Summer Academic Challenge

Gold Group: Ripple effect: Exploring the Connection Between Salmon, Water, and the Community of Puget Sound

The focus will be on the rich history of Puget Sound and Tacoma, emphasizing the significance of fishing and water rights in the community. Students will explore the life cycle and habitat of salmon, investigating how water quality, climate change, and human activities affect this vital food source for local wildlife and communities. Through this immersive experience, students will connect their learning to the challenges and opportunities within their own community, fostering a deeper understanding of environmental stewardship and cultural heritage in the Pacific Northwest.

Final Project: Create a powerful call to action focused on protecting salmon. Using one of the unit themes as inspiration, students will design a high-quality project that raises awareness and encourages others to take action. This culminating project highlights creativity, research, and critical thinking, and is designed to be impactful enough to share with local schools or even the university community, giving students the opportunity to see their work make a real difference.

Green Group: Statistically Speaking

Ever wonder how games stay fair, how polls predict opinions, or how data explains real-world trends? This summer, the Green Group will dive into probability and statistics through hands-on STEAM activities that show how math actually connects to everyday life.

Instead of memorizing formulas, students will explore how math is really just a way of describing patterns we see in the world around us. Those so-called “rules” aren’t random, they’re tools humans created to explain how things behave. Once you see that, math becomes less intimidating and a lot more meaningful (and even fun!).

Final Project: Students will get hands-on by designing their own probability-based games and testing what really makes a game fair. They’ll create and run opinion surveys to collect real data from others, then analyze the results to uncover patterns and interesting insights. Along the way, students will work in teams, thinking like mathematicians, scientists, and designers as they problem-solve, experiment, and bring their ideas to life.

Blue Group: Spaces for Everyone: An Adventure in Home Design

This hands-on theme lets students design their ideal “homes” while using STEAM principles. What does a home look like in the past, present and future? Is it a single family home or a multi generational home? They'll explore topics like sustainable energy, materials, and environmental impact, and use tech tools to create smart home features. Students will work in teams to solve real-world challenges like space and structure, while considering global issues such as climate change and housing shortages. The arts will help them design creative, functional spaces, and math will be used for planning and budgeting. By the end, students will gain valuable skills in teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking, while being inspired to make a difference in their communities.

Final Project: Students will design and build models of their ideal homes, using hands-on construction, technology, and STEAM principles. They’ll explore smart design, energy efficiency, and sustainable materials while solving real-world challenges like space, cost, and environmental impact. By thinking like architects, engineers, and designers, students will turn creative ideas into innovative, future-ready homes.

Summer Academic Challenge (SAC) is a tuition-free four-week enrichment program for Tacoma and greater Pierce County students in grades 7 to 12. With an innovative Project-Based STEAM curriculum, students explore themes in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, and see how the subjects they study in school play out in the world around them. Classes are project-based and require teamwork and collaboration. In addition to time on campus, whether in the classroom, lab, outdoors, or in the library, students attend workshops on writing and oral presentation skills, and participate in field trips and special events. Students participating in the program gain confidence, expand their interests, and become better prepared for the next school year and to meet their long-term academic goals. In fact, over a six-year period (2014–20) at Puget Sound, the one-year retention rate for former Summer Academic Challenge participants (89%) was significantly better than the rate for all other first-year students (83%), including 100% retention of students who participated in two or more Challenges.

Eligibility

• Students must be currently attending a public school.
• Students must be from underrepresented minoritized groups, first generation college students, and/or from underrepresented socio-economic status as determined by the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch program.
• Students with an interest in developing their skills in science and technology study material centered on a theme that changes from year to year.
• Students must be able committed to attending all 20 days of Summer Academic Challenge (Mid June to Mid July).  Full attendance and participation is important, as this program is collaborative and project-based.

Themes from past years have included robotics, salmon survival, flight, and sustainability. Students study specific mathematical and scientific topics that support the theme and relate those topics to larger questions. Over a four week period, they attend classes, build models, execute computer programs, conduct laboratory experiments, and participate in field trips.

Teachers are drawn from both the community and the university. Current university students serve as mentors and teaching assistants to the middle and high school students participating in the program.

Financial Aid Opportunity for College

Puget Sound will provide a package that meets the demonstrated financial need of Summer Academic Challenge students who wish to attend the University of Puget Sound if they meet the following criteria: 1) Successfully complete Summer Academic Challenge 2) Graduate from high school; 3) Apply to, are admitted, and enroll at the University of Puget Sound.

See the short video created during the 23rd year of the Summer Academic Challenge for student reflections on the program and to learn more about what participating in this program can do for you.

If you have any questions, please email access@pugetsound.edu or call 253.879.2827.

Quotes from students, and parents/guardians:

• "This program has been a true gift.  It opened doors and provided experiences my student wouldn't have had access to otherwise.  We're so thankful."
• "Great quality program.  My son is always excited to attend and loves talking about what he has learned when he gets home!."
• "The TAs helped with projects, they were fun to be around and made the projects fun."
• "They were very friendly, helped us out and were easy to talk to. (TAs)"