Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Use nature as a laboratory to investigate attention, stress, perception, and behavior in this two-week Dartmouth academy for high school students.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for overall experience by students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Course Description
How do the brain, body, and environment work together to shape attention, stress, perception, and behavior? Students build a foundation in neuroanatomy and neural function while exploring the emerging field of environmental neuroscience.
Hands-on activities make the science tangible. Students use an interactive brain atlas, build and label a neuron, test perception and attention, practice breathing techniques, and examine how habits and circadian rhythms affect well-being. A guided walk in Pine Park turns attention restoration into a field observation, while a sheep brain lab connects models and anatomy.
A visit to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center introduces clinical and research settings connected with neurology, neuroimaging, psychiatry, or rehabilitation. In small groups, students then develop a research question and present a capstone project that connects neuroscience evidence with a topic they want to explore in greater depth.
This two-week full-day academy is part of Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars. Students spend the full program focused on one intensive academy. The academy is available to residential students and will take place both on Dartmouth's main campus as well as the legendary mountain retreat, Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, where outdoor experiences become part of the learning and development. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth.
What Will You Do?
• Identify major brain structures and explain key functions
• Build and label a neuron model
• Test attention, perception, breathing, and motor coordination
• Record observations during an attention-restoration walk in Pine Park
• Compare brain models and anatomy in a sheep brain lab
• Visit Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and connect observations with neuroscience careers
• Research and present a collaborative capstone project
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain foundational ideas in neuroscience and environmental neuroscience
• Connect brain structures and neural processes with attention, stress, perception, and behavior
• Evaluate research and present a collaborative neuroscience capstone
Students leave with field observations, lab experience, and a completed capstone presentation, along with clearer direction about neuroscience, psychology, medicine, or environmental health.
Why Environmental Neuroscience Skills Matter
Applied neuroscience helps students turn familiar experiences into questions they can investigate. Attention, stress, sleep, breathing, perception, and habits all involve interactions among the brain, body, and environment.
Students practice observing carefully, comparing evidence, and distinguishing a plausible explanation from a supported conclusion. Those habits matter in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, public health, education, rehabilitation, and any field concerned with how people think, feel, learn, and behave.
Who Should Attend?
This academy is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are curious about the brain, psychology, behavior, health, or the effects of natural settings on attention and well-being.
Participants should be ready to learn indoors and outdoors, handle models or specimens responsibly, record observations, read scientific material, collaborate on a capstone, and present their findings. Students who enjoy connecting biology with everyday experience will find several ways into the material.
Recommended by 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in the Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars program (2026)
Why Dartmouth?
Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars gives high school students a concentrated introduction to college-level learning in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth. Students explore current ideas through discussion, projects, and sustained work that helps them test an academic interest in depth.
Residential students live in Dartmouth residence halls, eat at 53 Commons, and can join workshops and counselor-supported evening and weekend activities. Time in Hanover and the Upper Valley adds a distinctive New England setting, while the broader experience helps students build independence and clarify what they may want to study next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive
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