confidence while exercising critical thinking and creativity.
But this week is more than virtual play — it’s about hands-on invention and real-world STEM exploration. Campers take on survival-inspired engineering challenges like building ziplines, boats, and fishing rods, experimenting with forces like gravity and buoyancy, and even cooking Minecraft-style s’mores in a homemade solar oven. They’ll get messy with slime-making, strategize in treasure chest design challenges, and test their builds in collaborative team games.
The week also features daily robotics missions with the Codey Rocky robot, where campers program their own Minecraft-inspired mobs and traps using beginner-friendly coding blocks. From designing “Creeper detection” systems using colour sensors to building Redstone-style minigames with loops, sounds, and interactive inputs, every camper becomes a digital game designer and robotics engineer in one.
Whether they’re coding Redstone traps, launching slime ziplines, or solving Minecraft logic puzzles with robots, Minecraft Innovators Week gives campers the tools to think like inventors, build like engineers, and play like pros — both in the real world and the pixelated one.
LEGO: Architects | July 7-11 & August 5-8
In LEGO Architects Week, campers become the brilliant minds behind a bustling city; designing, coding, and building imaginative structures and machines using LEGO SPIKE Prime and Essential kits. Campers start by learning how to bring their creations to life — building delivery vehicles, amusement park rides, playground equipment, monorails, and even their own inventions — all powered by real motors and programmed with beginner-friendly code. With each day focused on a different engineering challenge, campers gain confidence with sensors, motors, gears, and the engineering design process, all while applying creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
Alongside their LEGO City projects, campers tackle dynamic robotics missions with the Codey Rocky robot, from building colour-sorting warehouse bots to racing line-following robots and programming sensor-driven treasure hunts. These engaging tech adventures help campers learn the basics of robotics and automation in a fun, story-based way that keeps them challenged and inspired.
By the end of the week, campers will have helped design a fully interactive LEGO City — complete with transportation systems, amusement park rides, and imaginative inventions — all while learning foundational concepts in engineering, coding, and robotics. It’s a hands-on week full of collaboration, creativity, and real-world tech skills, guaranteed to leave campers proud of what they’ve built and amazed at what they can do – in true Camp STEAM style.
Minecraft: Masterminds | July 14-18 & August 11-15
This week, campers step into the pixelated world of Minecraft Masterminds, where imagination meets innovation. Using Minecraft Education Edition, campers will dive into story-driven, in-game challenges that involve coding, Redstone engineering, problem-solving, and collaborative builds. Each day brings a new mission — from escaping mysterious islands and decoding survival puzzles, to building functional machines and defending their base with clever circuitry.
Outside the screen, the adventure continues. Campers will translate their Minecraft ideas into real-world prototypes using 3D design and printing, creating personalized models and tools that reflect their in-game creations. And the hands-on action doesn’t stop there — they’ll also take part in immersive, survival-themed STEAM activities like building desalination devices to purify water, crafting secret messages with invisible ink, designing and testing bridges to escape their “deserted island,” and creating paper torches that actually light up using circuits.
With a mix of engineering, creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking, Minecraft Masterminds Week inspires campers to explore their world — digital and physical — like never before. Whether they’re solving challenges in Minecraft, inventing survival tools, or pitching their own island adventure movie, campers leave empowered, inventive, and with a new found love of STEAM!
LEGO: Builders | July 21-25 & Aug 18-22
At Camp STEAM’s LEGO Builders Week, your child will dive into a world of imagination, teamwork, and hands-on innovation. Whether they’re building water-powered slides, testing the strength of their foam-resistant towers, designing their own LEGO launch pads, or exploring real-world science through creative challenges like water filtration and colour chromatography, campers will stay active and engaged with activities that mix LEGO construction, STEAM learning, and outdoor fun.
A highlight of the week is our exciting LEGO SPIKE robotics program, where campers in younger grades use LEGO SPIKE Essential kits to explore basic engineering and storytelling through simple builds like dancing robots and rescue vehicles. Older campers work with LEGO SPIKE Prime, taking on more advanced challenges such as building programmable cranes, obstacle-navigating bots, and pirate-themed interactive ships. These hands-on robotics activities are tailored for both beginners and experienced builders, blending creativity with real-world tech skills.
Throughout the week, campers will develop problem-solving abilities, explore key engineering concepts like gravity, force, and flow, and collaborate on exciting builds — from pirate-themed water balloon slingshots to LEGO-based hydraulic systems. It’s all about nurturing curiosity, building confidence, and creativity, and a splash of summer energy!
The tools campers use at Camp STEAM every day and every week help their imaginations, creativity, and code come to life! From the virtual world to hands-on exploration, these tools offer campers a tangible, daily experience that turns ideas into real-world creations. Whether coding, building, designing, or experimenting, these tools are not only powerful learning instruments — they’re also incredibly fun to play with! In addition to Chromebooks, the main tools campers will enjoy using throughout the week include:
Codey Rocky
Let’s work with a real, walking, talking robot! Campers will work with Codey Rockys to connect software and hardware to allow them to learn about programming while having lots of fun!
3D Printer
3D printers have so many practical applications, and let’s face it – are just really fun to play with! Campers will learn how to conceptualize a 3D design, then learn how to design it using software, then – you guessed it – actually print it out and test it!
Tinkercad
A web app for 3D design, electronics and coding, Tinkercad is a tool we use to support our project-based learning. Campers are able to bring what they imagine easily to life, from their imaginations to a 3D online model, and finally to life!
Minecraft
Campers know it and love it as a game, but did you know Minecraft allows campers to code within the game? Campers will use their artistic talent to create designs based on various challenges, then put those designs to the test by coding them and watching what happens!
LEGO Education, SPIKE Prime & SPIKE Essential Kits
Sure, LEGO is fun to build with on its own, but at Camp STEAM, it becomes a powerful tool for learning and invention! Campers will use LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Essential kits every day to design, build, and code their own interactive creations. These kits combine classic LEGO building with motors, sensors, and programmable elements, helping campers bring their ideas to life through movement, logic, and creativity — all while having a blast!
A Sample Week (From Our LEGO: Architects Theme)
There’s nothing that inspires joy—no matter your age—quite like stepping into the sights, sounds, and excitement of a carnival.
But what if you were the one imagining, inventing, and building your very own carnival from the ground up?
That’s exactly what our campers will get to do during our LEGO: Architects week!
And because this is Camp STEAM, you just know their creations will be anything but ordinary. Throughout the week, campers will use a wide variety of exciting toolsets—like LEGO SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Essential kits, 3D printers, Codey Rocky robots, and even Artificial Intelligence—to bring their carnival visions to life in ways that are as imaginative as they are innovative.
Each day, campers will dream up new features and expand on previous designs, gradually building a vibrant, one-of-a-kind fun fair to enjoy and share by the end of the week. From playful problem-solving to hands-on building and programming, every activity is designed to spark curiosity and creativity while catering to different skill levels. Campers will tackle carnival-themed adventures that grow in complexity as the week progresses, always with fun at the centre of it all.
Friday will cap off the week with a refreshing water day, complete with a festive twist! Of course, LEGO building challenges and STEAM tools are woven throughout the entire experience.
By the end of the week, our LEGO: Architects campers will have imagined, created, built, tested—and most importantly, had a blast—bringing their unique carnival visions to life.
In addition to this core project, each LEGO: Architects week includes plenty of other exciting activities to keep campers engaged and inspired. Every week brings something new, so whether your child joins us for one week or the entire summer, they’re in for an unforgettable experience.
We can’t wait to welcome your camper!
A Sample Activity (From Our LEGO: Architects Theme)
During our LEGO: Architects themed weeks, just one example of a project has campers designing and constructing their very own earthquake-resistant tower using the LEGO Education SPIKE kits. Campers begin by exploring real-world architecture and engineering principles, from balance and symmetry to structural integrity. After learning how buildings are designed to withstand natural forces, they’ll put their new knowledge to the test by building a tower on a shake platform. With motors and sensors from the SPIKE kits, they can simulate seismic tremors and test the strength of their designs in real time, making modifications and improvements as they go.
This project blends creativity with critical thinking as campers experiment with different shapes, base structures, and reinforcement strategies. Using the SPIKE visual coding interface, they’ll program their shake tables and track based on how well their towers hold up under pressure. As their designs evolve, they’ll learn firsthand how architects and engineers solve complex challenges — all while building, coding, and collaborating based on ways they come up with to improve their work. It’s a thrilling, hands-on experience that leaves campers feeling like true innovators in the world of STEAM and design.
