The program was established in 1959 at The Thacher School in Ojai, California, as a response to the launch of Sputnik 1 and the start of the Space Race. The Headmaster at Thacher was concerned that the country's top high school students were not being adequately informed and inspired about careers in the physical sciences. He decided to create an intense summer program to challenge such students and give them a taste of "doing real science," with assistance from Caltech, UCLA, Claremont Colleges, and Stanford. Financial support came from Hughes Aircraft.