from “le détroit” · the strait
The Engine Building Bootcamp returns for its fourth year, putting Detroit middle and high schoolers on the wrench for five free weeks this summer.
The Engine Building Bootcamp is back for its fourth year, and by the time it wraps, a cohort of Detroit middle and high schoolers will have built a beginner-level engine from the ground up. The students do the work, from disassembly to reassembly.
The program is free to families and runs five weeks, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is open to students entering grades 8 through 10. It was founded by motorsports advocate Carmen Carter through the National Motorsports Association, a Detroit organization that has run automotive and career-pathway programs for young people since 1996.
The curriculum pairs hands-on engine work with math, literacy and STEAM instruction, plus daily mentorship from certified teachers and industry professionals. Students move through engine disassembly and assembly, motorsports fundamentals and professional-skills development in small groups, with instructors circulating between benches. Free breakfast and lunch are covered each day. Field trips are part of the summer too.
The pitch is straightforward. Put young Detroiters into the rooms where the region's signature industry actually happens, and let them see themselves in it. Michigan's automotive and skilled-trades sectors carry well-documented labor shortages, and organizers position the bootcamp as an early pipeline toward work as technicians, engineers, mechanics and tradespeople.
Carter, speaking to Model D, framed the work plainly. "The EBB program is about exposure, opportunity and confidence," she said. The point is not to crown a prodigy. It is to send a roomful of kids home in August who can credibly say they helped build the thing on the stand. "We're building confidence, building skills and yes, building engines," Carter said.
The backers reflect the breadth of Detroit's youth-development network. Support has come from Summer Discovery, The Ballmer Group, United Way of Southeastern Michigan, The Skillman Foundation and the Detroit Auto Dealers Association tied to the Detroit Auto Show.
Registration is open for eligible students across the tri-county area, and the program is also hiring instructors and interns interested in youth development, education and workforce training. Families can find enrollment information through the National Motorsports Association.
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