Summer Opportunities for Florida’s Gifted Learners

·         The Governor’s Summer Programs will be announced soon.  

·                     Disney Youth Education Series programs are now available for individual enrollment.  During most of the year, these programs are only available for groups of more than 10 youth.  However, due to popular demand, they’ve added summer programs for small groups of students and individuals between June 14 and August 29.   A parent or chaperone must accompany each participant(s). This is a unique opportunity to experience 2 ½ - 3 ½ hour interactive, in-depth programs in several areas of study and experience the Disney Theme Parks at a deeply discounted rate!  For more information visit www.disneyyes.com/openenrollment .

·                     The Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) at the University of Oregon is a residential summer program that supports the academic enrichment of gifted and highly able students in grades 6 - 10.    SEP applications for 2011 are now available at www.uoyouth.org. If you would like to receive paper copies of SEP applications, brochures, or other informational materials, they will accommodate requests for mailing program materials in batches of two to two-hundred.

·                     The Davidson Institute has a resource available for summer programs across the nation at http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10370.aspx  which lists programs for gifted sorted by topics of interest. 

·                     The University of Northern Colorado is offering two summer programs to challenge gifted, talented, and high-ability students: a Leadership Enrichment Program for students entering the 11th and 12th grades in Fall 2011, and a Summer Enrichment Program for those entering fifth through tenth grades. Both programs run July 10-23.  For more information go to sep@unco.edu or visit www.unco.edu/sep.

·                     Information about summer programs across the nation is available at the NAGC web site:  http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1103 and http://www.nagc.org/resourcedirectory.aspx.

·                     For language immersion, gifted students may appreciate Concordia Language Villages with information at http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/programs1.php . 

·                     Summer Wonders is an award-winning program for gifted kids in Austin, TX.  www.SummerWonders.org.  Session I: June 20 - July 1. Session II: July 11- 22 Session III: Mind Games (6-10th Graders) July 25 – 29.

·                     Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development has summer, and online, programs for all ages, including educators and parents:  http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/summer/  

·                     Teen Ink at http://www.teenink.com/Summer/ provides information about programs in many areas for high school students in writing, music, arts, sports, engineering, computers, business, and more.

·                     The Summer Institute for the Gifted http://www.giftedstudy.org/ has residential programs with varying levels of challenge for students ages 10-17 and day programs at multiple campus sites. http://www.giftedstudy.org/index_day.asp for ages 4-14.

·                     The founder of MathPath (grades 6-8) is launching a new math camp for ages 8-10.5:  http://www.epsiloncamp.org/index.php    

·                     http://robotics.nasa.gov/edu/matrix.php A good resource for science and technology camps.

·                     Exploration's Programs: http://www.explo.org/resources Junior Programs for grades 6-7 in veterinary and emergency medicine, Intermediate (grades 8-10) and Senior (grades 10-12) in Sports Medicine, Business, Culinary Arts, and TV and Movie Industry.  All are two week programs day or residential at Yale University.

·                     Stetson University’s HATS program offers DeLand campus classes to be held July 18-22 and July 25-29. Other locations will be announced soon.  A new addition to the HATS Program, the BERETS: Beginning Enrichment Recognizing Emerging Talents is for students in grades K-2 who participate in a gifted program and younger siblings of current HATS students are eligible to attend.  hats@stetson.edu

·                     Energetic Einsteins offers summer programs and camps for gifted 3rd-9th graders as well as Internship opportunities for older gifted students.  Summer program dates for 2011 will be: Session 1 July 25-29 and Session 2 August 1-5. giftedinfo@biophi.org.  Brains and Behavior Program:  The neuroscience faculty at the Clearwater, FL location offers a hands-on, minds on exploration for 6^th -9^th grade gifted students to learn about brain anatomy and function, neuronal communication, and brain health and diseases July 25-29.  The science faculty at the Clearwater location will reveal the science behind the magic and provide hands on explorations in  Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  Participants:  Gifted 3rd-6th graders August 1-5.  Cost:  $450/week ($50 discount for Multiple Class or Sibling Discount) Limited number of scholarships available!  Register at www.EnergeticEinstiens.com.

·                     The Center for Gifted Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi with Frances Karnes offers a Summer Leadership Studies program for students in grades 6-11 from June 12-17; a Gifted Studies program with a wide variety of courses for students in grades four through eight from June 19-24; and A Summer Program for Academically Talented Youth in grades 7-10 from July 3-22.  http://www.usm.edu/gifted 

·                     Epsilon, a new summer camp for the exceptionally (EG) and profoundly (PG) gifted, ages 8 to 10 years old (students must be under the age of 11 during camp), who love math. This new camp, directed by Dr. George Thomas, founder of Mathpath and Canada/USA Mathcamp, will be held at Colorado College from July 24 through August 14, 2011. Epsilon Camp combines an intellectually rigorous student camp running in parallel with a parent workshop addressing the concerns and challenges of raising EG/PG children. Epsilon students will be exposed to mathematics enrichment not available anywhere else at this time for their age group. For more information, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, please visit http://epsiloncamp.org/index.php 

·                     The Green River Preserve is an environmental summer camp, located on a 3400 acre private wildlife preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Unique program offer a creative, nurturing, and intellectually stimulating approach to connecting children to the joy and wonder of the natural world. Programs are available for students rising into grades 2-12 as well as a family camp.  For information go to http://www.greenriverpreserve.org/. 

·                     Gifted students interested in a challenging academic summer program should consider attending the THINK Summer Institute on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. This intense three-week residential summer program offers exceptionally gifted 13- to 16-year-old students the opportunity to earn six transferable college credits.  Fore details email THINK@davidsongifted.org or call (775) 852-3483 ext. 6.

·                     John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth lists a range of summer program options at http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/summer-programs.html. 

·                     Duke University Youth Summer Programs include a variety of courses that include the sciences, the humanities and the arts. Gifted kids interested in science will find a course to take, but so will kids who are more interested in creative writing and even the performing arts.  Programs run for about two weeks and are available to kids in grades five through eleven, although the range varies depending on the course. A residential plan is available. http://www.tip.duke.edu/summer_programs/.

                     Gifted Enrichment Opportunities....