Summer Engineering Experiences for High Schoolers

Learn new skills, lead hands-on experiments, and discover your engineering passion in Summer Engineering Experiences with the Opus College of Engineering at Marquette University. Each Summer Engineering Experience is designed to ignite curiosity and critical thinking in participating high school students. These sessions also allow high school students to explore Marquette’s engineering spaces alongside current faculty, staff and students!

• Summer Engineering Experiences at Marquette are non-residential, half-day programs hosted on Marquette's campus.
• Families are responsible for their own transportation to and from campus each day.
• For our 2025 programs, we are only accepting rising 10^th graders and above.

Summer 2025 details coming soon. Please join our email list below for announcements.

Curious about previous offerings? Find 2024 programs below.

Fail, Learn and Repeat: Exploration of Automation

Explore and discover how engineers use the engineering method with automation to solve real-world problems! Students will use the engineering method to get to know our cobots (collaborative robots), program and experiment with them to learn the principles of automation. Emphasis will be placed on how to break down large problems into manageable pieces that can be tested quickly to learn the fundamental theories governing a multidisciplinary system.  This experience is hosted in our Omron Advanced Automation Lab, a state-of-the-art learning laboratory co-created with industry to develop the next generation of industrial automation, manufacturing and supply chain leaders.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer engineering.

Note: experience in algebra is required.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

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Biomedical Engineering Bootcamp: the Intersection of Biology, Medicine and Technology

Simulate injuries on a test dummy to measure impact force. Track your own muscle activity using real sensors, and use them to control other devices by customizing an algorithm. Experiment with blood flow using artificial vessels and arteries. Do all this and more to discover the multiple avenues of biomedical engineering through hands-on experiments and challenges in biomechanics, bioelectronics and biocomputing. This Experience will showcase the many ways a biomedical engineer uses technology to deliver life-changing solutions to real patients.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering and electrical engineering. Students with a special interest in biology and healthcare are encouraged to enroll.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

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Steel Breakers & Data Makers: Introduction to Materials Testing and Data Analysis

Join hands-on testing of steel, wood and concrete and collect data from each bend, break and strain. Then dive into Excel to plot this data and explore concepts of Youngs modulus, moments of inertia and stress/strain relationships. This Experience provides an opportunity to use real instrumentation and software alongside Marquette engineers in our Engineering and Materials and Structural Testing Lab.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to civil engineering, construction engineering and mechanical engineering. Personal laptops are recommend for students participating in this experience. If you do not have a laptop, the College of Engineering will provide you with access to one during the program.

Note: experience in algebra is required.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

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Adaptive Car Build Week with Go Baby Go! Milwaukee 

Ready to use your skills to #BeTheDifference for children in our community? Join the engineers behind Go Baby Go! Milwaukee to help modify ride-on cars for children who experience limited mobility. Students will learn about electrical circuits so they can design a real Go Baby Go! car circuit.

Participants will learn the principles, tools and skills behind electrical modifications, then put them into practice on real Go Baby Go! cars that will be given to local families. In addition to working alongside Marquette engineers, participants will hear from Physical and Occupational Therapists from Children's Wisconsin.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to biomedical engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

DemystifAI: Understanding and Creating AI Applications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us! New AI technologies and applications are on the rise, and AI is already transforming various industries, including healthcare, banking, transportation, education, entertainment and more. High school students are the current users and future leaders of AI, but many still see AI as a mystery. In this program, students will deepen their understanding of how AI works, how to use it, and the ethical and social implications of the technology.

Students will learn how common and emerging AI technologies function with hands-on examples, and then work together to create and code their own AI applications. Guided by Marquette faculty, students will also participate in discussions around how AI could impact the world of tomorrow.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to computer engineering.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

Electric Vehicle Quick Charge: Hands-on with the Future of EVs

You have probably seen electric vehicles (EVs) cruising on the highway, but what about up in the sky? And how do the EVs in the lane next to you actually work? In this program, students will get a snapshot of electric vehicle technology from Marquette experts and jumpstart their understanding of how electric cars, aircrafts and more will transform our future.

This is our shortest Summer Engineering Experience, designed to ignite student curiosity around electrical vehicles through brief demonstrations and discussions as well as a hands-on electrical engineering lab activity.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to electrical engineering.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

Data Divers: Discovering Data Science and Database Design

How does Amazon organize countless digital shelves for easy browsing? Why does Netflix recommend one movie over another? Where does your overflowing email get stored? Dive into these questions and more through this program dedicated to understanding data science and database design.

Databases are the supersized, super-intelligent digital filing cabinets that organizations use to store, track, analyze and use data. Participants will discuss how databases are designed, practice creating their own databases, and explore the skills needed to become a future data science leader tackling “big data.”

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to computer engineering.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

Connected Controllers: Exploring Microcontrollers for Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT) products are on shelves and in homes everywhere, commonly sold as “smart appliances and devices,” like a smart refrigerator, smart TV, or smart thermostat. This technology is made possible by microcontrollers, which are small computers embedded into machines and devices to perform a specific task.

In this program, participants will tinker with computer and electrical components to create small machines that flash LEDs, sing jingles, connect to Bluetooth to create chat applications, and even use machine learning concepts to recognize words.

This program is a good fit for any high schooler interested in engineering, and has the closest connections to computer engineering and electrical engineering.

REGISTRATION CLOSED.