Camp Activities

At a glance

  • Data Detectives Camp helps campers build confidence and skills in statistics and math.
  • We combine our lessons with daily activities that keep young campers engaged and having fun.
Two girls smiling.

What campers learn

Data Detectives Camp is a free camp that teaches statistics and data science to students entering 6th and 7th grades. Our campers explore new concepts that build on what they've learned about statistics in school.

Experts from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) lead Data Detectives Camp. Campers work with staff from NCHS and partner organizations to learn about statistics and data through lessons, hands-on activities, and teamwork.

Camp activities teach kids to think like Data Detectives by—

  • Asking the right questions
  • Collecting information
  • Analyzing data
  • Displaying results

Our program follows Common Core Standards for grades 6–8 and national teaching guidelines.

Sample activities

Camp activities include statistical lessons, hands-on activities, computer-based learning, and lots of teamwork.

Distribution and outliers

Learn about distributions by measuring the arm span of fellow campers. For example, how does one camper with very long or very short arms affect the average of the class?

A group of 4 young people stand at the front of the room and present data for Minnesota
Campers apply statistical concepts to real world situations.

Visualizing data

Learn to display your data through charts and graphs. For example, how does data visualization allow you to understand your data and draw conclusions?

Camper analyzing a pie chart.
Campers learn to make data visualizations to display their findings.

Comparisons and predictions

Collect data and analyze it to draw comparisons. For example, how many siblings does each camper have? How long are their arms? Are these two measures related? What do they tell you?

Students organizing a visual presentation.
Data detectives learn how to display their findings in the best formats.

Creative, fun breaks

Review the concepts you learned on the last day of camp with fun, group trivia games.

Young asian girl stands behind a house triangle formed by balancing playing cards
Learning is fun at camp. It empowers campers to learn more on their own.

Meet our camp leaders!‎

Learn more about the experts who run Data Detectives Camp.

Image of logos from participating organizations

Notice

The NCHS Data Detectives Camp wordmark and the NCHS Data Detectives Camp design mark are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Unauthorized use of the marks is strictly prohibited.