STEM Programs in Seattle, WA

Explorers will get a peak into the Small Worlds all around us as they uncover unseen micro-ecosystems. We’ll investigate beehives, nurse logs, and ant hills to compare them to our own communities. Through games and more, Explorers will learn what a healthy ecosystem needs before designing their own terrariums and up-cycling materials to create small worlds for toy dinosaurs, aliens, and rollie pollies. Small Worlds is certain to be a Big Hit!

Solids, liquids, gases and plasma, oh my! Explorers will learn and play with various states of matter. They will experiment with liquid nitrogen, dry ice, non-Newtonian fluids as well as a variety of other compounds to gain a deeper understanding of matter and how that affects the world around us. During Ice & Fire, Explorers will try their gloved hands (and taste buds) at making some sweet treats, including sub-zero fruits, dipping dots & phase change ice-cream--always a hit!

An adventure awaits at Potions & Dragons! An excellent intro to chemistry, Explorers will squirt, pour, and mix “potions” all the while learning how scientists use the scientific method and lab tools. Drawing inspiration from myths & legends, Explorers will encounter color changing fairies, exothermic dragons, and elusive mermaids. Favorite Explorer activities include lava lamps, fairy dust parties, garden potions, “spell” books, nature wands, color changing potions, and battles with dragons!

When kids learn the skills needed to garden & cook, food becomes more than just what they find in the fridge. At Garden-to-Table, Explorers will care for plants at different stages, from seed to harvest, while also discovering what a healthy ecosystem entails. They’ll take the day’s produce to make a healthy snack or meal. Younger Explorers will focus on food challenges involving bread, fruits, and pasta, while Older campers will hone their knife skills and explore some of the challenges our society faces with our food system. Pull up a chair to our Pinnacle table!

An adventure awaits at Potions & Dragons! An excellent intro to chemistry, Explorers will squirt, pour, and mix “potions” all the while learning how scientists use the scientific method and lab tools. Drawing inspiration from myths & legends, Explorers will encounter color changing fairies, exothermic dragons, and elusive mermaids. Favorite Explorer activities include lava lamps, fairy dust parties, garden potions, “spell” books, nature wands, color changing potions, and battles with dragons!

Sealab 2025 is summer in a camp! With kayaking, fishing, and tide-pooling, this camp is packed with summer fun! Budding marine biologists will learn how sea life anatomy relates to the human body via specimen dissections, test water quality, and discuss human connection with oceans and waterways. Explorers will enjoy a full-day field trip, including drop-off and pick-up at Golden Gardens, one of Seattle’s best beaches. No swimming experience is required but a love for the water is highly recommended. Grab your swimsuit and join us for Sealab 2025! (Full-day field Trip on Thursday, Pinnacle will help arrange carpools)

Welcome recruits to the Treasure Trackers! We’re tasked with recovering cultural relics & treasures from around the world. Join us as we follow clues to take down a Pirate Ring and their nefarious Captain. Campers will learn about various navigation techniques and tools that different cultures have developed. They'll play games, collect evidence, solve puzzles, and complete team challenges on the road to becoming top agents in this globetrotting adventure! Skills include Compasses, GPS, Maps, Invisible Ink, Constellations, Astrolabe, and Animal Tracking.

Suit up for a mission to space during our ever-popular Space & Rockets camp! Explorers will work together on mission scenarios, while practicing teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. They’ll construct team Space Stations, launch rockets, explore the day & night cycle on Earth, create new constellations, and imagine life on other planets. Get ready to blast off into the final frontier!

Join us on this 4-day Quest as we adventure through the woods confronting Myths & Monsters! Adventurers will build their own characters as we collectively weave together a story that helps them understand some of the natural phenomenon that early storytellers explained with myths and folklore. Thunder, Lightning, Earthquakes, Monsoons, Eclipses and more will become characters with intriguing backstories that our Adventurers won’t soon forget. This immersive experience invites young adventurers to explore the enchanting world of our nearby parks, enhancing their appreciation for nature and igniting their curiosity. Campers will enjoy various activities, including crafts, mock battles, storytelling, and our Adventurer’s Banquet to celebrate!

When kids learn the skills needed to garden & cook, food becomes more than just what they find in the fridge. At Garden-to-Table, Explorers will care for plants at different stages, from seed to harvest, while also discovering what a healthy ecosystem entails. They’ll take the day’s produce to make a healthy snack or meal. Younger Explorers will focus on food challenges involving bread, fruits, and pasta, while Older campers will hone their knife skills and explore some of the challenges our society faces with our food system. Pull up a chair to our Pinnacle table!

Sealab 2025 is summer in a camp! With kayaking, fishing, and tide-pooling, this camp is packed with summer fun! Budding marine biologists will learn how sea life anatomy relates to the human body via specimen dissections, test water quality, and discuss human connection with oceans and waterways. Explorers will enjoy a full-day field trip, including drop-off and pick-up at Golden Gardens, one of Seattle’s best beaches. No swimming experience is required but a love for the water is highly recommended. Grab your swimsuit and join us for Sealab 2025! (Full-day field Trip on Thursday, Pinnacle will help arrange carpools)

Puzzles, clues, and mysteries abound as campers explore some of the best and hardest caches around Seattle! Going beyond the basics, Advanced Geocaching is for Explorers who want to enhance their caching, code breaking, and cache making skills. Campers will draw from and incorporate inspiration from the week’s caches to develop, design, and build their own clever caches for other Explorers to solve. Explorers will enjoy a full-day field trip, including drop-off and pick-up in Fremont where Geocaching HQ is located. Let’s go caching! (Full-day field trip to Fremont. Pinnacle will help coordinate carpools.) Entering grades: 5th - 8th or have completed Pinnacle’s Geocaching Camp previously

The Counselor in Training camp is designed for Explorers who want to gain the skills needed to Volunteer at Pinnacle or succeed as babysitters. Campers will be offered certification in First Aid & Child/Infant CPR training, while also covering topics on basic child development, safety, and injury prevention. In small groups, CITs will have the chance to work with our younger campers in guided scenarios. We’ll also simulate common emergencies for them to practice, while also providing ample opportunities to practice new skills and summer-time play. Campers who successfully complete this course may become Pinnacle Volunteers the next summer.

Travel through time with us as we explore and recreate some of the Primitive Projectiles of our ancient ancestors. From throwing rocks & spears, to slings & atlatls, tomahawks & archery, campers will discover how people around the world have innovated projectiles to harvest small and large game for clothing, food, tools and more. Campers will need a keen eye, as we search for materials and game trails. In addition, we’ll talk about how far human innovation has come and what it means to ensure having a sustainable resource. After spending lots of time on target practice, we’ll also share stories, play games, and splash around in the water. If it can be thrown, launched, chucked or tossed, we’ll do it this week during Primitive Projectiles camp!

From UV rays to lasers, Explorers will discover a broad spectrum of opportunities to play and experiment with light. Together, we will examine how plants and animals use light beyond what we can see, while also learning how we utilize light in surprising ways, such as laser tag and fiber optics. Explorers will even engrave a personal memento using a laser! Light & Lasers will spark our Explorers’ imaginations!

We drink, bathe, and play in water, but what is water? Explorers will dive into this question as they splish & splash their way through experiments and summertime play! We’ll explore water’s unique properties by creating solvents, freezing yummy treats, investigating water tension, and more. Explorers in Wet n’ Wild should expect to get wet every day of the week — a must during summer!

With the World of Pokémon as inspiration, trainers will explore and learn about different habitats as they search for animals. They’ll learn about adaptations and evolution when designing their own Pokémon. During a visit to Woodland Park Zoo, they’ll analyze Pokémon types, habitats, and names to gain clues about where to find them. Trainers will have to work together on challenges like making their own Pokéballs to “catch” Pokémon and battle them. With special visitors joining us throughout the week, Trainers will have hands-on time with a variety of animals. Join us on a Pokémon Safari as we try to catch ‘em all!

Regardless of experience levels, all back-country hikers and campers risk getting lost or stranded for a short time in the outdoors. The Advance Survival class will teach Explorers how to survive and even thrive as a team, as they navigate disaster scenarios each day. Instructors will lead campers in engaging survival and primitive skills exercises, showing how to utilize surrounding resources. Skills covered may include animal traps, sewing, water purification, advanced shelters, basket weaving, rescue signaling, wilderness first aid, knife safety, fire-craft and more. Living in the PNW, this camp is a must! Entering grades: 5th - 8th or have completed Pinnacle’s Rule of 3 Survival Camp previously

When kids learn the skills needed to garden & cook, food becomes more than just what they find in the fridge. At Garden-to-Table, Explorers will care for plants at different stages, from seed to harvest, while also discovering what a healthy ecosystem entails. They’ll take the day’s produce to make a healthy snack or meal. Younger Explorers will focus on food challenges involving bread, fruits, and pasta, while Older campers will hone their knife skills and explore some of the challenges our society faces with our food system. Pull up a chair to our Pinnacle table!

Sealab 2025 is summer in a camp! With kayaking, fishing, and tide-pooling, this camp is packed with summer fun! Budding marine biologists will learn how sea life anatomy relates to the human body via specimen dissections, test water quality, and discuss human connection with oceans and waterways. Explorers will enjoy a full-day field trip, including drop-off and pick-up at Golden Gardens, one of Seattle’s best beaches. No swimming experience is required but a love for the water is highly recommended. Grab your swimsuit and join us for Sealab 2025! (Full-day field Trip on Thursday, Pinnacle will help arrange carpools)

Regardless of experience levels, all back-country hikers and campers risk getting lost or stranded for a short time in the outdoors. The Advance Survival class will teach Explorers how to survive and even thrive as a team, as they navigate disaster scenarios each day. Instructors will lead campers in engaging survival and primitive skills exercises, showing how to utilize surrounding resources. Skills covered may include animal traps, sewing, water purification, advanced shelters, basket weaving, rescue signaling, wilderness first aid, knife safety, fire-craft and more. Living in the PNW, this camp is a must! Entering grades: 5th - 8th or have completed Pinnacle’s Rule of 3 Survival Camp previously