Last week we ran our second annual AI For Everyone! day camp to teach San Antonio-area middle schoolers how AI works. The camp was held from Monday June 1 through Thursday June 4, 2026, in UT San Antonio’s San Pedro I building. 32 students completed the camp.

The camp included sessions on the ethics of AI, search algorithms, and machine learning.

Students especially liked working with our original AI and coding environments Planet Zorb Explorer, where they interacted with a scifi-themed AI agent to design a creature that would survive on the mythical Planet Zorb, and VibeBuilder Studio, where they created an original app based on their own ideas.

Two of our original tools are available for immediate use: RuleRunners, a two-person game where you and your partner each define rules for your agent to play a 2D-scroller parkour game, and Build-A-Plate, where you create meals and train an AI to recognize them as “Balanced” or “Needs Improvement.”

An all-star team made the camp happen: students and volunteers Phillip Comeau, Haven Kotara, Hailey Muñiz, Durga Rajarajan, Rashi Rautela, Kayleigh Stallings, Nicole Tian, and John Weaver; postdoctoral scholars Ismaila Sanusi and Deepti Tagare; and Computer Science staff member Debra Leal.

Thank you to our team, our students, and their parents!

snapshot of AI For Everyone! camp agenda excerpts
Highlights of the AI for Everyone! camp agenda