Gifted Atlanta

Today’s kids are voracious consumers of technology. But for some, consuming isn’t enough. They want to make the technology, too.

Those techno-curious kids are the target students for a new business called Start Code, which will begin teaching hands-on computer programming classes this month. Classes will focus on coding in Scratch, Java, Python, iOS and other current technologies. Students in grades 6-12 can enroll in Wednesday afternoon or Saturday classes.

All classes will be held at the Toco Hill shopping center. (For those of you who didn’t grow up in my old ‘hood, that’s in northeast Atlanta, just north of Decatur.)

Registration is open now. Classes start April 21, 2012.

Fernbank Science Center in Decatur will host its next Science Night Out on Friday, April 20. Jack Jones, inventor of the Geobat, a flying machine shaped like a ring, will talk to students about the engineering design process.

Science Night Out is aimed at science lovers in 3rd – 6th grades. The program runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Registration, which is done only by U.S. Mail, is $15 for one child and $10 for additional siblings. The class will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

The Sandy Springs branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System will host a teen writer’s workshop this Saturday, March 10, from 12:30 – 2 p.m. Middle-school and high-school students who write in any literary form, from short stories to poetry and everything in between. The workshop is free and open to the public.

Tellus Museum in Cartersville has two hands-on workshops coming up:

Saturday, March 3: Fossil workshop, 9 a.m. to noon. Kids will learn the basics of paleontology, identifying fossils, and telling geologic time.

Saturday, March 10: “Build and blast” model rocket build and launch, starting at 11 a.m. (This was rescheduled from February, so you won’t find it on the Tellus calendar, but I did call and confirm the date.)

Both workshops are open to ages 8 and up. Kids must be accompanied by an adult, and both child and adult must pay museum admission.

Space is limited. Call (770) 606-5700, ext. 417 to make your pre-paid reservation.

Fernbank Science Center in Decatur will host its next Science Night Out on Friday, March 23. This session of Science Night Out will feature program founders, who are now college students or college graduates. They’ll be sharing activities related to their personal scientific study.

Science Night Out is aimed at science lovers in 3rd – 6th grades. The program runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Registration, which is done only by U.S. Mail, is $15 for one child and $10 for additional siblings. The class will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Georgia State University has posted its list of classes for the next upcoming session of Saturday School.

The 2012 Spring B session begins March 10. Classes are held on Saturdays in the mornings and afternoons on the GSU campus. Classes will be offered in a variety of topics, from art to public speaking to math games to ancient Egypt to space — and lots more.

Saturday School is open to children in kindergarten through 8th grade. The program is geared toward students who have been identified as gifted by their school, but kids who haven’t been formally identified can be granted provisional enrollment for one year.

The registration deadline is Feb. 28.

The January session of the Junior Astronomy Workshop was a sold-out success, so the Tellus Museum in Cartersville is offering another session, Friday, Feb. 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Junior astronomers ages 5-12 will learn to use a star chart and will practice watching the night sky in the planetarium and the observatory.

Call 770-606-5700, ext. 417  to reserve tickets.

Emory University has two upcoming music events ideal for young people:

Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 – Pajama concert, 7:30 p.m. at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Guests are invited to wear their PJs and bring a pillow to this family concert of night music. Tickets are $4 per person, or free for members of the museum.

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 – Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m. at Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. As I always say, these youth symphony performances are a two-for-one in enrichment. They expose your child to live, classical music, and have the added bonus of inspiring them with what other young people can do. Admission is free.

Fernbank Science Center will teach kids about LEGO Mindstorm Robotics at its next Science Night Out, to be held on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012.

Science Night Out is for science lovers in 3rd – 6th grades. This drop-off program runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the science center, located near Decatur.

Registration is accepted only by U.S. Mail. The fee is $15 for one child and $10 for additional siblings. The class will be filled on a first come, first served basis.