Summer sleepaway camp typically conjures images of log cabins, campfires and s’mores. But for attendees of the 2026 residential Quantum Discovery Camp at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the agenda was a little more cosmic: soldering workshops, glow-in-the-dark laser shows, and a simulated quest to save the world from a hurtling asteroid, to name a few.

On July 5, 22 high school students from across the country descended upon the Urbana-Champaign campus to partake in the inaugural seven-day camp, hosted by the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST) in partnership with the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute (IIDAI) as part of The Grainger College of Engineering’s Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) summer camp program series. WYSE camps offer hands-on enrichment opportunities for pre-college youth to explore different engineering fields and interact with Illinois faculty and students.

Quantum Discovery Camp was designed to introduce high school students to the rapidly evolving field of quantum science through hands-on projects and laboratory demonstrations while bridging the gap between abstract physics concepts and real-world engineering applications. The idea for the residential program grew from the popularity of IQUIST’s existing day camp series and was made possible with renewed funding from IIDAI.

“We’ve been doing (daytime) summer camps for the past three years,” said IQUIST Education and Outreach Coordinator Michael Smith. “We wanted to offer a weeklong residential summer camp to fully immerse students in quantum education, because there’s only so much you can do in a few hours. IBM’s contributions have allowed us to provide a much more robust experience while reaching students from around the country.”

The camp’s curriculum featured modules and workshops led by IQUIST faculty and students, with topics spanning magnetism, superconductivity, wave dynamics, and quantum computing. Between hands-on lessons in quantum teleportation and superconducting circuitry, participants toured Photon Queue, the EnterpriseWorks startup co-founded by Illinois graduate Kelsey Ortiz; practiced soldering techniques with professor Eugene Colla, and tackled LabEscape — Illinois’ quantum-themed escape room that invites players to save the world from a fictional asteroid through a series of collaborative puzzles.

The bustling week of activities also included an elaborate laser show prepared by staff and students of the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center; a Quantum Pathways Workshop featuring Q&A sessions with current undergraduate researchers; and a glimpse into quantum education and career opportunities.

“The goal was to give participants a robust and immersive understanding of what Illinois has to offer in the field of quantum science,” Smith said. “We wanted to expose students to real-world applications and career pathways, both in academia and in industry.”

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with campers citing the quantum entanglement module by postdoc Jacob Beckey and a circuitry workshop by graduate student Santiago Vargas-Daniels among their favorite activities. In a post-event survey, 16 students ranked the University of Illinois as their top college choice.  Many students were eager to connect with IQUIST faculty and staff on LinkedIn, with one participant requesting resources to start a quantum education club at their high school.

“I think the personal connection was really felt,” Smith said. “22 students got a chance to experience the entire camp and consider, ‘can I see myself at U. of I.?”

Quantum Discovery Camp is expected to return in 2027; in the meantime, Illinois Grainger faculty are focused on extending their outreach even further.

“We’re fine-tuning our existing lessons to make them suitable for a regular classroom setting,” Smith said. “We’re hoping to distribute them widely to high school teachers throughout Illinois.”

 

Quantum Discovery Camp was made possible with the involvement of Illinois Grainger Engineering professors Paul Kwiat, Virginia Lorenz, Bryan Clark, and Eugene Colla; postdoctoral researcher Jacob Beckey; graduate students Jennifer Lopez, Nathaniel Irwi,n and Santiago Vargas-Daniels; and staff members Kay Tsai, Todd Moore, Jackie Vaiden, and Michael Smith. 

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Illinois Grainger Engineering Affiliations

Paul Kwiat is an Illinois Grainger Engineering professor in the Department of Physics. He is affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory.

Bryan Clark is an Illinois Grainger Engineering professor in the Department of Physics. He is affiliated with the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center.

Virginia Lorenz is an Illinois Grainger Engineering professor in the Department of Physics. She is affiliated with the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center and the Materials Research Laboratory.

Eugene Colla is an Illinois Grainger Engineering teaching professor in the Department of Physics.