Archive
Writing contest open to Fulton County teens
If you’re looking for a little motivation to get your teen writing this summer, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is running a writing contest with cash prizes.
The contest asks for essays of 250 words or less about a real-life hero who had an impact on the writer’s life.
Entrants must live in Fulton County or attend a Fulton County public school, and must be 12 to 18 years old. The submission deadline is August 1, 2015.
Full contest rules are available at the library’s web site.
Teens invited to submit original films for local festival
The Fayette Youth Film Festival is seeking short films made by teens, age 19 or under.
Selected films will be screened at the group’s first ever film festival, taking place July 31, 2015. Finalists will be eligible for internships, cash prizes, and even an appearance in a feature film.
To qualify, a film must be five minutes or less, must have been made after January 2014, and must contain only PG-rated content.
The registration page provides more detail on the judging criteria and categories.
The regular submission deadline is June 13. Fees for entry increase after that, with the final submission deadline set at July 11. Entry fees range from $20 to $40 per film.
Museum of Design offers summer weekend workshops
Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) is offering a variety of hands-on workshops for kids on Saturdays and Sundays this summer.
Now through early August, weekend workshops will let kids ages 8 to 15 try their hands at 3-D printing, aircraft design, or coding with the simple SCRATCH programming language. Younger children, ages 8 to 12, can take littleBits classes in which they’ll design an animal or superhero gadget from their imagination.
All classes last 90 minutes and are $25 for MODA members, or $30 for non-members.
Day camps at University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia in Carrollton has several day camps for kids in kindergarten through age 18. Topics include science, arts and crafts, and a film camp where teens write a screenplay, learn acting skills, and ultimately have their film curated by a film professor.
The university is holding additional STEM summer camps at satellite locations in Paulding County and Douglas County.
Bridge-building workshops for kids 8 to 12
The Museum of Design Atlanta and the Midtown Alliance invite children ages 8 to 12 to a Bridge Building Challenge on May 16 and 17, 2015.
In each of four available two-hour workshops, MODA instructors will teach kids about different types of bridges, then guide them through creating their own. Students will compete to see whose bridge can support the most weight.
The workshops will be held at Cornerstone Village in Midtown.
Geology walk examines role of rivers
Find out how the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries etched the North Georgia landscape in a walk and lecture presented by geologist Bill Witherspoon, May 7, 2015.
Witherspoon, a retired science educator and one of the authors of Roadside Geology in Georgia, will lead an evening walk along Rottenwood Creek in Marietta, highlighting how rushing waters carved the area’s gorges. A lecture and slideshow will follow.
The event is free, but registration is requested via the Georgia Rocks web site.
Summer camp lets kids create an online magazine
Rising 4th to 6th graders will become magazine writers and creative directors in a one-week camp at Georgia Tech run by Katori Education Company.
Campers will choose their stories, write them, and lay out the look of their online magazine, which will be finished at week’s end.
Sketch comedy summer camp for teens
Highwire Comedy Co. invites teens to its acting and writing workshop, a two-week summer program in which kids will write, rehearse and perform an original, live sketch comedy show — like creating their very own “Saturday Night Live.”
Students ages 13 and up will learn both improv and sketch comedy from an experienced faculty that includes a former instructor at Chicago’s Second City theater.
Highwire is located near Decatur.
Introductory programming camp in DeKalb
The CougarBots, a robotics team made up of students at DeKalb County’s Henderson Middle School and Lakeside High School, will run a one-week programming camp this summer for rising 3rd-6th graders.
The camp will be led by the students and their coaches, who will introduce children to the simple Scratch programming language and LEGO NXT robotics programming. No prior experience is necessary.
The CougarBots camp will take place June 29 to July 3, 2015, on the campus of Henderson Middle School. Cost is $180.
To register or for more information, download the PDF flyer.
Open auditions for Spivey Hall Children’s Choir
The Spivey Hall Children’s Choir will hold auditions for young singers on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
Auditions are open for girls and boys ages 10 to 13. Students selected for the program may remain in the choir until they complete high school.
Founded in 1994 and affiliated with Clayton State University, the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir consists of three groups: the Young Artists Choir, where most new singers are placed; the Children’s Choir, a larger ensemble that includes children through age 18; and the Tour Choir, a traveling group that has performed in locations across America and overseas.
To audition, complete an online application.