💡Brief History

TLDR: This camp actually happened by accident. We note sure it would actually work, but by experimenting and learning + adjusting quickly, we were able to make it something special.

A Brief History

The KC7 Cybersecurity Camp began in 2023 as a collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. The camp was designed to address a simple but critical problem: young students rarely get early exposure to cybersecurity, despite growing up in a digitally connected world.

Initially, KC7 ran programs with college and high school students, many of whom had technical or computer science backgrounds. The success of these programs sparked a bold idea: could the same tools and experiences be adapted for even younger students—those in 4th through 7th grade, most of whom had never coded before?

With just a few months of planning, the team launched the first elementary and middle school camp in summer 2023. It was a major leap—from a one-day high school event to a week-long immersive camp. It wasn’t perfect, but what made it exceptional was the willingness to adapt in real time. The team overhauled lesson plans on the fly, designed new team-based challenges, and focused on giving every student a chance to shine.

This included:

• A museum heist roleplay game that taught students how to investigate collaboratively.

• Rotating roles in cyber investigations, allowing each student to play to their strengths.

• A final ransomware scenario where students presented findings to a live panel.

Perhaps most importantly, the camp prioritized reaching underrepresented students—those who might not otherwise have access to STEM opportunities. With the support of educators, community leaders, and enthusiastic volunteers (some of whom had attended earlier KC7 events as students themselves), the camp proved that even young learners can meaningfully engage with complex topics like cybersecurity.

Greg and Simeon talk about Summer Camp #1

🚨 A Plan Meets Reality

When Greg, Simeon, and Waymon first brought the KC7 Cybersecurity Camp to 4th–7th graders, they came with a cautious optimism. They had run successful events with high school and college students before. The plan? Adapt what worked for older students—same core activities, just with more hands-on tweaks—and stretch it over a five-day camp.

But from the very first morning, they realized: this crowd was different.

The students were bouncing off the walls. The icebreakers fell flat. Their carefully built lesson plans didn’t land. Instead of excitement, they were met with blank stares and questions like, “When’s breakfast?”

🔥 The Turning Point

By the end of Day 2, the team hit a wall. They had just spent hours teaching technical skills—like Kusto Query Language (KQL)—but many students were clearly disengaged. They knew the next day would flop if they stayed the course.

So they made a radical decision: scrap everything.

That night, sitting on a couch surrounded by notes and feedback, they asked themselves: What actually worked?

The answer: a spontaneous, low-tech, high-engagement activity from earlier in the week—a museum heist mystery, where students had to interview staff, gather clues, and solve a crime.

That activity had kids moving, thinking, collaborating, and wanting more.

🧪 Reinventing the Camp—Overnight

So with just hours before the next day started, they rewrote the playbook:

• They created new stories, like a ransomware attack on the company behind Roblox.

• They assigned roles—analyst, investigator, spokesperson—so each student had a job based on their strengths.

• They let students run the show, moving facilitators into the background and empowering high school camp counselors to lead.

They turned the camp into a live-action cyber investigation, complete with props, evidence stations, and role-playing.

And it worked.

💡 The Result

By Day 4, the same kids who rolled their eyes at slides were giving high-fives, arguing over who got to be the analyst, and taking their investigations seriously. By Day 5, they were presenting findings from a simulated ransomware attack to a live panel, using evidence, data, and teamwork.

Some even said, “I feel smart now.”

🧭 Why It Matters

The founders’ pivot wasn’t just about changing activities. It was about:

• Letting go of ego.

• Listening to what actually engages students.

• Building something new, even under pressure.

And that spirit of experimentation—of designing with students instead of for them—is now core to what makes the KC7 camp so different.