🏕️ MDC West Campus · July 6–10, 2026

Build your first
iOS app this summer

Five days of hands-on SwiftUI development for high school students. No experience needed — just curiosity and a Mac.

📅
Dates
July 6–10, 2026
🕘
Hours
8:30 AM – 2:30 PM
📍
Location
MDC West Campus
View schedule → 📸 Upload photos
9:41●●● 100%
My Favorites
🎮
Campus Event Finder
List · NavigationLink · @State
›
📋
Habit Tracker
ForEach · @State arrays
›
🍜
Recipe Box
Struct · .sheet() · NavStack
›
@State var count = 0
Text("Count: \(count)")
Button("Tap me!") {
  count += 1
} // magic ✨
Total hours
25 hrs
Team size
3–4 students
About the camp

From zero to iOS app in five days

This five-day intensive introduces high school students to iOS app development using Apple's SwiftUI framework. No prior coding experience is required.

Students progress from writing their first line of Swift code to building and presenting a fully navigable prototype app — all within a single week.

The camp is structured around daily lessons, hands-on labs, and a multi-day group project. Each day builds directly on the previous one. The showcase on Day 5 gives every team a real audience and a genuine deadline, replicating a professional product launch.

5
Days of coding
25
Total hours
3–4
Students per team
0
Experience needed
🎯
Audience
High school students — no prior coding experience required
📅
Dates
July 6–10, 2026 (Monday – Friday)
🕘
Daily Hours
8:30 AM – 2:30 PM · 5 hours instruction / day
📍
Location
MDC West Campus
💻
Platform
Xcode on macOS · SwiftUI framework · iOS simulator
👥
Requirements
MacBook or iMac with macOS Ventura or later · Xcode 15+ (provided)
Daily schedule

What happens each day

Each day combines a structured lesson with hands-on lab time and extended build sessions.

Day 1 — Welcome to Code
Monday, July 6
Swift & Xcode Tour
8:30 AM
Warm-up
What app do you wish existed? Icebreaker + intro to the week.
Warm-up
8:50 AM
Lesson: Swift, Xcode & Views
What is an app? Tour of Xcode's three panels. ContentView, Text(), Image(), modifiers, and the modifier chain.
Lesson (60 min)
9:50 AM
Lab: Hello [Name]!
Write your first SwiftUI file. Display your name with custom fonts and colors.
Lab (40 min)
11:00 AM
Break
15 min
11:15 AM
Build: About Me Card
Build a personal card app using VStack, Text, Image(systemName:), and color customization.
Build time
12:15 PM
Lunch
45 min
1:00 PM
Build (continued) + Share
Continue the About Me card, then share with a neighbor.
Build + share
1:55 PM
Reflect: Show & Tell
Quick show-and-tell. Form project teams. Distribute brainstorm worksheet.
Reflection
Day 2 — Building Blocks
Tuesday, July 7
Stacks, State & Buttons
8:30 AM
Warm-up
Scavenger hunt: spot the stacks in real apps.
Warm-up
8:50 AM
Lesson: Stacks, @State & Button
VStack, HStack, ZStack, Spacer. @State as reactive memory. Button syntax. Conditional views and the ternary operator.
Lesson (60 min)
9:50 AM
Lab: Counter App
Build a counter with increment, decrement, and reset. First taste of @State in action.
Lab (50 min
11:00 AM
Break
15 min
11:15 AM
Build: Tip Calculator
TextField for bill input, buttons for tip %, live-calculated output. Introduces nil-coalescing and type conversion.
Build time
12:15 PM
Lunch
45 min
1:00 PM
Project UI Sketching
Teams sketch their app concept and begin their first screen.
Build time
1:55 PM
Reflect: Team Pitches
Each team pitches their app idea. Instructors scope feedback.
Reflection
Day 3 — Data & Navigation
Wednesday, July 8
Lists · Structs · Multi-screen
8:30 AM
Warm-up
App anatomy drawing exercise — sketch screens and arrows.
Warm-up
8:50 AM
Lesson: List, Structs & NavigationStack
List and ForEach. Swift structs as data blueprints. NavigationStack as a card stack. NavigationLink and passing data to detail views.
Lesson (60 min)
9:50 AM
Lab: Favorites App
Four-step lab: define a struct → build a List → create a detail view → wire NavigationLink. Students choose their own theme.
Lab (45 min)
11:00 AM
Break
15 min
11:15 AM
Build: First Project Screen
Teams begin their actual project screens with live data.
Build time
12:15 PM
Lunch
45 min
1:00 PM
Build: Second Screen + Navigation
Wire the second screen with NavigationLink. Connect all screens.
Build time
1:55 PM
Reflect: Simulator Demo
Teams demo progress on the simulator. Identify Day 4 blockers.
Reflection
Day 4 — Polish & Power-Ups
Thursday, July 9
SF Symbols · Sheets · Animations
8:30 AM
Standup
Done / next / blocked. Each team shares in 60 seconds.
Standup
8:50 AM
Mini-Lesson: Power-Ups
SF Symbols (5,000+ free icons). .sheet() for modal overlays. withAnimation and .transition() for simple animations.
Mini-lesson (35 min)
9:50 AM
Quick Lab: Try the Power-Ups
Short practice session — add SF Symbols, a sheet, or an animation to the Day 3 app.
Lab (30 min)
11:00 AM
Break
15 min
11:15 AM
Build Sprint
Heads-down project build. Choose one power-up and implement it well.
Build sprint
12:00 PM
⛔ Feature Freeze
No new features. Shift to polish: consistent colors, real sample data, remove placeholder text.
Freeze
12:15 PM
Lunch
45 min
1:00 PM
Polish
Post-freeze polish: visual consistency, real sample data, remove broken UI elements.
Polish
2:00 PM
Practice Pitches
Each team delivers a 2-minute demo to the room and receives instructor feedback on clarity and pacing.
Pitch round
Day 5 — Ship & Showcase
Friday, July 10
🚀 Demo Day
8:30 AM
Final Polish (50 min)
Last fixes and data cleanup. Fresh eyes run-through of the full app.
Polish
9:20 AM
Demo Script + Rehearsal
Draft the 7-minute demo arc. Rehearse with a peer team. Exchange feedback.
Rehearsal
10:15 AM
Room Setup & Final Check
Rearrange into presentation setup. Simulator set to iPhone 15 Pro. Last run-through.
Setup
11:15 AM
🎉 Showcase Begins
First half of teams present (11:15 AM–12:15 PM). Format: 7-min live demo + 3-min Q&A. Order drawn randomly.
Showcase – first half
12:15 PM
Lunch
45 min
1:00 PM
Showcase – Second Half
Second half of teams present (1:00–2:00 PM). Same format: 7-min demo + 3-min Q&A.
Showcase – second half
2:00 PM
Wrap-up & Reflection
Certificate ceremony, group photo, and full-circle reflection: each student shares one proud moment, one unexpected lesson, and what they'd build next.
Celebration
Curriculum

What you'll learn

Each day introduces new SwiftUI concepts that build naturally on what came before.

Day 1 · Monday
Welcome to Code
Swift, Xcode & your first UI
  • Swift as a language; Xcode as the environment
  • SwiftUI as the UI toolkit — UI in code
  • Views and modifiers; the modifier chain
  • Text(), Image(), font(), foregroundColor(), padding()
  • VStack — stacking views vertically
  • String interpolation with \(variable)
  • Lab: About Me personal card
Day 2 · Tuesday
Building Blocks
Stacks, state & interactive buttons
  • VStack / HStack / ZStack / Spacer — layout tools
  • @State — reactive memory that updates the UI
  • Button action closures and .toggle() on Bool
  • Conditional views using if / else
  • The ternary operator as a shortcut
  • TextField and the $ binding operator
  • Lab: Counter app + Tip calculator
Day 3 · Wednesday
Data & Navigation
Lists, screens & structured data
  • List and ForEach — displaying many items
  • Swift structs as data blueprints
  • Dot-notation; the id: parameter
  • NavigationStack — screen stack mental model
  • NavigationLink — tap to go deeper
  • Passing data from list to detail view
  • Lab: Favorites app with full navigation
Day 4 · Thursday
Polish & Power-Ups
SF Symbols, sheets & animations
  • SF Symbols — 5,000+ free icons built into iOS
  • Image(systemName:) sizing and coloring
  • .sheet() for modal overlays
  • .presentationDetents — half-sheet vs. full-sheet
  • withAnimation — animating any state change
  • .transition(.slide / .opacity / .scale)
  • Sprint: feature freeze + polish checklist
Day 5 · Friday
Ship & Showcase
Final polish & presenting your work
  • Polish checklist — what "done" looks like
  • Demo story arc: problem → app → proud feature
  • Narrating a live demo with confidence
  • Peer rehearsal and constructive feedback
  • Q&A — answering "what was the hardest part?"
  • Next steps: Apple tutorials, 100 Days of SwiftUI
  • Showcase: 7-min demo + 3-min Q&A
Group projects

App ideas to build

Teams of 3–4 students collaborate on a prototype iOS app across Days 3–5. Each project needs 2–3 working screens and at least one interactive element.

📅
Campus Event Finder
Browse, filter, and RSVP to school events. List view, detail screen, simple favorites toggle.
List NavigationLink @State favorites
✅
Habit Tracker
Daily habit checklist with streak counts, progress view, and motivational prompts.
ForEach @State arrays Conditional views
🍜
Recipe Box
Browse a curated recipe list, view ingredients and steps, add to a "Cook Later" collection.
Struct model .sheet() NavigationStack
🎯
Local Trivia Quiz
Multiple-choice questions with a timer, score tracking, and a results screen.
@State logic Animation Conditional display
Have your own idea?
Teams can also propose their own app concept, subject to instructor scope approval on Day 2. Projects requiring network calls, camera access, or user login are out of scope for this camp.