Girls Science + Nature Camp
Our goal is to empower middle-school girls and gender-expansive youth in the sciences by providing them with role models of women in STEM, and to foster their confidence in science, in nature, and in themselves.
Summer 2025 Sessions
Week 1: July 7-11
Week 2: July 14-18
Week 3: July 21-25
Week 4: July 28 - Aug. 1
Week 5: August 4-8
2025 Registration goes live February 1.
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Camp sessions are Monday - Friday
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Camp is open to girls entering 7th and 8th grade
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$1,200 with scholarship support available!
Email: camp@penikese.org
Science + Nature Summer Camp for Girls
Penikese Girls Science + Nature Camp is a week-long (Monday-Friday) residential experience on Penikese Island, bringing middle-school female and gender-expansive students outside to explore the natural world through the island's 75-acres of wind-swept beauty. Penikese Island is a safe, serene, and unspoiled environment, making it a fantastic setting for environmental education.
Our Camp is designed to address the gender gap in the sciences. The cornerstone of the Camp experience is the opportunity to engage with female scientists from nearby scientific institutions through hands-on workshops. By introducing campers to diverse female role models in science, we aim to change the stereotype of “what a scientist looks like,” inspiring girls to see themselves as future scientists.
Camp is focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities and exploring nature. Each week visiting scientists and artists share hands-on activities, scientific explorations, and artistic endeavors with campers. Leveraging our proximity to the world-renowned scientific community in Woods Hole, we bring exceptional role models to inspire our campers. Past workshops have included: marine biology, shellfish aquaculture, bird nesting habitats and behaviors, electronics and robotics, microscopy, oceanography, landscape painting, scientific illustration, and squid & fish dissections.
In addition to providing an outstanding opportunity to engage with scientists from world-renowned scientific institutions, Camp also provides the opportunity to spend time on a serene, remote island, unplugged from daily digital life. Penikese Island is a truly unique environment. The opportunities to explore history and wildlife up-close are phenomenal. While only a short boat ride from the mainland, the island feels removed from the normal pace and structure of everyday life, providing a space for deep connections and personal growth.
It is important for girls to see themselves as capable in the sciences, but also simply as capable in general. We believe that building confidence helps set our campers up for lifelong success. By hosting campers on a rustic and remote island, we push everyone outside of their normal comfort zone – this builds confidence and fortitude and creates an environment ripe for incredible growth.
Questions about camp?
Email: camp@penikese.org
Penikese Camp Experience
Penikese Island
Penikese Island is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife as a wildlife sanctuary for nesting birds, with a focus on the endangered Roseate Tern. Penikese Island School has operated on the island under the terms of an agreement with the State since 1973.
Traveling to Penikese
Students travel to and from the island on a modern 36' vessel, the Richard S. Edwards.
The trip from Woods Hole to Penikese is 13 miles and takes about 1 hour.
Facilities on Penikese
Rustic, beautiful, and timeless, Penikese Island and its facilities are far removed from the bustle of modern life. The main living quarters have been modeled on a 19th century New England farmhouse and built, in large part, using salvaged beams found on and around Penikese Island.
General Weekly Schedule:
Monday:
Morning: Camper arrival and check-in, tour of Woods Hole scientific institutions, lunch in WH, boat departs Woods Hole for Penikese Island after lunch
Afternoon: Arrive at Penikese Island, unload the boat, bunk selection, snack, bathroom break, group assignments, rules and safety talk, History of Penikese + tour of the island, recreation with counselors
Evening: Dinner, chores, recreation with counselors, sunset walk up to Cistern Hill, Evening Circle
Tuesday & Thursday:
Morning: Breakfast, Guest Instructor Lesson #1, snack break, Guest Instructor Lesson #2
Afternoon: Lunch, Guest Instructor Lesson #3, snack break, Guest Instructor Lesson #4, recreation with counselors
Evening: Dinner, chores, recreation with counselors, sunset walk up to Cistern Hill, Evening Circle
Wednesday:
Morning: Breakfast, Counselor Lesson #1, snack break, Counselor Lesson #2
Afternoon: Lunch, Counselor Lesson #3, recreation with counselors
Evening: Dinner, chores, recreation with counselors, sunset walk up to Cistern Hill, Evening Circle
Friday:
Morning: Breakfast, clean-up and pack-up, final walk around the island, journaling and reflection time
Afternoon: Lunch, load the boat, depart Penikese for Woods Hole
3:30pm Camper Pick-up
Penikese Island Science + Nature Camps
Penikese Science + Nature Camp 2023
2019 Penikese Science + Nature Camp
Women are underrepresented in the sciences
Issue:
Women represent only 23% of the workforce in the sciences, and only ~10% of the workforce in physics and engineering specifically.
Cause:
Gender-biased messaging suggests that men are more capable in math and science than women. This reinforces stereotypes of STEM specialties as masculine. As a result, girls’ interest in math and science begins to decrease between ages 9-13.
Solution:
Provide girls with role models and examples of women in science.
Penikese Island School is a part of the solution: Our mission is to change the idea of “what a scientist looks like” by introducing middle-school-aged girls to the many faces and careers that make up women in science, and by supporting learning opportunities and positive messages about girls’ abilities. Our Camp creates an environment where girls have fun doing science and engineering, and fosters excitement, confidence, and literacy in the sciences.
Financial Assistance
Scholarships are available for Camp!
Scholarship applications are part of Camp Registration.
Penikese Island School has a long history of making sure that its programs are available to all students irrespective of financial circumstances. Qualified need is the most important priority for our scholarship program.
Photo Credit: Brian Nevins / 11th Hour Racing