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    Spark your future. Shine bright. Be EXPLO.

    Experience the world to find your spark. It’s hard to find your spark and grow it into a passion without trying new things. But how much choice do you really get in your regular life? At EXPLO, you get to custom-build your summer fun, from creative workshops to evening events, weekend trips, and more. Join a glow stick party. Head to Six Flags. Experience indoor skydiving. Try your hand at comedy. See what it’s like to be an aeronautical engineer. Play soccer with friends from around the country—and world. At EXPLO, the freedom to experiment hands-on is the key to happiness, and the future you. 

    Alumni

    Our alumni go on to do big things—they found startups like Instagram and nonprofits for climate resilience and youth empowerment, win Grammy and Tony awards, become influential NASA scientists, and more.

    Doug Liman

    Doug Liman

    Director, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Swingers, The Bourne Identity

    Amina Yamusah

    Amina Yamusah

    Co-founder of BLOC, developer of algorithmic technology that helps prepare Black graduates for innovation economy jobs

    EXPLO Alumni

    Faculty + staff

    EXPLO instructors are professional teachers and practitioners who build experiences that are engaging, hands-on, and exciting. But they’re also scholars, entrepreneurs, artists, engineers, activists, lawyers, doctors, actors, and more from every industry and institutions from around the country—and world. 

    Faculty + Staff Highlights

    Students

    EXPLO students hail from across the U.S. and over 101 countries. Here, you can be yourself—be quirky. Be creative. Be surprising. Be all you. At EXPLO, you find your people without even trying. All it takes to fit in is curiosity. And just like that, your possibilities are limitless.

    claraheadshot

    Clara M.W. | Budding entrepreneur

    Favorite food: cookies

    Devin

    Devin T. | Curiosity specialist

    New best friend count: 5 Lanyard pin count: 34

    kikiheadshot

    Kiki R | Social butterfly

    New interest: fashion illustration

    Industry Collaborators

    We collaborate with organizations across science, art, business, psychology, medicine, politics, engineering, technology, education, and beyond. These experts help us develop immersive experiences and challenges that spark new ideas, as well as provide support for underserved students to attend EXPLO programs.

    We know middle schoolers

    We’ve been working to inspire 12-14 year-olds (grades 6-8) since 1984. We understand that middle schoolers are experimenting with who they want to be. This can feel chaotic at times, but it's an exhilarating journey of discovery. That’s exactly why we love it. 

    We know how to guide, champion, and support this age in taking new (healthy!) risks. We know community is crucial, so we create an environment where everyone feels belonging and connection. We help middle schoolers explore the world of people, ideas, places, and themselves. 

    Laying the foundation for future success

    EXPLO has a history of helping young people find their spark. When middle schoolers get to try more, be more, and connect more, they feel different. They ARE different. Energized. Inspired. Motivated. Ready to make big-picture discoveries about the world, the future, and their place in it. 

    How do we do it?

    Two boys doing fingerprint analysis

    Exposure + Choices + Opportunity

    We give students a broad palette of options to choose from— subjects, topics, projects, and activities that aren’t available at home or at school. Days are packed with engaging workshops, electives, courses, concentrations, site visits, clubs, leagues, activities, athletics, performances, and trips.

    EXPLO Instructor with art students

    Guides + Champions

    Our faculty and staff know that helping tweens and teens find their spark is important work. They’re invested in students, encouraging them to try new things, even when they don’t get it right the first time. The “spark dialogue” at EXPLO between faculty and students animates all of our programs and drives students' discovery about themselves and the world.

    EXPLO student with high definition medical mannequin

    Experiential Learning

    We focus on experiential learning, engaging in some of the actual work of a profession. We want young people to imagine, understand, and feel what it might be like to be a scientist, journalist, physician, engineer, diplomat, entrepreneur, or artist. Our creative curricular design, immersive classroom setup, and innovative teaching isn’t often done at traditional schools.

    Our history is steeped in “what if”

    Since our founding in 1976 as a nonprofit startup at MIT, EXPLO has created transformational learning environments of intellectual inquiry and spirited adventure. In roughly 50 years, we’ve brought together over 90,000 students and educators from 101 countries for summer enrichment programs.

    Arnie and Ann Singal Photo

    Our Founding

    In the early 1970s, Arnie Singal, an administrator and freshman advisor at MIT, was inspired by innovative initiatives he witnessed there around student-driven interdisciplinary learning. In 1976, he and his wife Ann founded Exploration Summer Programs, combining the best parts of summer camps with a focus on intellectual engagement and lifelong learning.

    Board of Trustee Photo

    Our Leadership

    Our global community of explorers includes our leadership team, board of trustees, advisory committee, and valued collaborators.

    Leadership at EXPLO
    EXPLO E Logo

    Our Mission

    At EXPLO, our engine is curiosity. We drive joyful learning through investigation, collaboration, and play.

    Diversity of thought and diversity of culture allow us to generate exciting possibilities for the future. We interrupt assumptions, pursue understanding, and activate minds and voices, whether supporting a learner with a stubborn challenge or helping a school navigate strategic complexity.

    Community Expectations Poster

    Our values

    Simple yet powerful, our community expectations animate our culture and are fundamental to everything we do.

    We train our staff using these ideas and discuss them with students in every class and in every living or day group. You’ll see them displayed on posters in every EXPLO classroom. Why so much effort? Because we don’t take these values for granted. We make our shared beliefs clear because they help foster the diverse, collaborative community we’re known for.

    Let’s connect!

    Visits + Events
    Visits + Events
    Admissions Process
    Admission Process
    Tuition + Financial Aid
    Tuition + Financial Aid

    Support more EXPLO magic

    We strive to make our programs accessible for as many young people as we can. As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization, EXPLO is committed to expanding access to families everywhere, regardless of their education, income, or occupation.

    Support EXPLO