Gifted Atlanta

Things are about to get real science-y around this town.

The second annual Atlanta Science Festival kicks off this Saturday, March 21, offering a solid week of science-related activities on lots of science topics.

You’ll find the usual suspects of STEM: model rocketry, robotics and forensics, just to name a few. But when’s the last time you had the chance to learn the science of table tennis, or squishy physics (food science)?

The week culminates in the Exploration Expo, a massive free event on Saturday, March 28, at Centennial Olympic Park. Dozens of companies and schools will host hands-on activities geared toward kids and families.

The Atlanta History Center will offer free admission on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This will include access to the history museum, the Margaret Mitchell House, the 1928 Swan House and Smith Family Farm, the Centennial Olympic Games Museum, and the Goizueta Gardens.

The Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra will begin rehearsals next Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, at Creekland Middle School in Lawrenceville.

Wind, brass, string and percussion musicians who are 18 or under are invited to apply to join the orchestra.

The youth orchestra is led by conductor Dr. Gregory Pritchard, and plays alongside adult musicians in the symphony’s masterworks concerts.

The University of Georgia is now registering students for its Duke TIP Scholar Weekends being held on Feb. 28 to March 1 and April 18-19, 2015.

Scholar weekends are open to students in grades 8-11 who have either A) taken part in a talent search conducted by Duke TIP; or B) been identified as gifted by their school. This includes students taking accelerated, honors, Advanced Placement or IB classes.

Available topics for the weekends include oceanography, new media, robotics, international relations, and Shakespeare, just to name a few. The most popular classes will fill quickly.

Students stay on campus in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education during the weekend.

Limited financial aid may be available.

UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures for fifth and sixth grade students will be offered on the University of Georgia campus on Jan. 24, Feb. 14, and March 21, 2015. Registration for all three sessions is open now on a first come, first served basis.

To participate in this one-day program, your child must be enrolled in the Duke TIP 4th-6th Grade Talent Search.

Academic Adventures students choose a single topic to study, such as zoology, chemistry, fantasy literature, improv, social media, sharks, Bugbot design, and mini vet school. That’s just a sampling — there are dozens more courses covering topics your child is unlikely to encounter in school.

Popular courses will sell out. The cost for each one-day session 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.

This Friday night, Nov. 14, is Family Engineering Night at Tellus Museum in Cartersville.

From 5 to 9 p.m., you can learn about robotic design and operation, with a little computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering thrown in.

Then, you can use what you’ve learned to build your own robot in the LEGO Creative Build Competition. Spaces for the competition are limited, and you must pay a small fee to participate. Pre-registration is required for all competitors, by calling (770) 606-5700, ext. 431. All competitors will receive a LEGO build kit to take home.

For Star Wars fans, R2-D2 will be at the museum for photo ops.

Kids can learn to capture photographs from the Smithsonian’s robotic telescopes by taking part in the Digital Astronomy Workshop, TOMORROW, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville.

The workshop will teach participants how to operate the telescopes, which are located in Arizona and Massachusetts, to capture images for download. As “homework,” these newly trained digital astronomers will be expected to process and share their best images with Tellus. Some of the images may be displayed at the museum.

Open to ages 8 and up. $15 for Tellus members, $30 for non-members. Call 770-606-5700, ext. 417 to register. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. today. As of 10:40 a.m., there were five spaces left.