Student Programs and Summer Camps
The McDonald Institute plans, runs, funds, and hosts several events for science-enthused students at every level of education. We host summer camps for Kingston youth (in person) and for all youth (virtually), and summer schools for national and international undergraduate and graduate students.
IceCube Masterclass for high school students
A day-long exploration of the IceCube neutrino observatory, including conversations with scientists at IceCube in Antarctica. This will be held April 12th, 2025.
IDEAS (Grades 7-9)
IDEAS (Innovation, Diversity, Exploration & Advancement in STEM) Camp is a 5 day camp concentrating on hands-on activities related to astronomy and physics. Meant for youths of all backgrounds and genders going into grades 7, 8, and 9, explore the cosmos and carry out real science experiments with the close guidance of leading female scientists in the field!
Check back for updates about registration for 2024!
Summer of Science (Grades 8-12)
The Summer of Science program (available both in-person and virtually) is for students of all backgrounds and genders from 13-18 years of age. It is a free afternoon enrichment program for a small group of high school and middle school students (including students graduating this June). Over 12 afternoon sessions, the Summer of Science program focuses on physics and the process of doing science.
The application period will open for 2024 at the end of March!
CAPSS (Undergraduate)
The Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School (CAPSS) is an intensive week-long undergraduate school that will introduce students to the current topics in the field of astroparticle physics at Queen’s University and SNOLAB.
GRIDS (Graduate)
The GRaduate Instrumentation and Detector School (GRIDS) offers a diversified learning experience, combining lectures from leading experts with hands-on experience with typical detector and instrumentation technology.