Pitt Summer Chemistry Academy is meeting the challenge to inspire and develop local STEM interest among high school students in our region. Join us in the lab this summer for a lab-intensive learning experience in one of our summer day camps.
2026 Courses
Read the descriptions of our courses below and use the registration link below.
Please check back January 2027 for next summer's courses!
See details from Summer 2026 Courses below. Summer 2027 course registration will open in January 2027.
- Chemistry in your World 2026
Chemistry In Your World is a lab-focused course designed to allow students to learn about common items in the world around them by studying them in a lab setting.
Through exciting experiments, students will:
- Synthesize aspirin and learn about its acidic properties
- Build a battery and learn about the Chemistry behind it
- Determine the identity of several unknowns using a variety of tests
- Solve a forensics mystery
And much more! Join us as you learn about the world around you and the Chemistry behind it. This course is designed to be a fit for any student entering grades 9-12 who’s curious about Chemistry. No previous Chemistry knowledge is necessary.
Cost: $450Course has passed. Next year registration will be available in early 2027.
- Antibiotic Avengers 2026
Antibiotic Avengers is a dynamic summer outreach program where students become the next generation of scientific superheroes! This hands-on course plunges participants into the exciting world of Chemistry, microbiology, and antibiotic resistance.
Through engaging experiments, students will:
- Explore the microscopic world by culturing and observing real bacteria.
- Investigate how antibiotics work and why bacteria are becoming resistant to them.
- Learn how to isolate naturally occurring antibiotics produced from bacteria.
- Determine the molecular structure of the antibiotics by using and learning about IR and NMR spectroscopy.
Join us this summer, harness your inner scientist, and discover the microscopic world around you! This course is best suited for students entering grades 10-12 who have already had a Chemistry course.
Cost: $450Course has passed. Next year registration will be available in early 2027.
Information for 2026 Registered Students:
The program will be held in the Chevron Science Center, Address: 219 Parkman Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Parent Drop off – Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM, please arrive right before 9 am if possible.
From 8:30am until 9am there will be a staff member in a Chemistry Academy T-shirt, waiting in the lobby to take the students to the lab/classroom they will be working in. If you are running late, the student should still wait in the lobby, and someone will retrieve them.
Parent Pick up – Monday through Thursday, 3 PM. Friday, 12pm.
Please follow the same instructions as Drop off regarding using the K lot to park temporarily to pick up your child.
Proper Attire
The students need to wear long pants, socks, and closed shoes. Their shirts should cover fully, so no crop tops or tank tops. Long hair should be pulled back.
We will supply the students with proper protective eye wear to use while they are in our labs. Our goggles will fit over eyeglasses if need be.
Lunch Details
Option 1: Please bring a packed, labelled with student’s name Lunch. Lunches will NOT be able to be refrigerated, so please pack a lunch that does not require refrigeration or use your own ice packs to keep lunches cold.
Option 2: Students can have food delivered to the lobby of Chevron in time for lunch, if desired. The address is:
Chevron Science Center 219 Parkman Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Lunch will run from 12-1, so plan to have lunch delivered at noon. Some days there will be a guest speaker during the lunch hour.
If your child has any food allergies, please let us know.
If a student wants to bring a water bottle to drink throughout the day, that is fine. We ask that they keep it in the desk area in the lab rooms and not at the benches, but they can certainly have a drink with them if they want.
Summer Chemistry Academy Scholarships
We have a limited number of scholarships, this will be a first come first serve basis.
Student who are eligible must provide a document as proof to receive the scholarship. Please read through list below before sending documentation.
- If one of these options describes yourself, you are eligible for this scholarship
- Students who have received or are eligible to receive an ACT or SAT testing fee waiver.
- Students who are enrolled in or eligible to participate in the Federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program (FRPL).
- Students whose family income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
- Students who are enrolled in a federal, state, or local program that aids students from low-income families (e.g., TRIO programs such as Upward Bound).
- Students whose family receives public assistance.
- Students who live in federally subsidized public housing, a foster home, or are homeless.
- Students who are a ward of the state or an orphan.