Deep dives into favorite topics this summer at CTY

Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus and nine other campuses across the U.S. served as vibrant hubs of discovery this summer for more than 4,500 academically advanced CTY students from around the world.

Students in grades 2 through 12 came from 45 U.S. states and 44 countries to participate in The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth's three-week summer On-Campus Programs, where they dug into fascinating courses like Astrophysics, Crafting the Essay, Data and Chance, Great Cases in American Legal History, Marine Ecology, and The Ancient World.

Image caption: CTY student Sunny Chang talks with her instructor in the Introduction to Robotics course at CTY’s on-campus site at Gilman School in Baltimore

Image credit: Jennifer Bishop for Johns Hopkins University

The center saw an additional nearly 3,400 enrollments in its online courses this summer, with students coming together in dynamic virtual classrooms to engage in hands-on projects and lively discussions guided by expert instructors, in courses including Microbiology, Crafting Fiction, Coasters and Corkscrews: Amusement Park Physics, Catching the Criminal, and Project Mars.

CTY also partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools to support Bright Minds Academy, a free program that enrolled over 500 students this summer. CTY will continue its partnership with City Schools this school year through the Baltimore Emerging Scholars Program, an enrichment program for elementary school students with high academic potential.

Sunny Chang, a rising fifth grader from Ellicott City, Maryland, learned how to write code and work with sound sensors and ultrasonic sensors while programming a robot puppy to bark and dig for a bone in her Introduction to Robotics course at CTY's On-Campus program at The Gilman School in Baltimore this summer. She said her favorite part of the program was "the kind and caring teachers."

"They keep you busy," said Dylan Robinson, a 10th grader from Winston Salem, N.C., who just spent his seventh summer learning with CTY. Robinson studied Principles of Engineering Design at the center's Dickinson College site in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and said the variety of topics at CTY keep him coming back every year.

"I've never learned the same thing twice," he said. "It's a lot of work, but it's also so much fun, and you really learn and grow just over the three weeks. CTY is a great place to find out more about what you're interested in, and to find out more about yourself."

Enrollment opens Sept. 12 for CTY's online courses starting in January 2025. Enrollment for CTY's 2025 On-Campus Programs will open in early November. Eligible full-time JHU staff can use their tuition remission benefit to receive 50% off any CTY course.