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    The Physics + Dance Lab @ UC Summer Camp

    Discover how dance can humanize and advance scientific research and how physics concepts can be expressed through dance in an immersive, weeklong dance laboratory. Join UC researchers and professional dance company Black Box Dance Theatre (BBDT) for a weeklong Physics - Dance laboratory intensive summer camp at the University of Cincinnati. 

    Designed for high schoolers (9th-12th grade) and UC undergraduate students of all backgrounds, this summer camp invites students to investigate big ideas through the body—using movement as a way to explore, question, and make meaning. A background in dance or physics is not required!

    Over the course of the week, students will work together with UC researchers and professional dancers from BBDT to explore quantum physics through rigorous physical practice and creative inquiry. By the end of the week, students, researchers, and dancers will work together to translate complex science and the human stories behind it into an original, evening-length performance piece.

    This is a rare opportunity to move, learn, create, and perform within a process where dance is treated as research, connection, and human expression—working shoulder to shoulder with artists and scientists shaping new knowledge together.

    Eligibility: High school students in grades 8th-12th during the 2025-2026 Academic Year

    Dates: Monday, August 3 - Friday, August 7, 2026, including a showcase performance the evening of Friday, August 7, 2026.

    Location: Weeklong Programming and Showcase Performance will all take place on the University of Cincinnati Main Campus.

    Cost: The weeklong Physics + Dance Laboratory is free; acceptance to the program is required.

    How to Apply: We anticipate being in a position to accept all interested students into the program. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling deadline until all vacant slots are filled. 

    To help us best prepare for our camp, we do ask all students who would like to enroll to complete an application. 

    All students interested in participating must complete a short application, which includes answering our 5 questions in writing or as a video. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling deadline until all vacant slots are filled. We aim to confirm acceptance to the program within a week of your application. 

     

    For the Application: Please submit -- in writing or upload a very short video -- answers the following questions:

    1. Introduce yourself (name, School, year in school).
    2. Why are you interested in participating in the Physics + Dance Lab?
    3. What do you hope to gain from this experience?
    4. Do you have any relevant experience to dance, physics, and/or science and scientific research? (Note: no experience is required or expected! However, if you do have some relevant experiences, we want you to let us know about them).
    5. Anything else you would like share with the selection committee?

    Video application should be under 5 minutes in length. Written answers should be no more than 500 words total. Use of AI to in generation of answers is not permitted. 

    Please note that we aim for our camp to be welcoming to a breadth of experiences. So, a lack of experience in dance or science is not disqualifying. Additionally, while your video needs to be of a good enough quality for the selection committee to hear your answers, your video application will not be assessed on its technical merits (no need to get fancy, a video you made talking to your phone is fine!). 


    More information 
    can be found online: https://ucengagingscience.org/uc-physics-dance-lab/

    Additional questions? physicsdancelab@uc.edu

    Student Information
    Birthdate*
    Birthdate*
    Grade you were in for the past 2025-2026 school year:*
    Grade you were in for the past 2025-2026 school year:*
    Written Application
    Written answers should be no more than 500 words total. Use of AI to in generation of answers is not permitted.
    1. Introduce yourself (name, School, year in school).
    2. Why are you interested in participating in the Physics + Dance Lab?
    3. What do you hope to gain from this experience?
    4. Do you have any relevant experience to dance, physics, and/or science and scientific research? (Note: no experience is required or expected! However, if you do have some relevant experiences, we want you to let us know about them).
    5. Anything else you would like share with the selection committee?
    Video Application
    Please upload or provide a URL to your very short video application. Video application should (1) be under 5 minutes in length, and (2) answer the following questions:
    1. Introduce yourself. (Name, School, year in school)
    2. Why are you interested in participating in the Physics Dance Lab? 
    3. What do you hope to gain from the experience? 
    4. Do you have any relevant experience to dance, physics, and/or science and scientific research? (Note, no experience is required or expected! However, if you do have some relevant experiences, we want you to let us know about them).
    5. Anything else you would like to share with the selection committee? 
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