After-school science classes offered weekly all school year

The aim of our program is to stimulate students to learn and enjoy science.

Each class students work on a different toy invention project. The invention projects are different each class throughout the school year. Because many students take our classes continually for several years, we also do not repeat activities in subsequent years. However, we may work with various forms of boats, car, parachutes, or other types of toys, because these are popular with the students.

Each hands-on toy project demonstrates a science concept. The toy helps the student relate the concept to the way the toy works. The students have fun while learning and they get to keep the toy at the end of the class to take home.

Through the projects, we learn such science concepts such as friction, air pressure, gravity, kinetic energy. Sometimes we review and important concept to help students remember them.

Some of the projects for this school year for grades K-3 will be

Lofty Launch Activities

• Pompom Launcher
  Spring a pompom into the air. Why does it fly? What makes it move?
• Canoe
  Make a canoe that you can float in your bathtub. What keeps it from sinking?
• Fishing Game
  Try to catch the big fish in the pond. The more you try, the more fishing points you get. Do you think you can be the best at fishing?
  
• Lopsided Bird
  This bird looks heavy on one end but has perfect balance. How can it do that?
• One-String Guitar
  Try out this simple musical instrument. Why does it sound like a guitar? Can you play more than one tone?
• Air Gusher
  This toy creates a huge gush of air. Why would it do that?

AND MANY MORE

Some of the programs available for grades 4-6 will be

Electricity and Motorized Cars

You first learn the concepts of gears and motors. Then you build your own race car from scratch using sticks, motors, gears, wheels, other parts, plus your imagination. To construct the cars, you will be using low-temperature hot glue guns.

There is a challenge in building the cars. After we build the cars, you will be racing them against others. To win, you will need to adjust to the optimum -- the bearings, gears, electric load, body design, and overall car design.

In this class, you will learn the basics of electronic circuits using batteries, lights, buzzers, and motors. We will also look at how electronic circuits work using different electronic components. Also in this class, we will build robots using solar power.

Easy Robots

You build several easy robots. You will learn how to read and follow diagrams to be able to assemble well-engineered robots. In this process you will also learn how robots function. What makes them move? How are the parts put together? You keep the robots you build.

Advanced Robots

You build advanced robots. The first offering will be a Sumobot, which is like a Sumo wrestler and can attack other Sumobots. This class is open to 5th and 6th graders who have taken the easy robot class. You keep the robot you build.