Discovery Engineering Camp

A partnership with NC State and Isothermal, the Discovery Engineering Camp is designed to engage rising 7th through 10th (current 6th - 9th) grade students in the Grand Challenges of Engineering. Camps are led by licensed teachers who have been trained by NC State. Campers will be engaged in hands-on learning activities that incorporate a variety of engineering concepts. The camp will be held on campus in Spindale, NC and each day will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Specific details for drop off and pick up will be sent to accepted campers.

Typical Day at Camp

Brief large group to introduce theme for the day
Breakout into groups to complete challenges. Team Leaders will share challenge goal and groups will be given time to plan and produce their engineered designs
Share design ideas, compete in competitions, and discuss what you learned in a large group session so we can learn from each other!
Lunch Break
One challenge after lunch to wrap up the day: challenges will vary by day after lunch. You may be planning a prototype, building a prototype, testing it or competing with each other to see whose design fit best to the challenge and produced the best results!
To end the day, we will discuss what inspired us, what was difficult, what we learned and what we're looking forward to the next day!

Student Applications:

For applications, the final deadline is June 1, 2026 (or until all spots are filled, whichever comes first). The application must include an essay describing your interest in attending the camp, along with your math/science teacher's recommendation. Be sure to have your teacher's name and e-mail address when you apply.

Program Costs:

The registration fees are $325 per student. Deadline to pay is June 5 by 5:30 p.m. Information about how and where to make payments will be provided to students who are accepted to the camp.