Archive
LEGO robotics team seeking sixth-grade girls
A newly formed FIRST LEGO League Robotics team in Buckhead / Sandy Springs / Dunwoody is looking for three or four sixth-grade girls to join the team. Together, this team of girls will learn teamwork, programming, and problem solving.
Prior LEGO experience is appreciated, but not required. The team will meet once a week, on Saturdays or Sundays (depending on team members’ schedules), through November. If the team does well in its fall competition, the season could stretch into early 2015.
This particular team is sponsored by the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, so team members must either be active in Girl Scouts or be willing to join Girl Scouts. (They need not join or participate in a troop, but must pay a membership fee.) Total cost for Girl Scout membership, team fees and team T-shirt will be around $90.
For more information about the team, e-mail Ann, the team leader, at District13Robotics-at-gmail-dot-com (e-mail deconstructed to prevent spam; you put it back together). She needs to turn in her roster soon, so if you think your daughter may be interested, contact her this week.
Debate teams for grades 4 and up
Ivy Bridge Academy is seeking students in grades 4-12 for its debate teams. The debate program is offered on the weekends at the established campus in Johns Creek and the newly opened school campus in Cumming.
As you’d expect, students learn how to conduct research, organize ideas, and speak confidently before an audience. The debate teams compete in two regional tournaments per semester, as well as in a national tournament in the spring.
Free admission to MODA, High Museum, more on Sept. 27
Museum Day returns on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. Sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine, this annual event provides free admission to participating museums across the country.
In the Atlanta area, you can visit the High Museum, the Center for Puppetry Arts, the Museum of Design Atlanta, the APEX Museum, the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, or the Heritage Sandy Springs Museum.
Beyond the metro area, there are a number of other museums taking part.
Three things you need to know:
1) You can’t just show up at the door and expect to walk in. You have to sign up for 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.
UGA-Duke TIP weekend for 8th-11th grade students
Registration is open for the UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekend to be held Dec. 6-7, 2014 on the University of Georgia campus. This two-day program gives students the chance to study in depth a topic that is likely outside the curriculum of their school, and to do so in a college environment with like-minded peers.
Unlike the Academic Adventures program I posted about yesterday, which requires that students be registered with the Duke-TIP Talent Search, Scholar Weekends are open to any students in grades 8 to 11 who have been gifted identified by their school. This includes any students who are enrolled in honors, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement or accelerated classes.
Topics this fall include pharmacology, fantasy literature, engineering, and several more.
Students will arrive on the UGA campus on Saturday morning, spend the day learning, stay overnight at the Georgia Center hotel on the UGA campus, and continue their studies on Sunday. Courses are taught by UGA professors, graduate students, professionals, and gifted educators.
Registration deadline is Nov. 21. Popular courses typically fill before the registration deadline. Cost is $450 if the student spends the night on campus, or $400 to attend during the day only. Financial aid may be available. Register by Oct. 23 to receive a $30 discount.
Registration open for fall sessions of UGA’s Duke TIP Academic Adventures
Current fifth and sixth graders who have participated in the Duke TIP 4th-6th Grade Talent Search can sign up now for the Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 session of Academic Adventures at the University of Georgia.
Academic Adventures students choose a single topic to study during the full-day program on the UGA campus. There are more than a dozen subjects to choose from, including myths, sharks, biology, improv, and aircraft / spacecraft design.
Registration officially closes Oct. 17, but popular courses will fill up quickly. Cost for each day is $145. Need-based scholarships may be available.
If you haven’t registered your child with Duke TIP, it’s an easy process, and it gives you access to programs like Academic Adventures as well as useful information about raising gifted children.
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 2014-2015 sessions.
This year, K.I.D.S. Club will offer three different sessions — fall, winter and spring — instead of just two as they did previously. As in the past, there are two dates for each “session,” but both dates will offer identical classes, so kids should only be signed up for one date in each season.
K.I.D.S. Club offers hands-on science activities to students in grades 2-5. Older kids — grades 6 to 12 — are offered an introduction to developing mobile apps. Middle-schoolers also have the option of taking a class in LEGO Robotics.
Each Saturday morning session costs $40 per child. There is no registration deadline, but spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Introduction to the cybersecurity industry
High school students interested in learning about the cybersecurity business are invited to 1NTERRUPT, a seminar on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Students will get an introduction to the industry, see some of the technologies used in cyberdefense, and hear from local and national experts.
It doesn’t appear that any computer skills are taught at this seminar; rather, this seems to be focused on providing an overview of what cyberdefense is and what professional opportunities exist in the field.
The 1NTERRUPT event will be held on the Georgia Tech campus. The event is free, but registration is required.
See how geology changed the history of Roswell, this Saturday
Some would say the history of the city of Roswell, Georgia, began with the gold rush in North Georgia, but geologist Bill Witherspoon would say it began millions of years earlier, when the continents of Africa and North America collided, setting up the geologic events that led to the formation and discovery of that gold.
Witherspoon, a retired science educator and one of the authors of Roadside Geology in Georgia, will lead a walk along Vickery Creek near the Roswell historic district, this Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. The walk will go down into the gorge and to the mill dam dating back to 1854. At 11:00 a.m., Witherspoon will present a talk at Bulloch Hall examining the geologic history of the area.
This weekend’s session is the first of many that Witherspoon will present this year. Register for this event and see a full calendar of events through next May at the Georgia Rocks web site.
Gifted Atlanta 