Generative AI Lab

A one-week camp where teens get hands-on with the AI tools reshaping creative industries. From prompt engineering and image generation to AI music, video, and code — students don't just use these tools, they learn how they work and build original projects with them.

Full-Day Schedule

Day 1 — The Prompt Is the Program

• Morning 1: What is generative AI? — How LLMs, diffusion models, and neural networks actually work (no math, real intuition). Explore the difference between AI that classifies and AI that creates
• Morning 2: Prompt engineering masterclass — write, test, and refine prompts for ChatGPT. Learn techniques: role prompting, chain-of-thought, few-shot examples, and constraints. Challenge: get the AI to write a convincing restaurant review, then a terrible one
• Afternoon 1: Build a custom chatbot — design a persona, system prompt, and conversation flow for a specialized assistant (homework tutor, game master, fitness coach). Test with classmates
• Afternoon 2: AI ethics deep dive — bias in training data, hallucinations, deepfakes, and copyright. Debate: "Should AI-generated art be allowed in competitions?" Write a personal AI usage policy

Day 2 — AI Image Lab

• Morning 1: How image generation works — diffusion models explained visually. Explore how text becomes pixels. Compare outputs from different models (DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney-style)
• Morning 2: Prompt crafting for images — master style keywords, composition terms, lighting, and negative prompts. Challenge: recreate a famous painting in a completely different style
• Afternoon 1: Image editing with AI — inpainting, outpainting, style transfer, and upscaling. Transform photos into illustrations, swap backgrounds, and extend images beyond their borders
• Afternoon 2: Project: design a brand — create a logo, mascot, product mockup, and social media post for a fictional company using only AI image tools. Present the brand to the class

Day 3 — AI Audio & Music Studio

• Morning 1: AI music generation — create original tracks with AI music tools. Control genre, mood, tempo, and instruments through prompts. Make a 60-second soundtrack for a movie trailer
• Morning 2: Voice and speech AI — text-to-speech with custom voices, voice cloning concepts, and AI narration. Record a podcast intro or audiobook chapter with AI voices
• Afternoon 1: Sound design — generate sound effects, ambient backgrounds, and audio loops. Combine AI-generated music + voice + effects into a complete audio scene
• Afternoon 2: Project: AI music video — pair Day 2's image skills with today's audio. Create a slideshow music video with AI-generated visuals synced to an AI-generated track

Day 4 — AI Video & Code

• Morning 1: AI video generation — create short video clips from text prompts and images. Explore how AI animates still images and generates scene transitions
• Morning 2: Coding with AI — use AI coding assistants to build a simple web page, a Python script, or a game prototype. Learn to prompt AI for code, debug with AI, and understand what it writes
• Afternoon 1: Build an AI-powered app — combine an LLM API with a simple interface to create a working tool: a story generator, quiz maker, recipe inventor, or travel planner
• Afternoon 2: Final project kickoff — choose a capstone project that combines at least two AI modalities (text + image, audio + video, code + chatbot). Plan, storyboard, and start building

Day 5 — Create & Showcase

• Morning 1: Final project build time — dedicated work session with instructor support. Polish visuals, refine prompts, assemble multi-media elements
• Morning 2: Prepare presentations — create a slide deck (with AI assistance!) documenting the creative process, tools used, prompts that worked, and lessons learned
• Afternoon 1: Showcase — each student presents their capstone project. Audience votes on categories: Most Creative, Best Technical Execution, Most Likely to Go Viral, Best Use of Multiple AI Tools
• Afternoon 2: The future of AI — where is this all going? Careers in AI, emerging tools, and how to keep learning. Build a personal AI toolkit list. Awards and wrap-up

Half-Day Version

Use Morning 1 + Morning 2 from each day. Half-day students cover prompt engineering, image generation, AI music, video & coding basics, and a final showcase in the condensed format.

Skills: Prompt engineering · AI image generation & editing · AI music & audio production · AI video creation · Coding with AI assistants · AI ethics & responsible use · Multi-media project design