This summer, middle school students at Portland State University (PSU) will experiment with cutting edge technologies like virtual reality, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence while teaming up for a "Mission Design" challenge.
The Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers Summer Camp, now in its fifth year, is a free, project-based STEM enrichment program aimed at under-resourced middle schoolers (grades 6–8) in the Portland metropolitan area. It provides students with emerging technology, engaging curriculum, and professional development in order to build creative confidence and technical skills.
The PSU summer day camp is supported by funding from Verizon Innovative Learning in collaboration with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) and Arizona State University’s Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. The camp provides mentorship, access to tech tools, and hands-on exploration of design thinking, 3D printing, augmented reality, and social entrepreneurship. Students tackle real-world challenges through collaborative learning experiences—even without prior STEM background. The goal: broaden access, foster problem-solving skills, and engage students in pursuing diverse STEM career pathways.
We're here to inspire middle schoolers to see themselves as STEM people.
Blake Turner of PSU's Center for Entrepreneurship began his involvement with the program five years ago as a college student mentor. Today, he runs the camp, and spends six weeks every summer helping students and instructors collaborate and build skills.
"We're here to inspire middle schoolers to see themselves as STEM people," Turner said.
The program offers four modules focused on different technologies, and a large group challenge. Students choose one of the four tracks: Immersive Media, Smart Solutions, Digital Product Innovations, or Artificial Intelligence. Then, the full cohort comes together for a team-based Mission Design Challenge, which will be a complex project that helps them incorporate everything they've learned.
With the help of five instructors and four PSU student college mentors, students in the camp will create software, build prototypes, design models, or code autonomous robots, depending on which track they select. But the technological skills aren't the only thing they learn during the process—the experience also teaches them how to work together in teams to achieve a common goal, and how to communicate their work to a broader audience.
"We teach them really cool skills like 3D printing, CAD, virtual reality game design, and hands-on physical prototyping. With all those modules, we interweave design thinking, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. We do a lot of group work so they learn a lot. This is an environment where these kids don't really know each other; we're open for everyone from Hillsboro to Gresham, so they meet new people and make a lot of new friends," Turner said.
The six-week program comprises two sessions, three weeks each, with about 80-90 students per session. Students are split into their individual tracks for part of the day, working in classes of around 20. The middle part of the day is devoted to the "Mission Design Challenge," where the full cohort comes together.
"The Mission Design Challenge might be something like, 'escape your planet,' where they have to design a rocket ship and plan how they're going to move their population to a new planet. They give a presentation at the end, showing off their prototype," Turner said. The experience imparts invaluable experience working in groups of different sizes and communicating with other team members.
By expanding access to high-quality STEM education for underrepresented middle school students, the camp aims to empower students to see themselves as future innovators and problem-solvers. Ultimately, it supports long-term equity in education and workforce diversity by nurturing early exposure to STEM career pathways.
The camp is currently accepting applications for the 2025 summer sessions. The first session runs from July 14th to August 1st, and the second session from August 4th to August 22nd. For questions, please reach out to Blake Turner at blturner@pdx.edu.