UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON

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A group of GEM students observing a group project.

Growing Early Minds (GEM)

The Growing Early Minds (GEM) program is designed to inspire and engage students in grades 2–4. Students will be exposed to concepts and themes that feed their curious minds. Social and emotional curriculum components focus on fostering autonomy, encouraging development of a growth mindset and developing effective collaboration skills. GEM is open to all interested students; scholarships are available.

Why GEM

The GEM program was created for our youngest learners. There will be two sessions each June. Students can choose to attend the first session, the second session, or both sessions.

GEM students may or may not have been identified as advanced. The program offers any young learner an entry-level challenge and engagement opportunity to discover their interests. It is also designed as a resource and community for parents and students who are searching for a way to stimulate young minds outside of a traditional classroom setting.

Students will be exposed to new concepts to feed their curiosity. Each class is small (up to 15 students) and crafted to enrich learning and introduce new areas of interest, helping students expand their knowledge about the world and discover how much there truly is to learn.

What to expect

As a GEM student, you will engage in — and be inspired by — a subject of interest to you! With the support of your instructor, you will face new academic challenges with like-minded peers, discover how to become more independent as a learner and increase your confidence in approaching challenging academic tasks. By the end of the program, you will have a better understanding of your strengths, your talents and yourself! It is our hope that you will continue to challenge yourself and grow as a lifelong learner.

At a glance

2025 Program Dates

Session 1: June 16-20
Session 2:June 23-27
9 a.m. -4 p.m.

Format

In-person on the UW–Madison Campus

Grade Level

For students completing grades 2-4

Application Opens

January 13, 2025

Apply by

May 1, 2025

Cost

Non-refundable registration fee: $35
Tuition: $500 per session

Limited financial aid available. Tuition due at the time of registration.

Instruction Hours

10 hours of instructional materials

How to apply

Look through the course options available and choose your first-choice course for each of the sessions you wish to enroll in.

Log in and complete the online application. You can log in by following the registration link at the top of this page, available after the application opens in January. If you would like information about scholarships, please review the information in the financial aid section before applying.

Submit the application and non-refundable application fee. You will receive an email confirming your submission immediately. There are no specific admissions requirements for GEM. The program manager will confirm your course selections within 2 weeks of application. Due to the high interest in the program, being placed on a waitlist is common. Each waitlist is generated on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you would like to request any accommodations, you will have the opportunity to do so after registration. Please review accommodation information here.

Upcoming classes

  • Thinking and Tinkering: Exploring Engineering (Grades 2-3)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    During Exploring Engineering, each class will focus on a different discipline of engineering, with stations and hands-on projects to foster exploration and discovery.
  • Nose to Toes: Intro to Human Anatomy (Grades 2-3)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    We introduce students to the major systems of the body through interactive and engaging activities. They will not only learn how the inner body looks, but also how it works. We explore the muscular, skeletal, nervous, digestive, respiratory and immune systems through models and experiments.
  • Inside Out: Introduction to Psychology (Grades 3-4)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    Inside Out/Upside Down will introduce students to the world of psychology using the movie Inside Out as a base for exploring emotions, actions, and memories. Students will be learning about the foundations of psychology through role play, hands-on activities and class discussions.
  • Gross Biology (Grades 3-4)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    Prepare to be amazed, astonished, and maybe even a little grossed out in Gross Biology! Here you’ll go on a mind-boggling quest to uncover the squirmy, slimy, creepy, crawly, and downright bizarre features of the natural world. You’ll be intrigued by parasites, mucus, bacteria, and more! Put on a brave face, and maybe some gloves, as you complete hands-on experiments to uncover the purpose of some of nature’s oddities. By the end of class, you’ll challenge your perceptions of what it really means to be gross. This course is designed as a challenging enrichment opportunity for students completing grades 3-4.
  • Fantastic Beasts: Exploring Literature and Art (Grades 2-3)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    In this course we will explore the wonderful world of magical creatures through literature, writing, and the arts! We will read about fantastic beasts, write our own stories and poems, improv and perform pieces about these magical creatures, and create art using our limitless imaginations.
  • Artful Architecture (Grades 2-3)
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    Artful Architecture combines elements like drawing and mathematics to help students visualize and create their own dream buildings. Through hands-on and engaging activities, this class will go through the entire planning and designing process: site plan, floor plan, section and elevation. If you like looking at tall skyscrapers or cool-looking buildings in your neighborhood, this class is for you!
  • Adventures in Coding (Grades 3
    • June 16–20, 2025 – – Tuition $500.00
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Application fee: $35
    Adventures in Coding will spark your curiosity about the connections between math, computer coding and programming. If you geek out about video games, computers, equations or even different mathematical languages, join us for this coding adventure!
  • The Green Team: Introduction to Environmental Science (Grades 3-4)
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    The Green Team: Introduction to Environmental Science offers a multi-disciplinary approach to learning about environmental issues by increasing knowledge and building critical-thinking skills that will help our students make informed and responsible decisions in an age-appropriate format.
  • Mystery Detectives: Intro to Forensic Science (Grades 2
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    Are you interested in finding out more about how forensic science helps us solve mysteries? Intro to Forensic Science is an interdisciplinary class that builds upon the skills explored in our Secret Agents class. We introduce forensic science techniques used in the field.
  • Mayor Madness (Grades 2-3)
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    Do you love the hustle and bustle of a big city?  Maybe you dream of skyscrapers, light rails, sprawling parks, and impressive museums?  If so then join us in a quest to become a visionary urban planner shaping the future of civilization!  We will learn about all the decisions that go into making a city, especially the important design elements that make it liveable. We’ll consider the needs of citizens and search for innovative solutions to meet them.  We’ll examine cities from around the world, as well as the urban space right here in Madison, to think critically about what it takes to make a city successful.  By the end of the course, you’ll put your knowledge to work designing a city of your own! This course is designed as a challenging enrichment opportunity for students completing grades 2-3.
  • Matter Matters: Exploring Science (Grades 2-3)
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500
      Registration fee: $35
    This class will spark your curiosity about the objects in the world around you. Did you know that everything is basically made of the same three ingredients? Participate in hands-on experiments, make observations and learn how to communicate your findings like a scientist.
  • A Walk Through History (Grade 3
    • June 23–27, 2025 – – Tuition: $500 per session
      Registration fee: $35
    A Walk Through History will transport students to a living history museum! Students will choose a historical figure, research them and write a speech as if they were that person. During family visiting day, students will dress up and stay in character, give their speeches and answer questions.

Scholarships

Badger Precollege has varied funds to provide assistance to youth who demonstrate financial need. Prior to applying, a student may request a waiver for the application fee by emailing your scholarship documents and any supporting rationale to [email protected].

Acceptance to the program and scholarship allocation are two different parallel processes. Scholarship requests are being reviewed by the scholarship committee on a rolling basis. All materials supporting your application for scholarship assistance must be submitted with your registration form or received within three weeks of program application. Scholarships cannot be allocated to students who have not been admitted to a program. As such, a student’s program application must be completed by the scholarship deadline.* No new applications for scholarships will be accepted after March 24, 2025.

*Application materials can still be submitted after the scholarship deadline, but the student will not be eligible for the aid from Badger Precollege.

For multi-session programs like GEM, scholarships are limited to one week-long session per student per program. One student can request a scholarship for a maximum of one of the two GEM sessions.

Learn more about our full scholarship policies and other financial information.

Application process:

If you are eligible for free or reduced lunch, submit the Wisconsin DPI Financial Aid Form.

If you are not eligible for free or reduced lunch, Badger Precollege offers a very limited number of need-based, partial scholarships. To apply for a need-based, partial scholarship, please submit the first page of the 1040 form of the most recent year’s tax return. If extenuating circumstances (i.e. loans, loss of employment) are not reflected on tax return but are affecting your family’s finances, please also submit a letter of explanation.

Additional information (essay, interview, phone conversation, etc.) may be requested from students and/or families prior to notification of aid.

Notification of aid

Families will be notified of scholarship decisions within one month of submitting full application and scholarship application package. Badger Precollege is committed to making an allocation of scholarship funds to allow the largest possible number of students to attend our programs. Families will be required to submit their intent to accept a scholarship award. Failure to do so by the deadline posted in your award letter may result in a loss of partial or full aid award.

GEM FAQs

Where is the program located?

The GEM Program is located on the beautiful UW Madison campus. Our students eat lunch at Gordon Commons, located on the SE side of campus (770 W Dayton St.) and classroom locations are within walking distance to Gordon Commons. Badger Precollege works closely with UW Central Campus Reservations and individual building managers to secure space. This process takes time, as there are many other campus departments and programs scheduling space during the same blocks of time each summer. Individual classroom locations are not confirmed until late May at the earliest.

Is lunch provided?

Yes! Lunch for your student is provided as a part of the cost of tuition. Gordon Avenue Market is an undergraduate residence dining facility serving cafeteria style options that offers many food choices each day. Badger Precollege staff will be supervising your child and assisting them in making healthy food choices. If your child has any dietary restrictions or allergies we need to be aware of, please be sure to include this information in your CampDocs online health profile. If a student has severe food allergies or a very restricted diet, they are welcome to bring their own lunch. (Tuition is not prorated in cases where a student brings their own lunch.) A good resource that includes daily menus may be found here.

Will students be walking frequently?

GEM students often move between buildings on campus as part of their course and occasionally as a large group. This affords students the opportunity to explore just some of what the UW Madison campus has to offer. Please keep in mind that most field trips are walking field trips around campus.. Venues are chosen based on their proximity to the SE side of campus to accommodate students walking, as well as being mindful of the very hot temperatures which often occur during PACE. Students are supervised by a combination of Group Leaders, Instructors, and Badger Precollege Staff.

What do I do if I need to drop off my student late or pick them up early?

Requests for late drop off and early pick up should be directed to the program manager/program coordinators. Advance notice is greatly appreciated.

While we try our best to accommodate requests, it is not always possible to accommodate specific times. The volume of requests we received increased tremendously over the past year, making this process more challenging. Our staffing numbers are based on a 1:10 staff to student ratio which we must maintain at all times.

Requests to pick up in the middle of the lunch/field trip block cannot be accommodated, as all staff are need to supervise lunch, we may be in transit during those times or already at a field trip location, and our schedule varies greatly from day to day. Similarly, if a student is picked up early it may be challenging to accommodate a request to drop the student back off later in the afternoon, for the same reasons stated above.

As a general rule, if your student has another commitment in the afternoon, we request that you pick up your student up at 11:30, following the morning instructional block.

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