Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build, test, and explain a real-world solution in this three-week engineering course for elementary school students on Bryn Mawr College’s campus.
Course Description
A toothpick tower must stand tall without toppling. A pizza-box oven must capture enough heat to work. Students tackle playful challenges like these by taking objects apart, putting them together, and thinking with their hands. Along the way, they use ideas from science, engineering, math, and art to plan and create original designs.
Students investigate ancient and modern engineering wonders and explore how chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers solve different problems. Geometry helps them plan structures, while experiments with heat, materials, and physical forces show how a design behaves. Each challenge gives students a chance to build, test, notice what happened, and try again.
For the capstone, students choose a real-world concern connected to one of the engineering branches they explored. They design a solution as a model, prototype, detailed blueprint, or original product, then explain their engineering choices to classmates.
This three-week course is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on Bryn Mawr College’s campus in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The program is available to commuter students. Beyond class, students take part in campus activities, make new friends, and build confidence trying something new.
What Will You Do?
• Take apart and reassemble objects to investigate how they work
• Explore ancient and modern engineering wonders
• Use geometry to design and build a toothpick tower
• Apply heat-energy concepts while creating a pizza-box oven
• Compare chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering
• Design and present a solution to a real-world concern
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Apply a build-test-improve process to an engineering challenge
• Explain how geometry, heat, materials, or physical forces affect a design
• Present a model, prototype, blueprint, or product that addresses a real-world concern
Students will leave with hands-on challenge work and an original capstone solution that reflects new engineering skills and curiosity to keep creating.
Why Engineering Skills Matter
Engineering helps children turn “What if?” into something they can build and test. Geometry supports planning and balance. Observing heat, materials, and physical forces helps students explain why a design works or needs another try.
Tinkering also teaches persistence. A tower that falls or a model that does not work yet provides useful information. Students practice changing one part, testing again, and explaining what improved. Sharing tools and ideas strengthens collaboration, while presenting a finished solution helps students communicate the thinking behind what they made.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for elementary school students who have completed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade and enjoy building, taking things apart, drawing plans, experimenting, or asking how everyday objects work. It is a good fit for curious makers who want to try several kinds of engineering through hands-on challenges.
No prerequisites are required. Students should be ready to share materials, work with classmates, follow instructions for classroom tools, and keep trying when a design needs improvement.
View the eligibility requirements for the Institute for the Gifted on our FAQ page. A completed program application is required.
Why Bryn Mawr?
Bryn Mawr gives elementary students a welcoming place to spend the day learning, creating, and meeting new friends. Its historic, tree-lined setting near Philadelphia makes a summer class feel special and academically structured while remaining close enough for students to return home each afternoon.
The commuter-day format combines hands-on academics with a clear daily routine, shared activities, and Summer Discovery support throughout the program day. Students can try something new, build confidence through participation, and enjoy the fun of learning on a college campus without an overnight stay. For families, Bryn Mawr offers a thoughtful balance of creativity, academic challenge, friendship, and age-appropriate independence in a structured day-program environment.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification of completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College