NCHS Data Detectives Camp banner

NCHS Data Detectives Camp

The Data Detectives Camp, conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, is an opportunity for rising 6th and 7th grade students to learn about statistics and science in a fun, hands-on way. The free, commuter camp was held in two locations in 2024:

  • Atlanta, Georgia
    CDC Headquarters
    July 8–July 12
    9 a.m.–4 p.m.
  • Hyattsville, Maryland
    NCHS Headquarters
    July 29–August 2
    9 a.m.–4 p.m.

NCHS Data Detectives builds STEM confidence and skills, especially in data science areas. Campers also learn how to think critically, solve problems, work with others, and think like Data Detectives.

Camper holding microphone pointing at presentation on easel
Camp Director Ryne Paulose with group of campers
Portrait of 4 campers around a Data Detectives Camp puzzle
Group of campers working on project presentation
Sample Camp Activities

Distribution and Outliers

four basketball player boys

Learn about distributions by examining the height of fellow campers. See how a 7-foot-tall basketball player throws off the average height of the class.

Visualizing Data

young girl at computer

Learn to display your data through figures and charts. How does data visualization allow you to interpret your data and draw conclusions?

Comparisons and Predictions

group of tweens

Collect data and analyze it to draw comparisons between variables, such as number of siblings and arm span. Can you draw any conclusions?

Game Day Friday

generic board game

Review the concepts you learned on the last day of camp with fun, group trivia games.

Camp Leadership

The Data Detectives Camp is led by NCHS staff with expertise in diverse public health disciplines. They are supported by volunteers from CDC and partner organizations that have made Data Detectives Camp successful since 2016.

Portrait of Ryne Paulose
Ryne Paulose, PhD, MA
Camp Director | Instructor

Dr. Paulose is the camp founder. She is an epidemiologist by training and was the Director and Associate Director for Science for the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at NCHS. Dr. Paulose was also a director at Pfizer, Inc. in health economics and outcomes research. She enjoys creating fun approaches to teaching children statistics.

Portrait of Christine Jones
Christine Jones, MS
Director of Communication | Instructor

Ms. Jones has been a camp instructor since 2024. She is a communication expert at NCHS. In this role, she finds ways to communicate data science in compelling and interesting ways. Ms. Jones has also served as the lead health communication specialist on several major NCHS projects. She loves finding ways to make science fun and interesting to students.

Portrait of Gladys Martinez
Gladys Martinez, PhD
Director of Curriculum | Instructor

Dr. Martinez helped design the camp’s statistical curriculum and has been a camp instructor since 2016. She is a statistician demographer in the Division of Health Interview Statistics at NCHS. Dr. Martinez brings years of experience teaching, overseeing data collection for surveys, and researching fertility and reproductive health. She loves teaching kids all about data and pivot tables.

Portrait of Juliana McAllister
Juliana McAllister, MA
Director of Logistics | Instructor

Ms. McAllister has been a camp instructor since 2017. She is a survey  statistician in the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at NCHS. Ms. McAllister came to NCHS to oversee a national survey on hospital-based victim services. Her background is in criminology.

Partners

The Data Detectives Camp is conducted by NCHS in collaboration with various statistical organizations, universities, and federal agencies. These partnerships are invaluable for developing and growing the camp. Partner contributions vary, but include assisting with developing lectures and extracurricular activities, providing camp space, funding camp materials, serving as camp counselors, and much more.

ASA Logo
NCES, National Center for Education Statistics
BJS logo
UMD Joint Program in Survey Methodology
BLS Logo
UMD School of Public Health
CDC Museum
Social Data Science Center Logo

The Data Detectives wordmark and the Data Detectives design mark are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Unauthorized use of the marks is strictly prohibited.