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Summer STEM

Two students work on assembling an electronics circuit for a remote control vehicle.
Students in the Rube Goldberg class prototype components with cardboard and cups before 3D printing final parts.
Summer STEM students test a gear for an elevator in the Rube Goldberg machine.
Microcontrollers and breadboards used by Summer STEM students to assemble electronics.
Students in a chemistry lab as part of the Summer STEM program. Photo by Chris Taggart/Cooper Union

Students in a chemistry lab as part of the Summer STEM program. Photo by Chris Taggart/Cooper Union
Sustainable and green energy students test prototypes to gather energy from wind.

Summer STEM offers 3 and 6 week programs in design, engineering and hands-on problem-solving for 9th through 11th grade students. Class topics change each year to reflect current and emerging questions in civil, chemical, electrical, mechanical and biomedical engineering and computer science.  In each class, the skills and projects covered are inspired by and frequently replicate those completed by Cooper Union students.

Hear about Summer STEM from past students and staff in the What is Summer STEM? Video.

See example of past Class Projects:  Summer STEM 2021 Courses

Sign up to be notified when the 2022 classes and application are announced: STEM Outreach Interest Form

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.