Code
The Code Behind the System
Every sensor reading, every device message, every automated action starts as real Python code written by students in the same tool professional engineers use.
How Smart Devices Work
Build a Real IoT System
on a Raspberry Pi
Students build a working IoT system with real sensors, connected devices, and a control app that responds in real time.
ages 8–14No experience required1:8 instructor-to-student ratioHands-on, hardware-basedDates: July 6 – July 17, 2026Hours: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
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Real Outcomes
What Your Child
Will Build
Students do not just learn about technology — they build it. By the end of camp, your child will have created:
A Real Phone App, built and programmed by your child
Students program a working control app that connects to and controls a live IoT system across multiple devices — setting temperature targets, switching modes, and watching live sensor data update in real-time.
Smart IoT System
A smart IoT system powered by real sensors and hardware
Live Data
Live data collection and real-time processing
Automated Responses
Automated system responses based on real-world input
Connected Network
A full network of connected devices talking to each other
This is our most advanced program — and the most rewarding.
Camp Preview
Watch the Camp in Action
Students build a real IoT system with multiple devices communicating in real time, then build the phone app that controls it all — smart home technology, built by students.
Inside Our
Curriculum
Real curriculum samples used to teach programming, robotics, and AI, developed and produced in-house by our team.
Inside the Curriculum
Meet Korra
The AI learning assistant that guides students as they build real technology with Python, robotics, and AI.
Inside the Curriculum
Meet the Development Team
These are the twelve roles involved in building real software, and the twelve roles students will learn to take on.
Curriculum
What Students
Learn
Students are introduced to the core ideas behind connected systems and modern devices.
Python Programming
Python programming to control real sensors and connected devices
Sensor Data
How sensors collect and send live data
Software Logic
How software processes and responds to real-world input
Networking
How multiple devices communicate across a network
App Programming
How to program a real app from scratch
Real Engineering
Built with Real Technology
Not Toys
In the IoT camp, your student builds a real connected system — multiple devices communicating with each other in real time. And on top of that, they built the app that controls it all. This is smart home technology, built by students.
Hardware
The Raspberry Pi
This is the computer that runs the IoT network. Every sensor, every control, every signal flows through this one board that students configure themselves.
Runtime
The Live System
Real sensors feed real data into the code students write. The system reacts to the world, not to a simulation. This is IoT working in real time.
Telemetry
The Bus Monitor
A network dashboard displays IoT traffic in real time. Students watch messages flow between devices and see how connected systems actually communicate.
Control
The Control App
Students build a working control app that controls the entire IoT system. Tap a button, and a real device responds. That is how connected products are built.
This is how real smart devices are built — adapted for students.
The Big Picture
Why This
Matters
Most students use connected devices every day. Smart speakers, thermostats, doorbells, phones that talk to all of them. What very few learn is how those devices actually talk to each other.
In this camp, students build that conversation. They wire up real sensors, a controller, and an AC unit on a Raspberry Pi, then program the phone app that ties them all together. Set a target temperature on the phone, and the system responds. Tap a mode change, and a real device reacts. The whole thing runs on Python they wrote.
Students will leave camp as builders of real, connected systems,
not just consumers of them.
Structure
How the Camp
Works
Core hours: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (extended hours available for an additional fee)
+
Tuition
=Registration Fee
$50
(due at sign-up)
Payment Date
$700
charged June 15, 2026
Total
$750
($375/wk × 2 weeks)
Discounts
Available
10% OFF
Military families, veterans, and first responders
15% OFF
Sibling discount
15% OFF
Enrolling in more than
one mini camp
Discounts do not stack. Only one discount applies per enrollment, whichever is greater. The Robotics and AI: PiCar Camp runs during the same six-week window as the mini camps, so it cannot be combined with them.
Audience
Who This Camp
Is For
Ages
ages 8–14
Experience
Beginners with no prior experience
Interest
Smart devices, networking, or coding
Your Instructor
Taught by a
Real Engineer
Taught by a college professor, a university lecturer, and an engineer
SWC: Programming, Computer Organization, and Architecture
SDSU: Microprocessors
16+ years of real-world engineering experience
NIWC Pacific, unmanned systems, software design
Students use real tools and technologies
Python, Docker, Raspberry Pi, networking
University-level concepts adapted for students ages 8–14
Rigorous curriculum, not watered-down activities
Students are learning how real systems connect software and hardware — from someone who builds them professionally.
Give Your Child a Head Start in Technology
Spots are limited. Programs fill quickly.
Register NowSummer 2026 · Hosted at Southwestern Community College · Chula Vista, CA · ages 8–14