Caltech Earthquake Fellows
A selective Caltech Seismological Laboratory program pairing Pasadena/Alhambra-area 10th and 11th graders with earthquake scientists for roughly 130 hours across spring Saturdays and a summer weekday block. Fellows build their own Raspberry Shake seismometer, analyze real earthquake data, take field trips, and present findings at a culminating event.
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Cabrillo Marine Aquarium High School Summer Docent Program
Selective summer docent training for students entering grades 10-12 at the City of Los Angeles's Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. Trainees learn Southern California marine life and then create educational projects and lead guided tours, camp classes, and aquarium experiences for the public.
Team OCEAN – Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Volunteer kayak interpretive naturalist program that trains high schoolers and adults to educate paddlers about responsible wildlife viewing and marine protection along Cannery Row in Monterey and Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing. Requires a five-week spring training (evening seminars plus Saturday field sessions) before summer shifts begin.
UC Davis COSMOS Cluster 13: Future Foods - Aquaculture & Aquaponics
A four-week residential COSMOS cluster at UC Davis where CA high schoolers study aquaculture, aquaponics, and sustainable food-production science through coursework, greenhouse work, and farm field trips around the Sacramento region.
Dinosaur Academy (Wyoming Dinosaur Center)
Dinosaur Academy is a 5-day, in-depth course at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center for students in grades 9-12 focused on vertebrate fossils of the Morrison Formation. Students get classroom instruction plus hands-on field excavation and laboratory work covering fossil preparation, mapping, specimen identification, and museum display techniques.
Earthwatch Teen Expeditions (Ignite Fellowship)
Fully-funded field research expeditions run by the nonprofit Earthwatch Institute that place high schoolers alongside professional scientists studying conservation topics like wildlife, climate, and habitat protection.
Paleontology Academy California (Sternberg Museum)
Paleontology Academy California, run by Fort Hays State University's Sternberg Museum of Natural History, is a two-week residential program on the Santa Cruz coast where students ages 15-18 study marine paleobiology, comparing living coastal species to their extinct relatives through fossil-site fieldwork and visits to the UC Museum of Paleontology and Monterey Bay Aquarium.