Camp Programming
The HUSO China Camp is an immersive experience for students who qualify from the initial exam, offering a unique blend of academic challenge and hands-on exploration. During the camp, participants will take their final exams while deepening their understanding of core STEM disciplines. Beyond exams, students will engage in dynamic, hands-on workshops that highlight the exciting intersections of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through interactive experiments, collaborative projects, and mentorship from Harvard and MIT students, attendees will gain a strong foundation in STEM while discovering the power of interdisciplinary innovation.
This camp is not just about learning—it’s about inspiring the next generation of trailblazing scientists and problem-solvers.
SCHEDULE
Day 1 - August 10, 2026
Opening Ceremony
Ice Breaking & Team Building
Workshop 1
Science Scavenger Hunt
Day 2 - August 11, 2026
Research Session 2-5
Research Article Tutorial
Build Challenge Face Off
Day 4 - August 13, 2026
Research Session 10-12
Quiz Bowl
Gala Night
Day 3 - August 12, 2026
Research Session 6-9
Research Article Tutorial
College Night
Day 5 - August 14, 2026
Research Session 13-14
Research Article Tutorial
Closing Ceremony
Modeling Biology
Biological systems are complex, ranging from tiny cells all the way to massive ecosystems. Modeling is crucial to help us understand and predict perturbations to these systems. In this workshop, we will explore the math behind models in ecology, physiology, and epidemiology. Using this knowledge, we will build our own models of biological case studies.
Amazing Senses: Human Physiology
How does our body interact with the world around us? This workshop will explore medical tests, tricks, and facts related to our senses by looking at how our own body responds to a variety of stimuli, such as light, smell, taste, sounds, and more. These responses will teach key physiological principles. We will also have an opportunity to apply this knowledge to examine case studies of non-human animal senses!
When Cooperation Fails: A Hands-On Introduction to Game Theory
Why do people sometimes refuse to cooperate, even when cooperation would help everyone? In this workshop, we will introduce the basic ideas of game theory and optimization through two very different systems. Students will play an interactive version of the Prisoner’s Dilemma, where we will see how incentives can drive surprising decisions. Then, we will extend these ideas to the Hawk-Dove model, exploring how similar mathematics can describe competition and coexistence in biology.
Introduction to Machine Learning
Machine learning powers everything from recommendation systems to spam filters to image recognition; but how does it actually work? In this interactive workshop, students will use a guided Jupyter notebook to explore how a simple machine learning model learns to separate data into categories. Starting with a simple linear classifier, we will see when these models succeed, when they fail, and delve into more powerful approaches like neural networks.
Designing Clean Water Systems
How do cities transform polluted river water into safe drinking water? In this workshop, we will take on the role of environmental engineers and design our own water treatment system while learning the chemistry and physics governing modern purification technologies. We will explore why many contaminants, such as organic matter and microbes, remain suspended in water. Using aluminum sulfate, we will model coagulation-flocculation processes. From there, we will compare different filters to study filtration and adsorption, connecting our observations to concepts such as particle settling, surface interactions, and introduce the Langmuir isotherm as a model for adsorption capacity. Through hands-on experiments, students will treat simulated polluted water and evaluate the effectiveness of different purification strategies.
Chemistry of a Changing Ocean
How does increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide affect the chemistry of our oceans and the organisms that depend on them? In this workshop, students will explore the chemical equilibria that govern ocean systems and investigate the impacts of acidification on marine environments. We will study the dissolution of CO₂ in water, introduce Henry’s Law as applied to atmospheric gases, then analyze the carbonic acid system. We will simulate the seawater system containing salt and bicarbonate and predict how carbon dioxide levels alter ocean pH and carbonate availability. We will then investigate the consequences for marine life by modelling challenges faced by shell-forming organisms. This workshop will provide a quantitative understanding of ocean acidification and its broader ecological implications.
The Mathematics of Infinity
Students discover that infinity is not a single concept: some infinite sets are larger than others. In this workshop, they explore ideas like one-to-one correspondence (bijections), countable sets, and uncountable sets through interactive activities. Students will see how even numbers can be paired with natural numbers, how fractions can be systematically listed, and why irrational numbers cannot be listed using Cantor’s diagonal argument. Through puzzles and thought experiments like Hilbert’s Hotel, students build intuition about infinity and learn how mathematicians compare sizes of infinite sets.
The Mathematics of Paradoxes
Students explore mathematical paradoxes to understand how small mistakes or hidden assumptions can lead to impossible conclusions. In this workshop, they analyze a false proof that claims 1 = 2, investigate Zeno’s paradox about motion and infinite steps, and discuss surprising results involving infinity such as Gabriel’s Horn. Through guided discussion and examples, students learn why precise reasoning matters in mathematics and how paradoxes have helped shape mathematical thinking.
Pressure, Gas Laws, and the air around us
We all know that air is all around us, but we never stop to think about what it’s really doing. Students will explore the physical laws governing gases, from the ideal gas law to the intricate relationships between pressure, volume, and temperature. Using just a simple syringe and some weights for our model experiment, students will explore how one can measure the molar density and pressure of the air in the very room students are in. Through experimentation, students will also learn about the beauty of linear fitting, uncertainty calculations, and algebraic manipulation, and the surprising power we have to understand the invisible forces in our lives.
Reconstructing Fundamental Constants from First Principles
How do we measure one of the most fundamental constants in nature using everyday tools? In this workshop, students will experimentally derive the speed of light using standing waves in a microwave / other frequency setup. By mapping nodes and antinodes with snacks like marshmallows and chocolate, students will measure the wavelength from the melted patterns and combine with the frequency to calculate the speed of light. We’ll show multiple examples of historical examples of such measurements and how it appears in international physics competitions. This will be a great opportunity to learn how to extract significant constants in experimental settings.
Workshops
*Note: Workshops are not finalized and are subject to change
Intro to Organic Chemistry
Did you know that there are over 20 million registered organic compounds, and chemists are synthesizing new ones as we speak? Or did you ever want to understand and draw those complicated-looking hexagons you see in chemistry textbooks? Organic molecules shape the world we live in, from plastics and dyes to perfumes and life-saving drugs. In this workshop, we will learn how to represent organic compounds using skeleton structures, explore key functional groups, and see how their structure determines reactivity. We will also visualize their structures in 3D and carry out hands-on experiments highlighting fundamental ideas behind organic reactions.
Comparative Medicine: What Animals Tell Us about Human Disease
Why are humans vulnerable to disease? In this workshop, we will approach human health conversations through a comparative medicine perspective. That is, students will learn to consider important human health conditions like fainting, heart disease, cancer, and depression through an evolutionary lens. We will examine evidence from the animal world in the wild, in captivity, and in the lab that can help scientists develop more effective drugs and therapies and doctors provide more informed, high-quality care to patients.
Exploring the World of Proteins
Proteins do far more than you might expect, with functions ranging from supporting structures, like in the connective tissue, to acting as catalysts in biological reactions. In this workshop, we’ll explore the fascinating world of proteins, from their basic building blocks to their complex 3D structures. We will look into the different levels of protein structure and explore the concept of protein folding and the interactions that determine it. We will also introduce powerful tools used by scientists today, including PyMol for visualizing protein structures, and AlphaFold as a Nobel-prize winning AI model for structure prediction.
Discovering Science
We all know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. But, this fact didn’t just appear out of nowhere. How did scientists figure out that the mitochondria provided critical ATP for cellular metabolism? In this seminar, we’ll explore how scientists “discovered” the field of biology with a particular emphasis on the power of microscopy. From mimicking simple experiments scientists actually used to discover life processes to viewing cell slides through foldable microscopes, we’ll rewalk the path of pioneering scientists and uncover the basis of life.