Grades 1st & 2nd 9:30 – 11:00
Grades 3rd & 4th 11:15 – 12:45

Let’s travel to the home of the world’s longest river, and some of the largest animals on the planet! Create ndbele homes and cardboard pyramids. Investigate the legendary grootslang (giant snake) and abata (like a unicorn, but with two horns)! Create web art (based on Anansi) and take the windmill challenge. Immerse yourself in African art, architecture & mythology with take-home projects each week!

Instructor: Lisa Bader

Grades K – 3rd 11:15 – 12:45

If your child is just learning chess (or wants to learn!), this class is the perfect place to start. Learn the basics of chess, how to begin the game, strategies such as pins and forks, how to queen a pawn and how to checkmate with Queen and King or Rook and King at the end of the game, all while playing and having fun. Benefits of the game for all levels: Problem-solving skills, coping with the consequences of your decisions, and good sports behavior.

Instructor: Stephen Randoll

Grades 4th – 8th 9:30 – 11:00

Like to draw AND want to help change the world? Let’s see how comics and graphic novels are used to tell stories about pollution, civil rights, education, religious freedoms, and more! Using the UNICEF Global Goals, create a comic that teaches kids (and adults) about what YOU want to change for a better future!

Instructor: Chuck Baker

Grades 3rd – 8th 9:30 – 11:00

Learn advanced concepts in chess, including openings to produce swift checkmating attacks or the win of material, learn how to plan ahead in chess and create positions where tactical themes can be used, all while playing and having fun. Benefits of the game: Problem-solving skills, coping with the consequences of your decisions, and good sports behavior.

Instructor: Stephen Randoll

Grades 3rd – 8th 9:30 – 11:00

Learn advanced concepts in chess, including openings to produce swift checkmating attacks or the win of material, learn how to plan ahead in chess and create positions where tactical themes can be used, all while playing and having fun. Benefits of the game: Problem-solving skills, coping with the consequences of your decisions, and good sports behavior.

Instructor: Stephen Randoll

Grades 3rd & 4th 9:30 – 11:00
Grades 4th & 5th 11:15 – 12:45

Are you ready to solve a crime in which each player is suspect AND detective? Join us as we explore intriguing secret codes, mini-mysteries and real crime scene procedures! Each student will choose a character to play during the mystery, complete with props, evidence, and character profiles. Explore crime scene techniques like fingerprinting, handwriting analysis, shoe prints and more! Will you be the the wonderful creatures we have, challenges they face, and then transport them into a video game reality to help address the plights they face.

Instructor: Michael Mahon

Grades 3rd – 6th 11:15 – 12:45

Let’s embark into a look at some distinct social and cultural groups around the world – how are they similar? Different?You’ll investigate the Algonquin culture from Canada and the Northern U.S., the Incas from South America, Mayans from Central America, Scythians from Central Asia, and Germanic tribes from Central Europe and Scandinavia. What was each group’s way of life? Nomadic or settled? Warfaring or peaceful? What were their distinct social, economic and political systems?

Instructor: Art Koenig

Grades 1st – 2nd 9:30 – 11:00
Grades K – 1st 11:15 – 12:45

Go into the deep as you explore the layers of the ocean, from the trenches to the surface, and discover the animals that live there. How are ocean currents generated? How do gravity, density, and anatomy allow animals to float? Simulate an oil spill and test clean-up methods. What is the impact of an oil spill on marine animals and their habitats? Develop your hypothesis and test what might happen if an octopus had a skeleton made of bone or cartilage like their predators. Enjoy experiments, activities, and the scientific method.

Instructor: Kara Viviano

Grades 1st – 4th 11:15 – 12:45

“All the world’s a stage. . . And one [kid] in his time plays
many parts.” Do you love being dramatic? Do you love reading? This is the class for you! Collaborate with your fellow actors to practice and perform a new play in class each week. Vocal expression, gestures and student creativity provide all the drama you need. You haven’t “scene” anything yet!

Instructor: Rebecca Lee

Grades 3rd – 6th  11:15 – 12:45

Reptiles and amphibians give us a glimpse into the past and our future. From the Sarcosuchus to the Komodo dragon, how do these animals impact their environments? How does Herpetoculture impact keeping these majestic animals as pets? In this lab we’ll delve into reptiles’ and amphibians’ roles in the wild and in our own lives. We’ll take a look at the role they play within their ecosystems, and how we can create natural environments to keep them within the home.

Instructor: Michael Mahon

Grades 5th – 8th 9:30 – 11:00

It all started with the big bang, but what sparked the big revelations of Hypatia, Claudius Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo? Join us to explore how the big thinkers of the past offered new advances. Start with the beginnings of scientific thought in the Middle East and Greece; continue with the medical work of Galen and the natural philosophers. Aristotle espoused beliefs, some of which held sway until the Renaissance and into the 19th century! How did Newton, Einstein and others correct some of his long-held scholarship? Black matter, astronomy, astrology, medicine, gravity – how did the great scientific minds give us these insights?

Instructor: Art Koenig

Grades 1st – 2nd 9:30 – 11:00
Grades 3rd – 4th 11:15 – 12:45

Passengers, please buckle your seatbelts and put your tray tables up, as we explore the science of flight. What keeps aircraft in the air? We will research the animals that fly such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats. Then we’ll investigate both man’s successful and unsuccessful attempts to fly. While learning the science behind man-made flying machines, teams will build, test, modify, and evaluate their own planes and rockets.

Instructor: Hannah Noack-Ruebling

Ages 4 – 5 9:30 – 11:00
Ages 5 – 6 11:15 – 12:45

Let’s set up shop! Our mini-entrepreneurs will explore different types of shops—grocery stores, pet adoption agencies—maybe an accessories store or an international store?? Set up a different store each week and “sell” goods and services to your classmates. Think about your customers’ needs – how can you meet them? Learn about marketing and pricing; practice with money and change, plus you’ll think about your store “policies” including kindness and fairness to customers! Hands-on learning fun!

Instructor: Joanna Gubin