Gifted Atlanta

Build and launch a model rocket at Tellus Museum in Cartersville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, at Tellus Museum. The “Build and Blast” event is open to kids 8 and up.

Cost is $15 for Tellus members, $30 for non-members. The program runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spaces are limited. Reserve a space by calling (770) 606-5700, ext. 417. Registration is open now for Tellus members; non-members can sign up starting Feb. 1.

*Note that this event is weather sensitive and will be rescheduled if there is rain or heavy wind.

For quick hits of inspiration, check out these five podcasts that appeal to gifted kids — especially those with a scientific bent:

1. 60-Second Science: A one-minute look at a scientific development, provided by Scientific American.
2. Astronomy Cast: Stories of the cosmos and the astronomers who study it.
3. MinutePhysics: Cool physics with a humorous twist.
4. Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: Definitions and etymology of uncommon words.
5. The Stuff of Genius: Interesting inventions.

These podcasts also are available on iTunes.

Thanks to the Institute for Educational Advancement for compiling this list, and for Muriel Knope to sending it my way.

START:CODE has announced its line-up of interactive programming classes for January and February.

Students in 4th and 5th grades can learn Scratch, a simple programming language that can be used to create games and multi-media projects.

Middle-school and high-school labs, for kids in grades 6-12, offer hands-on instruction in a variety of languages, including Python and Java.

START:CODE also offers classes in the early afternoons for home-school students.

Classes begin next week.

The Wylde Center in Decatur, formerly known as the Oakhurst Community Garden, welcomes kids to a variety of nature and art programs. Coming up soon are a candle making class on January 13, and a paper making program on February 10. These classes are open to little kids as well as bigger kids — ages 5 and up for candle making; ages 4 and up for paper making — which puts them in that rare group of activities that cater to the curious preschool mind.

The center also has four public gardens where kids can see chickens, bees and a variety of vegetables. The gardens are free and open to the public daily.

Yesterday, I posted about the UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures programs for 5th and 6th graders. Today, I wanted to let you know that registration is also open for the spring 2013 programs for students in grades 8-11.

The next two UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends will be Feb. 16-17 and April 20-21.

Unlike Academic Adventures, which requires that students be registered with the Duke-TIP Talent Search, the Scholar Weekends are open to any students 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 spring include architecture, science fiction, psychology, robotics, and public speaking, and several more.

Students 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, honors students, and gifted educators.

The deadline to register for the February weekend is Feb. 1; for the April session, you can register until April 5. Popular courses may fill before the registration deadline. For the February session, register by Jan. 4 to receive a $25 discount. The early bird discount for the April session will be available until March 8.

If you homeschool and are looking for something to do this Friday, you might want to check this out.

And if you homeschool and have a child who’s interested in dinosaurs, then you absolutely must check this out.

Tellus Museum is putting new arms on its Appalachiosaurus this Friday at 1 p.m. The museum will offer a lunch-and-learn session at noon, followed by the removal of the current arms on the display. They’re putting on shorter arms, because the latest research indicates the dinosaur’s arms weren’t as long as once thought. (The progress of scientific understanding among paleontologists will be the topic of the lunch-and-learn session.)

If you go, don’t forget to stop by the Tellus Facebook page to get a coupon for $2 off admission.

Registration is now open for the spring 2013 sessions of UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures, to be held March 2 and March 23.

These one-day programs, held on the UGA campus, give talented kids in 5th and 6th grades a chance to study topics of interest with other talented peers.

The registration deadline is Feb. 13 for the March 2 session, and March 8 for the March 23 session, but spaces won’t last until then. Two courses are already full, but slots remain in Bugbot Programming, the Physics of Filmmaking, Forecasting Severe Weather, Creating Graphic Texts, and a few others.

To participate, your child must have participated in the Duke TIP 4th/5th/6th Grade Talent Search. Not registered with Duke TIP? Learn more about how to get started so you can take advantage of opportunities like this one.

Tellus Museum is offering a coupon for $2 off admission through the end of December.

The museum, located just off I-75 in Cartersville, includes a large rock and mineral gallery, a fossil gallery, and interactive exhibits. The newest exhibit, called “Space Spin-offs,” showcases common technology that was originally engineered by NASA.

The coupon is available through the Tellus Facebook page.

Women in Engineering (WIE) will hold its annual “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” day on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 on the Georgia Tech campus. The four-hour program gives girls in 6th-8th grades the chance to meet professional engineers and engineering students — all women — do hands-on engineering projects, and play science-related games.

Girls attending the event also can compete for scholarships to summer camps that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math.

Registration is open now.

Have a student with an insatiable appetite for math? The Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science is offering Elements of Mathematics: Foundations, a series of online math courses for highly talented students. Students who complete the 15-course program can learn all of the high-school math curriculum — except calculus — while still in middle school.

The program’s web site says:

Elements of Mathematics: Foundations is not an accelerated version of the standard US mathematics curriculum. Instead it establishes foundational concepts that allow the suitably talented child to progress quickly through material for which others would require significant drill and practice. It then proceeds to cover concepts in a mathematically consistent way, incidentally covering all of the standard curriculum — and much, much more.

Students who complete the high-school curriculum while in middle school can move on to college-level courses — also available online through eIMACS — when they reach high school.

IMACS is offering the first course in the Foundations series free of charge, if you sign up by Dec. 31, 2012.