Archive
Visit a museum free this Saturday
It’s that time of year again: This Saturday, Sept. 28, is the Smithsonian Magazine’s annual Museum Day, offering free admission to dozens of participating museums in Georgia.
Venues in the Atlanta area include the Center for Puppetry Arts, Museum of Design Atlanta, and the Marietta Museum of History. (Sorry, folks, looks like The High Museum opted not to take part this year.)
Three things you need to know:
1) You can’t just show up at the door. You have to register and print out your tickets before you go.
2) There is a limit of two free admissions per household.
3) This is a popular event. Be prepared to stand in line.
Register for GSU Saturday School’s next session, including LEGO Robotics
Georgia State University is now accepting registrations for the second fall session of Saturday School.
The 2013 Fall B session begins Oct. 26 and runs five consecutive Saturdays. Classes are offered in the mornings and afternoons on the GSU campus. Classes will cover a variety of topics in science, the arts, language and more, from space and weather to poetry and sharks.
Also this fall, Saturday School will offer LEGO Robotics classes, always a popular STEM program.
Saturday School is open to children in kindergarten through 8th grade. The program is geared toward students who have been identified as gifted by their school, but kids who haven’t been formally identified can be granted provisional enrollment for one year.
The registration deadline is Oct. 9. A 10 percent discount will be applied if you register before Sept. 30.
Registration open for K.I.D.S. Club at Georgia Tech
K.I.D.S. Club (Kids Interested in Discovering Science) at Georgia Tech is now accepting registrations for its fall and spring sessions.
This Saturday morning program exposes kids to the fun side of science, math, engineering and technology. It is open to students in 2nd to 12th grades.
Kids in 2nd to 5th grades do a variety of hands-on activities. In past classes, these younger students have built water rockets, rubber band cars, zip lines and high rises, to name a few. Older kids — grades 6 to 12 — are offered an introduction to developing applications for the iPhone without programming. Middle-schoolers also have the option of doing LEGO Robotics.
Fall sessions will be Oct. 26 and Dec. 7, 2013; spring sessions will be Feb. 8 and March 8, 2014. The two fall dates and the two spring dates are identical programs, so you should only sign up for one class per season. All sessions are held from 9 a.m. to noon at Georgia Tech.
A preschool that celebrates curiosity
Just added to this site’s Private Schools page: The Schoolhouse Preschool Academy in Duluth. This preschool, serving ages 1 to 5, seeks to provide something far more ambitious than daycare, with a hands-on, Montessori approach to learning. The school offers half-day and full-day programs that encourage children to experiment and explore.
The Schoolhouse acknowledges that children are different and learn differently. In a world where too often, parents who suggest that their 3-year-old child might be gifted are met with raised eyebrows and skeptical dismissals, that’s a breath of fresh air.
Application now available for Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program offers funds — up to $30,000 a year — to support the college ambitions of high-achieving students with financial need.
The scholarship, which can be renewed for up to four years, is available to students who have high-school GPAs of 3.5 or higher and have scored in the top 15 percent on the SAT or ACT.
According to the foundation’s web site, students whose families make up to $95,000 a year will be considered; however, most of the recipients will have family income low enough to qualify for a Pell Grant.
The first part of the application process is open now. The Phase I application must be mailed in by November 5, 2013. Financial information, school records and teacher recommendations are required for the application, so allow yourself time to compile and complete the needed paperwork.
Georgia Tech Observatory open to public this Thursday
This Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013, will be the first Public Night of the 2013-14 season at the Georgia Tech Observatory.
The observatory, located at the Howey Physics Building on campus, will be open from 8 to 11 p.m. Visitors can view the moon and Saturn from 8 to 9 p.m., followed by viewing of the Ring Nebula from 9 to 11 p.m.
The viewing is dependent on weather.
More details are available at the astronomy web site.
Georgia Tech will offer additional opportunities for public viewing each month in the fall and spring. For specific dates, download the Public Nights PDF flyer.
For young writers, a chance to learn — and be published
Writing is, for the most part, a solitary endeavor. Yet for writers, having a support network of other artists of the written word is vital to honing one’s craft and enduring the difficulties along the creative path.
VerbalEyze is a local non-profit that offers just such support, from one-time workshops, to a “writers cooperative” of professional writers who mentor young writers, to its own independent press, open to submissions from writers ages 13 to 22.
Gifted Atlanta 