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Our Programs
GEMS
Girls in Engineering Math and Science
miniGEMS
(rising 5th thru 8th grade)
megaGEMS
(rising 9th thru 12th grade)
megaGEMS Research Camp
(rising 9th & 10th grade)
megaGEMS Internships
(rising 11th & 12th grade)
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Girls in
Engineering,
Math, and
Science
miniGEMS
5th thru 8th grade
miniGEMS focuses on robotics challenges and innovative STEM curricula. It runs after-school clubs led by teachers who meet weekly to guide students through a range of activities designed to foster teamwork, improve communication, and develop a variety of skills.
megaGEMS Research Camp
9th & 10th grade
The megaGEMS Research Camp aims to introduce students to foundational skills in research, programming, and writing. Participants conduct a research project and create a scientific poster to showcase their findings.
megaGEMS Internship
11th & 12th grade
megaGEMS interns conduct independent research in a high-caliber 4-6-week college-level program. Interns lead their own research projects and create scientific papers and posters to present their findings.
History
of GEMS
Get to Know Us
miniGEMS began in 2015 as a one-week summer camp and has since grown. From 2016 to 2018, miniGEMS expanded to four two-week camps, held Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. Each camp hosted different schools, offering the same curriculum to ensure that every student had the same experience. In 2019, the program grew even further, with five two-week camps serving approximately thirty students per camp and around 150 students participating in total. miniGEMS introduces the next generation to programming, coding, robotics, and nutrition, making it the first camp for middle school students with a special focus on autonomous ground, air, and underwater robots.
In addition, GEMS runs after-school clubs throughout the school year at multiple schools across San Antonio, serving as a pipeline for recruiting students into other programs and events. Each club hosts at least one FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team, which focuses on four key components: robot missions, robot design, an innovative project, and a core values project for 6 years. On January 18th, 2020, two GEMS teams competed alongside 22 other teams from San Antonio and the surrounding areas. These two miniGEMS Club teams were the only all-girls teams at the event, and the girls were excited to showcase their robot’s abilities and share the knowledge they had gained about their community.
miniGEMS held its first post-COVID-19 summer camps in 2023 at the University of the Incarnate Word. The camp brought together students from over 15 schools to explore STEM through various LEGO platforms, microBits, and more. miniGEMS is thrilled to announce that summer camps will return in June 2025!!
megaGEMS was launched in 2019 for students who graduated from the miniGEMS programs as well as encouraging new students to join. It consists of two two-week camps designed for freshmen and sophomore students, held Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. megaGEMS offers a deeper dive into STEM topics compared to miniGEMS, with more advanced challenges that include subjects like chemistry, mechanical engineering, and the Python programming language. Since its launch, GEMS has hosted 4-6 week summer research programs annually.
Staying true to its core values, GEMS continues to offer STEM events, after-school clubs, and summer programs 100% free!