Rocks and Robots campers check out robot

Rocks and Robots

Disclosure: Rocks and Robots has sponsored this listing and provided information for the listing.

This is part of our 2025 Summer Camp Guide sponsored by Rocks & Robots. Check out the full guide for more summer camp options.


Rocks and Robots

Camp Details

Camp Categories: Computer, LEGO, Sport, STEM

Camp Ages: Elementary School, 6th Graders, 7th Graders, 8th Graders, High Schoolers

Enrollment Types: Full Week, Full Day, Half Day

Earliest Drop-Off: 9a

Latest Pick up: Full day sessions: 3:30 (M,W,F) 5:00 (T,Th) Morning-Only: 12:00

Price: $600 – $1200/week

Registration Opens: November 18, 2024

Availability: Available (subject to change)

Weeks: Week 01 – June 16-20, Week 02 – June 23-27, Week 04 – July 7-11, Week 05 – July 14-18, Week 06 – July 21-25, Week 07 – July 28-August 1, Week 08 – August 4-8, Week 09 – August 11-15, Week 10 – August 18-22

Book Sale - Huge Book Sale in Ann Arbor 1,000s of Awesome BOoks, DVDs, CDs, LPs, Puzzles & Games - June 24-27, 2026 9a-8p The Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds - Building A - 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Find important information in event details.

JLC HUGE Book Sale

Wednesday-Saturday, June 24-27

Mud Day - Kids play in a big mud pit

Apple Playschools
Mud Day Celebration & Fundraiser

Saturday, June 27 10a-12:30p

Ann ARbor Jaycees Carnival - June 25-26 Opens at 4p, June 27-28 Opens at noon Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor Proceeds Go Back into the Community * 4th of July Parade * Thanksgiving Baskets * School Supplies * & More Learn More at a2jaycees.org/carnival Ferris Wheel, QR Code & Skerbeck Logo

Ann Arbor Jaycees Carnival – Enter to Win Wristbands

Thursday-Sunday, June 25-28

FREE Youth Match Pass for Kids 13 & Under - AFC Ann Arbor Mascot Nutmeg, a squirrel, sits with a child who has a bag of chips

AFC Ann Arbor – Get your Free Youth Match Pass & Enter to Win Tickets

Games May 16-July 11

About Rocks and Robots

New for 2024: All campers keep their robots after camp!

For over 20 years, the staff at Rocks & Robots has combined challenging rock climbing activities, the “Rocks” with fun and engaging technology, the “Robots”. An expert staff and smaller class sizes ensure that each child is engaged and challenged at their individual level.  Dr. George’s inventor passion resonates in the classroom as kids stretch and expand their minds and muscles but are still able to  succeed. Campers learn a concept, apply it to specific challenges then are encouraged to invent their own challenges. This can forever change their brains and the way that they see themselves as learners and doers.

Rocks & Robots Climbing

Can a week of summer camp be life changing? I believe that it can and I have the scientific evidence and self-evident assessments as support. 

  • Children teach themselves and we are facilitators that create the circumstances for a natural phenomenon to happen.

The evidence

Rocks & Robots 4 campers with Sumo Robots
  • The mere expectations of teachers is enough to actually increase IQ scores.1
  • How? By giving students more control over assignments, allowing them to work in teams supply extensive coaching with raised expectant eyebrows. 2
  • Sugata Mitra demonstrated the remarkable ability of 6th graders to teach themselves a biotechnology curriculum without a teacher in a foreign language!3
  • I facilitated some middle school students learning statistics.  In 6 weeks they derive the binomial distribution, and show that one flavor of gum was preferred over seven others. They did this by disproving the null hypothesis that “there was no preference” with a greater than 98% likelihood. The original curriculum expectation was mean, median and mode.
  • Carol Dweck popularized the idea of a growth mindset.4
  • Angela Duckworth demonstrated the importance of grit.5 
  • Not only did they demonstrate that these characteristics are great predictors of success over a broad range of measures, they showed that both can be learned!   
Rocks & Robots Campers playing sock tag outdoors

The self-evident assessments

Science and Engineering are intoxicatingly good at giving us validated, predictive models of the world that have helped humankind make almost unimaginable progress.But science and engineering have nothing to offer to help us understand courage, sacrifice, hope, love, imagination,commitment and so many other vital aspects of the human experience. Those are the realm of the arts.

How do the arts measure results? By performances, critiques, gallery shows, best sellers and stirring words. This is where the arts shine. They understand how real performances are self-evident assessments that convey so much that standardized assessments and scientific publications cannot!  

Please join us for an open house after drop off on Friday of every week.

Rocks & Robots Finger chomping

References

1 https://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-and-learning-at-duquesne/pygmalion#:~:text=The%20work%20of%20Rosenthal%20and,phenomenon%20as%20the%20Pygmalion%20Effect
2 https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/profile/c-rubie
3 https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/education/research/research-networks-and-groups/teacher-expectation-project.html
4 https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/
5 https://angeladuckworth.com



Find more summer camps in our 2025 Ann Arbor Summer Camp Guide.

2025 Ann Arbor Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Rocks & Robots - Kids in t-shirts with logos holding kites above their heads.
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