Gifted Atlanta

The University of West Georgia is planning a “Hackathon” event where middle- and high-school students will conceptualize and design software to solve a problem. The program will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023, on UWG’s main Carrollton campus.

The Hackathon program’s youth track is open to students aged 13 to 18. The youth track program does not require any programming or coding knowledge. Mentors will help the students with the technical aspects of their designs. (A separate advanced track for high-school and college students 18 and up does require basic programming skills.)

Students will work in teams. They can sign up with people they already know and want to work with, or find a team onsite.

Registration is $30, plus a $3 processing fee. If a family is unable to pay the fee, UWG will attempt to make arrangements for the registration. See the “How much does it cost to participate” area of the page linked above for contact information for financial assistance.

The Math Circle program at Emory University is now registering for its spring 2023 classes.

Math Circle is an enrichment program for middle-school and high-school kids who are fascinated by mathematics and who want to explore math topics beyond what’s taught in the typical classroom. Classes meet twice a month on Saturdays. In-person classes will begin this Saturday, January 28. Note that it is possible to join a class after it has begun meeting; registration will remain open until February 17.

Classes will be offered both in person and online.

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

Any students attending an in-person section must show proof of vaccination (including a booster shot). Masks are optional, in accordance with Emory University policy.

Emory Math Circle is free, but donations from families that can give them are appreciated.

Registration is open for K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop sessions being held Saturday, February 18 at Georgia Tech.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. Topics for 2nd and 3rd graders this session are flight mechanics, “TinkerLab” and rollercoasters. For students in grades 4 and 5, there are two tracks to choose from. One track will design a chair and learn about electrical engineering; the other will study application design and health science. (Important note: Application design is a two-part course. Part two will be held on March 11.)

STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. For grades 6 to 8, track one will learn about robotics and chemical engineering; track two will spend the full three hours learning about gardening in the time of climate change; track three will spend three hours on LEGO Robotics. Grades 9 through 12 will design a robotic car using Micro:bit.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

A group of female high-school students in New Jersey has issued an open invitation to girls in grades 4 through 9 who want to do more math.

Lovelace Math Circle is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring more girls into STEM fields. Their teachers, who are high school students, teach a mix of subjects, some that focus on topics typically taught in school, and others that prepare students for math competitions.

The Google form linked above directs prospective students to a problem set that will help them determine whether they would be a good candidate for a competition class.

Registration for the winter session is open now through January 6, 2023, with classes beginning on January 7. All classes are free. They meet 45 minutes per week, online, in the evenings.

Registration is open for K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop sessions being held Saturday, January 14 at Georgia Tech.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. Topics for 2nd and 3rd graders this session are architecture, “TinkerLab” and 3-D art storytelling. For students in grades 4 and 5, there are two tracks to choose from. One track will study water safety and computer animation with Scratch; the other will learn about DNA and build racers.

STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. For grades 6 to 8, track one will learn about bacteria and biodegradable plastics; track two will spend the full three hours learning about gardening in the time of climate change. Grades 9 through 12 will use 3-D modeling to design a sustainable home.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know I love recommending citizen science projects for gifted kids. This week, your kids can become citizen researchers for the University of Georgia’s Joro Spider Spotting Contest.

Joro spiders are native to Asia. They came to the United States in 2014. You can recognize them by their large size, bright coloring, and expansive webs, which may be in trees or between power lines.

Anytime a species is introduced to a new place, scientists want to know what effect it will have on the ecosystem. As part of their studies of the Joro spider, entomologists want to learn more about how many there are and how far they’ve spread geographically. Since the spiders are relatively easy to spot and recognize, it’s a perfect opportunity to call in citizen scientists.

To participate in the Joro Spider Spotting Contest, you’ll go out looking for spiders. If you see one, you’ll take a photo and submit it, either through the Joro Watch website or through the EddMAPs App, available on iOS or Android. You’ll report where you see Joro spiders, as well as where you look but don’t find any, as both of these are important for scientists to know. Visit jorowatch.com for detailed instructions.

The Joro Spider Spotting Contest will run through Saturday, Oct. 15.

The Math Circle program at Emory University is now registering for its fall 2022 classes, which will be a mix of online and in-person sessions.

Math Circle is a free enrichment program for middle-school and high-school kids who are fascinated by mathematics and who want to explore math topics beyond what’s taught in the typical classroom. Classes meet twice a month on Saturdays. In-person classes begin this Saturday, September 10.

High school class sections will be held in person, on the Emory campus. Students must show proof of vaccination (including a booster shot). Masks are optional, in accordance with Emory policy.

Middle-school students can choose between in-person sections, with the same vaccination requirements as above, or Zoom sections.

Destination Imagination (DI) is back in Georgia after a two-year hiatus. In the DI program, teams of kids work together on challenges that require a combination of technical, artistic and performance skills, although some challenges lean more toward scientific aspects, where others incorporate more of the arts.

A hallmark of DI is encouraging kids to tackle problems for themselves. Each team has one or more team managers, who can be teachers or parents, but these managers are primarily facilitators who help the team work together to learn new skills and come up with solutions. All the ideas and all the work must come from the team members themselves. In my experience, when this is done right, the kids surprise everyone — including their parents and themselves — with how self-sufficient and creative they can be.

DI is open to kids from kindergarten through college, with the challenges tailored to various ages. Teams typically form now, at the start of the school year. In the early spring, teams compete (against others of similar age) in a state tournament, usually held in the metro Atlanta area. Teams that win at the state tournament have the opportunity to go to D.I. Global Finals, an international event that will be held in May 2023 in Kansas City, MO.

I was a team manager with the DI program for many years, and both of my kids participated on teams. I absolutely endorse this program, and I recommend it ahead of the very similar Odyssey of the Mind program, even though Odyssey is the more popular program in Georgia. If you want to know more about my experiences or get some tips, send me a note through the Contact page of this website and I’ll be glad to set up a phone call with you.

Dr. Po-Shen Loh, a professor of math at Carnegie Mellon University and national coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team, will make three stops in metro Atlanta this weekend to talk about mathematics, creativity and innovation.

The free events are part of Loh’s summer-long tour and are for students in grades 5 through 11. Loh will speak this Friday in Marietta, and Saturday in Alpharetta and Brookhaven. All three events will be held in outdoor pavillions at public parks.

In addition to being a professor, Loh operates a for-profit online math enrichment program. The promoter who reached out to me about the tour events assures me the presentations are not merely promotions for the classes, although she says they will be “briefly mentioned.”

Emory University is bringing back the Julia Robinson Math Festival this Saturday, August 27. The event will run from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., but students are welcome to drop in late and/or leave early.

The event targets middle-school and high-school students who love math. It offers challenging activities that get students to engage with math concepts they’re unlikely to encounter in their typical math classes. I’ve personally attended this event with my kids in the past and can attest it’s an enjoyable way to stretch your mathematical mind.

The math festival will be held in the atrium of the Math and Science Center. Admission is free; however, advance registration is requested.