Summer Exploration Programs for Students in Grades 2-12 | EXPLO
Explo - Learning Through Exploration

Make Summer
Meaningful Enrichment Programs for Students in Grades 2-12

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Making Summer Meaningful

Making Summer Meaningful [VIDEO]

EXPLO is far more than your standard academic enrichment program. EXPLO is where you discover by doing. Where you find those things that move your spirit. Where you are encouraged to act on your talents so that you may create a life of purpose and meaning.
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Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow is Key to Engaged Learning

EXPLO Advisor Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi recently chatted with us about why learning to practice flow early on leads to more engaged learning, self-confidence, and a life driven by meaning and purpose.
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EXPLO Alum Salvador Gómez a TIME Teen of the Year

After launching a global crowdfunding campaign when Hurricane Maria left millions in the dark, Salvador has been recognized by TIME magazine as a 2017 Teen of the Year alongside fellow activists, artists, and entrepreneurs.
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It Takes Daring and Courage to Live Life Fully

EXPLO is where you come to make lasting connections and practice taking risks you aren't able to in any other environment. These are the keys to living a wholehearted life — and this is where you can be wholly yourself, every moment of every day.
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Secrets to a Transformational Summer Camp Experience

What is your teen missing this summer? Download our "Secrets to A Transformational Summer Camp Experience For Your Teen" Guide and discover more about the essential elements of a transformational summer camp experience and practicalities to keep in mind as you assess your options for summer 2018.
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We're All In

From EXPLO Summer to EXPLO Studio, we are designers of remarkable teaching and learning experiences. That means students and teachers are engaged and fully immersed in the learning as its happening — and exploration continues far beyond the classroom.
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The Experts Come to EXPLO

The EXPLO network is vast, international, and deep, and it gives us access to some of the most influential minds in academia and industry, drawing on their expertise and connecting them to our students.
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30+ EXPLO Alums Crack Forbes' 30 Under 30

There's a reason why more than 30 recent EXPLO alums have gone on to be named to Forbes magazine's prestigious "30 Under 30" lists. Lifelong habits of exploration and discovery start at EXPLO.
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The World is Full of Choices.
EXPLO is Where You Learn to
Make Good Ones.

Explore our programs

  • I'm a parent
    What grade will your child enter in the fall of 2019?
    For International Students: Use this chart to convert your age into American grade levels.
  • I'm a Student
    What grade will you enter in the fall of 2019?
    For International Students: Use this chart to convert your age into American grade levels.
  • I'm an educator
    At EXPLO, we are designers of remarkable teaching and learning experiences. To learn more about our professional development opportunities, visit studio.explo.org.

We Don’t Put Classroom Walls Around Learning

Every day at EXPLO is thoughtfully and precisely planned so that learning doesn’t end when classes do. Each activity, every encounter is an open-ended opportunity for discovery and growth.

  • Yale Weekend Trip: White Water Rafting in the Berkshires

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    Navigate the waters of New England where everyone from beginners to experts can face their fears down mellow floats to Class IV thrillers.

  • Video: Is It Relevant?

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    An EXPLO Alum reflects upon her experiences.

  • EXPLO Studio: Critical Making and Innovation Camp for Educators

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    Many schools have maker spaces – or are contemplating building them – but aren’t exactly sure how to use them or understand how to leverage their use across the curriculum. EXPLO Studio is focused on critical making: transforming the ordinary into something with meaning. It’s not making for the sake of making, but making for a purpose.

  • Wellesley Workshop Highlight: Fencing

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    Gear up and compete in one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics: fencing! Learn how to differentiate between the foil, épée and sabre, all while practicing fencing's formal sportsmanship techniques.

  • VIDEO: Kelly Corrigan

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    Best-Selling Author and EXPLO Writer-In-Residence.

  • EXPLO at Wheaton: Medieval Battle Contraptions

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    Learn about the history of siege weapons through EXPLO-designed trebuchets and catapults — all while keeping in mind factors that shape the physics of momentum.

  • EXPLO at Yale: Economics

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    Come explore the basic principles of micro- and macroeconomics as we learn how companies set prices to maximize their profits, explore the impact of unemployment, and understand the effects of supply and demand on price.

  • Wellesley Clubs and Leagues: Early Morning Running Club

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    For ninth grader Gabi, early morning running around the beautiful and scenic trail of Lake Waban helps ground and energize her for the day of classes and activities ahead.

  • EXPLO Partnership: Richard Light

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    Richard Light, eminent professor at Harvard University, and founder of How To Live Wisely — a program that aims to strengthen student experiences on undergraduate campuses — is partnering with EXPLO to lead professional development seminars with EXPLO educators on how high school students can live a meaningful, fulfilling, and happy life.

  • EXPLO Studio: Maine Moose Project

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    EXPLO Studio, along with our transient moose, delivered an interactive keynote on playful learning to Maine STEAM teachers at the Thomas College Center for Innovation in Education. Some of the herd stayed behind, and the project is now moving to public schools throughout the state.

  • EXPLO Programs: Dining

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    Dive into our thoughtful menu that reflects the eating interests and needs of our second graders — and eleventh graders alike. Accommodating to dietary restrictions and allergies, all we ask is you make sure something green is on your plate — and no, “jello” doesn’t count.

  • EXPLO at Yale: Find Your Voice

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    At Yale, opportunities to be bold surround you. From practicing civil discourse in the classroom, to dancing on stage at a Main Event, finding your voice is guaranteed.

  • Video: One Tool

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    An exploration of personal preference.

  • EXPLO at Wellesley: Medical Careers Course

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    In the morning, become a doctor-in-training, getting a hands-on approach with instructor Llona Kavege, discovering more about anatomy and physiology through the dissection of a fetal pig.

  • EXPLO at Wheaton: Super Secret Spy Society

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    Hunt for clues around campus, practice deductive reasoning and nonverbal communication skills, trail your mysterious suspect with a drone... all in a day's work as your team works to crack the case.

  • EXPLO at Wheaton: Lights, Camera,. . .Action!

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    Get your director's cap on, draft up a storyboard, pull out your set lighting sketches, and roll cameras. Next stop: Hollywood.

  • EXPLO at Wellesley: Soldering

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    Get hands-on experience with the craft of metalwork. Learn about the three different processes of soldering, exploring conductors of electricity.

  • EXPLO at Yale: Meet Yale's Mascot, Handsome Dan

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    Meet a real-life celebrity, Handsome Dan on Old Campus Quad during independent time. Get a selfie with his adorable, and a little slobbery, face!

  • EXPLO at Yale: network with professionals in your field

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    Connect with international surgeon, Dr. David Mulligan; chief of transplantation surgery and immunology at Yale Medical School. At Yale, "meeting the experts" means one-on-one introductions and round table discussion. Leave your session feeling better connected — bonus: learning how to effectively network.

Since 1976, EXPLO has reached 80,000 students from 50 states and 93 countries around the world.

EXPLO Reinvented the Learning Experience.
We Continue to Do So — Every Day

From the halls of MIT to the minds of curious young people from across the U.S. and around the world, learning through exploration combines an array of experiences — from hands-on courses and workshops to outdoor activities and weekend trips — that transform the way students engage with the world. More than 40 years later, EXPLO continues to reinvent the learning experience. Educators, nonprofits, and corporate leaders alike now seek EXPLO’s knowledge and expertise in engaged learning, critical making, and design thinking to drive their organizations forward.

Our Story

A Life of Daring and Courage Starts at EXPLO

 

Say Hello!

For many families, attending an Info Meeting in your local area or on one of our campuses is a great way to get a feel for what a summer at EXPLO has to offer. Meet our Executive Director, Head of Programs, or Director of Admission, ask questions, and get a first-hand feel for our programs.
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Can’t make it to an Info Meeting?

Contact our Admission Office

We’d still love to hear from you! All of our admission officers work at the summer programs and can answer any questions you have. Contact us or schedule a call with Admissions — pick a date and time that works for you and we’ll call you at your convenience. Schedule a Call