Monday, March 17, 2025

Applications are being accepted for FREE overnight high school transportation camps this summer

By Lisa Walzl

Are you a high school student curious about how we decide where highways go? Want to learn what we're doing to help the earth by reducing our carbon footprint? Or how we plan for the future while keeping people and goods moving? Ever just wanted to get a behind the scenes tour of a bridge or other parts of the transportation system? Know a teenager who does?

If so, we have a summer camp experience for you. We're offering high school students a chance to spend a week exploring the transportation field. You’ll meet with statewide experts, agency leaders and university professors at our Washington Transportation Camp 2025 hosted by PacTrans and WSDOT.

Two dozen students posing in front of several traffic monitors at that the WSDOT Transportation Management Center in Shoreline.
Students touring the WSDOT Transportation Management Center in Shoreline

We're offering a free six-day/five-night camp this summer. The camp includes lodging at a state university. One camp is at Washington State University in Pullman from June 22-27. The second is at the University of Washington in Seattle from Aug. 3-8. Students will stay on campus in university dorms during the camp. All lodging and meals are covered by sponsors so there are no costs to the students.

The priority deadline to apply for both camps is March 31. The last chance to apply is April 11. Camps are limited to 20 students. To be considered, applicants must be entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a Washington state school for the fall 2025 semester. Students must be able to attend the entire session. You don't need previous experience in engineering or transportation – but curiosity is a must!

To learn more about these programs and to apply, visit this link for the camp website.

Ten students stand on a dock next to the water. They are facing away from the camera watching several large machines and a barge with a pile of gravel or dirt on it. It's a warm, sunny day and the students seem engaged and attentive to the operations.
Washington State University camp touring the port

Both camps offer students the chance to:

  • Take field trips with professionals. Visit transportation facilities like a transportation management center to learn about their inner workings.
  • Showcase knowledge ingroup projects.
  • Make new friends and experience life on a college campus.
  • Explore the potential for a future career in transportation—whether it's in engineering, planning, or beyond.

This could be the start of a career in transportation, engineering, planning or a whole host of other fields. But even if it's not, participants will have a better understanding of how we all get where we're going. They’ll understand how the things we buy and need get to store shelves or our homes – and what goes into making those trips as safe and smooth as possible. And some pretty good stories to share with friends and family about the unique experience you had over the summer.

We hope to see you there!


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