Summer STEM Camp in Los Altos & Silicon Valley (2026): The Smart-House Build | CHIPS Blog

A recap of the completed 2026 Los Altos STEM camp where grades 4–8 built take-home ESP32 IoT smart houses. Explore current Fall classes next.

When and where did the 2026 CHIPS summer STEM camp run?

The completed CHIPS Smart-House Summer STEM Camp ran July 27-31 and August 3-7, 2026, at 321 University Ave in downtown Los Altos.

What ages or grades is the summer camp for?

The camp is built for grades 4–8 (roughly ages 9–14). No prior electronics or coding experience is required — campers just need curiosity and a willingness to follow instructions, test, and troubleshoot.

What do kids build and take home?

Each camper builds a working ESP32-powered smart house with real sensors, servos, RGB LEDs, an LCD, RFID, and voice recognition, and takes the full kit home at the end of the week. Along the way they learn how microcontrollers, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the input-decision-output loop actually work.

How much does the camp cost and how big are the groups?

The 2026 tuition was $549 per week, with the take-home ESP32 kit included. Each completed session was capped at 8 kids with two instructors.