SMILE Camp offers an unforgettable, hands-on STEAM experience designed for curious, motivated students who are ready to dive deeper into science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Originally developed as a partnership between the Academic and Intellectually Gifted Department of Wake County Public Schools and the North Carolina State University Department of Materials Science & Engineering to serve academically and intellectually gifted learners, SMILE brings real-world science to life through interactive experiments and creative exploration in a collaborative lab environment. With a remarkable 1:4 staff-to-camper ratio, SMILE fosters a close-knit, intellectually stimulating environment. Campers work in small teams of like-minded peers, guided by trained mentors, college students, and educators who encourage exploration, creativity, and critical thinking. Each camp session features unique experiments—over 250 in the program’s history—ensuring new challenges and excitement year after year. SMILE isn’t just about learning science—it’s about doing science. Campers design, test, build, and discover, gaining confidence and insight into the real-world applications of the concepts they learn in school. It’s a camp where passion for STEAM takes root and grows—one experiment at a time.