Frameworks that positively impact the individual student experience, rather than purely increasing student content retention, are on the rise in STEM education. Beyond building scientific understanding, it is increasingly important to help students see themselves as scientists so they feel the door to the STEM world is open. These experiences can manifest in informal STEM learning environments, or spaces outside the traditional classroom that use hands-on learning and peer-to-peer interaction. This study examined students in a Molecular Biology Camp across two iterations (2025 & 2026). The goals of the research were to: 1) assess changes in student understanding of core biotechnology and molecular biology concepts, 2) examine and evaluate shifts in career interest, attitudes, efficacy, civic engagement, and identity in science, 3) inform outreach programming and curriculum development targeting high school students. The camp increased science self-efficacy in some participants. Of the eight prompts surveying science self-efficacy, six saw a moderate to large positive effect (p < 0.05). A larger sample size and/or a p-value adjustment is needed to confirm significance. Content knowledge improved, with a 10.94% difference between average pre- and post-test scores and an average of 70.74% on exit ticket prompts. Reflection-based exit ticket prompts and survey questions revealed students valued the hands-on and technical aspects of the camp. These results add to the body of evidence on the impact of informal learning environments and the importance of their continued study.