GLOBE-Inspired Camps as a Conduit to Welcome and Embrace Autistic Youth into STEM

Societal barriers continue to hinder the accessibility of STEM opportunities, including degrees and careers, to the autistic community. These barriers are not only an injustice to neurodiverse learners, but also to the entire breadth of STEM fields that are plagued by a paucity of diversity, as truly successful advances in applicable science require diverse perspectives and skill sets. In an effort to break down these societal barriers and to advocate for opportunities in STEM for the autistic community, we developed summer STEM camps for autistic middle and high school students, namely The Sky’s The Limit STEM Camp at the Welty Environmental Center in Beloit, Wisconsin; Nature’s Navigators STEM Camp at Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center in the Wisconsin Dells; and Zoo Explorers Sensory-Friendly Mini Camp at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. During the summer of 2024, a total of 55 campers registered for these opportunities. A significant portion of the camp activities is focused on protocols and learning activities from the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) youth citizen science and environmental education program. GLOBE’s emphasis on hands-on, nature-based learning is a valuable tool in engaging neurodiverse learners. These camps have been truly transformative, not only for the neurodiverse campers as they are welcomed into STEM and accepted as they are, but also for the camp directors, helpers, and families who are enriched by personal experiences with such a broad spectrum of unique and wonderful personalities and perspectives.