Ampere Canada – Ampere ran its first camp in Pangnirtung Nunavut in 2014. 12 years later, Ampere hosted STEAM Summer Camps at three Makerspaces, in vastly different communities, with thousands of kilometres between them, for the very first time.
From Iqaluit, Nunavut to Bathurst, New Brunswick to Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, over 325 youth aged 5-13 dove into hands-on experiences that were as fun as they were educational, bringing learning to life while building friendships and connections.
While camps centred around science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM), with an emphasis on digital skills education and experimentation with modern tools like AI and 3D printers, they looked fundamentally different in each community. That’s because Ampere believes learning happens best when it’s locally and culturally relevant.
In practice, this meant that while youth in the rural community of Kawartha Lakes explored the science of farming and food preparation, youth in Iqaluit were out on Frobisher Bay, learning to identify landmarks and wildlife, and campers in Bathurst were diving under Bathurst Basin using locally invented Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.
It was an incredible experience for everyone involved (campers and instructors), but don’t take our work for it – hear directly from our passionate Camp Leaders:
Victoria Coman – Iqaluit Camp Lead
This summer, we held 7 weeks of our STEAM Camp in Iqaluit, welcoming 100 campers into the Makerspace. Each week brought a new theme—from AI, technology and digital skills to games, art, film and gaming—giving participants the chance to explore new topics, build new skills and make new friends. With access to the Makerspace’s tools and resources, campers learned through hands-on experimentation and creativity, while days spent outdoors gave them opportunities to explore the land and learn more about the environment around them in the North.
One of the highlights was our final adventure on the water with Tikipuguut Outfitting, where campers explored the bay, identified local landmarks and learned how to observe wildlife. Experiences like this capture what makes our summer camps so meaningful: learning doesn’t have to happen inside a classroom. By connecting young people with the land, local knowledge and community partners, we create opportunities for curiosity and connection. As interest in STEAM Camp continues to grow each year, we’re excited to build on these experiences and welcome even more young people into a space where they can learn, play and imagine a creative future for Nunavut together.
Faith Martin – Kawartha Lakes Camp Lead
The Kawartha Lakes summer camp team has delivered seven weeks of STEAM-powered fun this summer covering topics of coding, chemistry, sewing, ecology, agriculture, engineering, physics, and more. We were supported by the largest number of volunteers we’ve ever seen.
Our programming was created with learning in mind to make sure that everyone, no matter their skill-level, would walk away with something new. During our Tactile Art camp, campers learned new stitches for sewing, and new ways to cast-on their knitting. During our Farm Fest camp, campers learned how butter is made, grain is milled into flour, and how canning is science.
We’ve had countless parents tell the team that we ‘must be doing something right’ because we are consistently the place their campers are asking to stay for aftercare and be registered for more programming. This pays tribute to the truly amazing team we have who puts so much effort into making sure the campers are engaged, and having fun!
Kath Groomes – Bathurst Camp Lead
Summer Camp season at Bathurst Makerspace was filled with curiosity, creativity and hands-on fun! We were lucky to have community experts share some exciting hands-on presentations with our campers, from a special flower-arranging workshop with Glendenning Flowers for Plant Week, to an AUV demonstration by inventor Pat Beeson during Under the Sea Week. Our STEAM Educators had a blast running a full campaign during Dungeons & Dragons Week, and we welcomed a sweet bearded dragon as our guest of honour as our grand finale of Insect & Reptile Week. Throughout the summer, our campers continued to feel inspired, challenged themselves, and tried activities that they’d never done before, often surprising themselves with their own abilities and newfound skills; our official summer camp motto quickly became “We can do hard things!”
While the 2026 STEAM summer camps are over, there’s tons of activities happening at Ampere Makerspaces throughout the fall and winter, and we’re only 6 months away from March Break Camps! Find your local Makerspace to learn more about culturally relevant programming for kids, teens and adults.
