Gifted Atlanta

Registration is open for Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for Saturday, November 16, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus. Registration will close November 13 at noon.

Also, Georgia Tech reports they have a few openings left for kids in grades 4-12 for workshops taking place this Saturday, Oct. 26. Registration for this weekend ends tomorrow at noon.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Topics vary by age group.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Unfortunately, the scholarship program that had been offered for the past several years, which was funded through the American Rescue Plan, has ended.

The final K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops for 2024 are planned for December 7.

Registration is open for Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for Saturday, October 26, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Topics vary by age group.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Unfortunately, the scholarship program that had been offered for the past several years, which was funded through the American Rescue Plan, has ended.

Additional K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops are planned for November 16, and December 7.

Emory University’s Math Circle program will host a Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival this Saturday, September 7.

The event targets middle- and high-school students who love math. Students go from table to table, trying out a range of games and puzzles which tend to focus on math concepts more than numerical computation. I attended this event with my kids some years ago, and found it to be challenging yet approachable and fun.

The math festival will be held in the atrium of the Math and Science Center from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event is intended as a drop-in activity — families can come and go at any time.

Admission to the festival is free, and free parking is available in the Oxford Road parking deck.

The Math Circle program at Emory University is now registering students in grades 6 to 12 for its fall 2024 classes, which will begin in mid-September.

Math Circle is an enrichment program for middle-school and high-school kids who enjoy mathematics and want to explore topics and concepts beyond what’s taught in their regular math class at school.

Classes meet twice a month on Saturdays. High-school classes will meet on the Emory campus; middle-school students can choose from in-person or Zoom-based classes.

You can get more information and register at the Math Circle website.

Emory Math Circle is free to attend, but the program operates with the help of donations, and they suggest a donation of $30 per child for those who can afford to give.

Registration is open for Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for Saturday, September 28, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Topics vary by age group and include robotics, computer science, forensic science, biotechnology, and chemistry.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Unfortunately, the scholarship program that had been offered for the past several years, which was funded through the American Rescue Plan, has ended.

Additional K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops are planned for October 26, November 16, and December 7.

I’ll say up front, this one is close to my heart.

Destination Imagination is an international program that encourages children’s creativity and collaborative skills. Working in small teams, kids tackle challenges that require a combination of technical skills, artistic ability, and ingenuity. Some challenges lean more toward the technical, while others require more artistry and theatrical presentation. DI is centered around STEAM components, but the teamwork required provides a separate learning experience of its own, and the child-led nature of the program does wonders for kids’ self-confidence.

My kids were in DI for several years, and I was their “team manager,” so I’m very familiar with how it works and what it does for kids, and I’m a big proponent of the program. Yet as I sit here and try to describe it, it’s surprisingly hard to put into words. That’s why I’d suggest, if you’re looking for an activity for the coming school year that emphasizes creativity and teamwork, you attend one of the upcoming information sessions being presented by the Georgia affiliate of DI and see if it could be a fit for your child and/or your school.

Sessions will be offered via Zoom on July 30 and 31 and August 5 and 6. If none of the available times is convenient for you, you can register and receive a link to watch a recording.

If you’d like more details about my personal experiences in DI, please use the form on the contact page to send me a message. I’m glad to share.

Tellus Science Museum will present its 33rd annual Rockfest rock and gem show on June 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Rockfest features gem, mineral, fossil, and jewelry dealers from across the country, along with activities and workshops. Kids can even bring rocks they’ve collected to have them identified by the experts.

Rockfest attendance is included with general admission to the museum.

Tellus Museum in Cartersville will host Full STEAM Ahead from April 1 to 5, offering kid-friendly demonstrations and hands-on activities. Each weekday will be centered on one of the five elements of STEAM: Monday is science, Tuesday is technology, and so on.

Tellus also will welcome guests to safely view the partial solar eclipse through its solar telescope on April 8. The observatory will be open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., with the maximum eclipse (84 percent of the sun will be covered) expected just after 3 p.m.

These events are included in museum admission, which is $19 for adults and $15 for children (or free if you have a Tellus membership).

Registration is open for Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. Workshops cover a variety of topics including rocketry, electrical engineering, tangrams and something they’re calling “grossology.” STEAM Workshops this time around are for students in grades 6 through 8, with such topics as stop-motion animation and biomedical engineering.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at school. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

The April session will be the final meeting of K.I.D.S. Club / STEAM Workshops for the 2023-2024 school year.

Students with an interest in STEM are invited to take part in a STEM Expo, Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Global Impact Academy in Fairburn.

The expo is being organized by GIA senior Christina Jordan, who says the event is a chance for students to showcase their talent in STEM and for local STEM professionals to inspire students.

Exhibitors, who may be students or adults, should have an interactive project to share. Christina says exhibitors signed up so far range from 9th-grade students to Microsoft representatives. To apply for an exhibitor spot, complete the interest form before the April 1 deadline.

The event is free for attendees and exhibitors.