Find enjoyable, studying and journey at SIU’s 2026 summer time camps

SIU presents a big selection of educational, athletic, out of doors, artwork and music summer time camps offering enjoyable, academic and enriching expertise for all ages, pursuits and talents. Photos by Amihere Benson, Russell Bailey and SIU Carbondale.

March 18, 2026

Find enjoyable, studying and journey at SIU’s 2026 summer time camps

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — An wonderful myriad of experiences awaits members within the 2026 summer time camps at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Youths can hone their abilities, study, discover new horizons and way more at dozens of enriching, academic and enjoyable summer camps. The eclectic and various camp lineup presents one thing for all ages, skills and pursuits – from educational enrichment to athletics, from artistic pursuits to journey.

SIU’s Events and Outreach, Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center and Saluki Athletics are coordinating the camps giving youngsters and youths the prospect to boost their athletic abilities, make music, create artworks, construct, discover the nice outdoor, use the Student Recreation Center facilities, soar via the skies, study all method of recent issues and broaden their views and horizons in numerous methods. Campers may also try numerous choices for future careers.

In addition, adults can make the most of many diversified private {and professional} growth alternatives via a whole bunch of on-line persevering with schooling programs.

New and again by in style demand

The eclectic summer time camp lineup means members can decide their ardour, discover new prospects, study and develop. The 2026 camp schedule options assorted educational, athletic, artwork, music, out of doors and nature camps for kids from first grade via highschool. Organizers be aware that SIU camps are distinctive and particular for a lot of causes, together with the massive number of educational and different camps. In addition, they’re led by true professionals within the fields – professors, coaches and specialists – assisted by SIU pupil leaders of tomorrow.

New this 12 months is the SIU Percussion Workshop, set for June 15-18. Elementary, center and highschool college students are welcome with separate tracks for numerous ages and expertise ranges to offer all members with instruction applicable for his or her abilities and to assist them develop musically. Via interactive instruction, participating musical actions and ensemble play, members will improve their musicianship in addition to their musicianship and elementary abilities. They will discover the gamut of percussion play, together with snare drums, keyboard, live performance and world percussion, drug set and drumline methods. While earlier music expertise is most well-liked, all college students are eligible to take part.

The R.E.C. Sports Kids Camps debuted final 12 months, courtesy of Recreational Sports and Services, and these in style, action-packed weeks are returning for 2026. Sessions for ages 6-10 are set for June 1-4 and June 8-11. Participants can take pleasure in all that SIU’s excellent Student Recreation Center and close by areas have to supply – swimming, boating, mountaineering, disc golf, subject video games, climbing and extra – throughout these dynamic sports activities camps.

Also, again for the second time are STEAM for All Girls, STEAM for All Boys and Sensory Engineering within the Field (STEM). The STEAM for All camps are grant-funded science, expertise, engineering, artwork and math camps for center college/junior excessive college students in grades 6-8 from the Carbondale, Cobden and Murphysboro college districts who meet particular revenue {qualifications}. Campers will take pleasure in interactive workshops and tasks utilizing the most recent expertise, together with 3D printing, biomedical engineering, digital circuit exploration, working with trendy automobiles and automotive expertise, creating with AI and way more. STEAM for All: Girls camp is July 6-10 and STEAM for All: Boys camp is July 20-24.

High college age college students gained’t need to miss the STEM Research Academy, a four-week researchers’ camp that features distant actions the primary and fourth week and hands-on studying at SIU June 7-18. Participants can choose from 17 intriguing analysis tasks to work on with professional SIU college and workers or maybe create their very own undertaking. Options embrace learning mild air pollution within the area, white mild photo voltaic flares, white-tailed deer fawn, reverse engineering of language, clever on-line machine studying and a big selection of different choices.

So many selections

If you may think about it, you may doubtless discover a method to do it throughout SIU’s summer time camps. If sports activities are your factor, try the number of baseball, soccer monitor and subject camps and clinics. For the budding artist, the Student Center Craft Shop is providing camps specializing in wearable artwork, making a board sport, stitching sculptures, artwork exploration and crafting dishware with clay. Participants can play nice tunes on the numerous band camps for highschool, junior excessive and marching percussion musicians or for drum majors and colour guard.

The at all times in style Lego camps, together with Lego MindStorm, Lego Engineering and WeDo Robotics Lego camps return, with a wide range of classes for grades 1-5. The Challenge to Excellence camp, a longtime favourite that blends drama, biology, math, artwork, psychology and different pursuits to advertise higher-level pondering abilities and creativity, is again with classes for grades 7-8 and 9-12. For those that are extra attuned to Mother Nature and exploring the nice outdoor, Touch of Nature, SIU’s scenic experiential studying heart situated alongside the Shawnee National Forest, is providing three classes of its acclaimed EDVenture Camps for ages 5-12 this summer time. Each has a distinct theme and options particular hands-on studying actions, out of doors exploration and experiences in step with the themes. The classes embrace: Nature Detectives, Survival 101 and Forest Explorers Week. Young naturalists will expertise the beautiful forests and uncover the wildlife that decision the world residence having fun with participating actions, interactive classes, free play and adventures aplenty. Note that two of the camps are 4-day experiences because of the Juneteenth and Independence Day holidays. There’s additionally a Counselor-in-Training Week for teenagers age 13-17 who’re inquisitive about turning into camp counselors.

Career exploration

For those that need to see what their future could appear to be, a number of camps present distinctive alternatives to discover profession choices. During the Nursing Career Camp, June 24-26, and the Pathways to Saluki Medicine Camp, May 31-June 5, older highschool college students can see for themselves what it could be prefer to take pleasure in a life-saving profession.

SIU’s progressive profession growth initiative for minority highschool college students, the Saluki Opportunities Awareness Residency (SOAR) program is July 19-25 with the aim of  boosting the enrollment of underrepresented pupil teams attending school and majoring in accounting. High college and neighborhood school college students can improve their abilities writing prose and poetry underneath the tutelage of practiced, printed authors through the Young Writers’ Conference, set for June 16-18.

Participants can test into the aviation subject via Junior Aviator Careers camps or discover, code and create through the Sensory Engineering in the Field camp. They may also sharpen their management abilities whereas studying in regards to the world of agricultural schooling within the Ag Education Camp and unearth the previous through the Explore SIU: Unearthing History Archaeology Camp. With classes for center college and highschool college students, Gamification Camps give perception into the cutting-edge fields of synthetic intelligence and digital and augmented actuality as members examine careers utilizing these applied sciences.

Sign up now

Find all the summer time camp choices and register on-line now at camps.siu.edu. Additional camps and extra particulars are frequently being added to the lineup, however registration is on a first-come, first-served foundation and a few replenish in a short time.

John A. Logan College, situated in close by Carterville, presents a complementary summer time camp lineup. Find extra data and registration particulars on the school’s regularly up to date  community education page.

Inspiring a practice of lifelong studying

At SIU, studying by no means ends, and no matter your age there are additionally intriguing academic alternatives for adults. Learn extra in regards to the quite a few continuing education online courses, change into a community listener, or uncover a wide range of different in-person and continuing education and professional development programs.

For extra details about any of the Events and Outreach grownup programming, go to the web site, name 618-536-7751 or e mail [email protected].