Gifted Atlanta

Saturday School, a program of Georgia State University, has added a second week of its one-week summer camp.

Brain Camp II will be held July 25-29, 2016, on the Georgia State campus. The camp is open to kids in kindergarten through 8th grade. Campers will learn about neuroscience and participate in brain-related learning activities.

The registration deadline is July 15.

The University of West Georgia is hosting a number of week-long camps for children, starting with kindergarten and going through high school.

Topics for younger kids include dinosaurs, the Olympics, space, and the ocean, while older kids can dabble in art, film making, LEGO Robotics, or handmade games.

The camps will be held either at UWG’s main campus in Carrollton, or at the Newnan Center in Newnan.

BioIgnite will host a one-week biotechnology camp, July 18-22, 2016, at Fulton Science Academy. The camp is led by graduate students from Georgia Tech. Topics covered will include regenerative medicine, neuroengineering, medical device design, and biomedical imaging.

The camp is for students rising to 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.

I’ve recently been contacted about two new camps in the metro area.

First is a completely new camp, STREM HQ, founded by Aditya Suri, a Walton High School graduate who was on the school’s highly acclaimed robotics team. Last year, Suri won a scholarship from Samsung for a mobile app he created. He established STREM HQ to expand STEM learning opportunities for kids. The “R” in STREM HQ is for robotics, an important component in the program. The camps are open to kids ages 8 and up.

Also new is an expansion of the Smart Girls Summer Camp at Atlanta Girls’ School.  The camp has added a program for younger children, and now serves rising first through ninth graders. All of the Smart Girls camps center on STEAM themes.

Georgia Gwinnett College has opened registration for its 2016 Mathematics in Action summer enrichment program, open to rising 6th, 7th and 8th graders.

Students in the program will solve real-world math problems, play math games, and explore other math topics.

The program is held on the GGC campus in Lawrenceville and runs for four days — Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The college is offering two sessions: June 6-9 and June 13-16.

There are only four days left to submit applications for the Girls Who Code seven-week summer immersion program, which will be offered at three locations around metro Atlanta during summer 2016.

Current 10th and 11th grade girls will receive instruction in coding and meet members of the business community, learning about the role computer science plays in a variety of industries. The program is designed for beginners — no coding experience is necessary.

The program will be held on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., from June 6 to July 22. Locations are:

• Accenture, 100 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, 30303
• AT&T, 725 West Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, 30308
• GE, 2018 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Atlanta, 30339

The summer immersion program is free to all participants. Students who have to pay for transportation to the program location may be eligible for a stipend to cover those costs. And for girls who qualify, cash scholarships of $400 to $1,400 may be available. This money is intended to offset the loss of wages for girls who would ordinarily need to work a summer job.

Girls Who Code is a national non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology.

Applications are due March 8.

Someone wrote to me and asked what I knew about the Duke TIP summer programs. She is trying to select a location (Davidson, Trinity, or Wake Forest) for her child.

I have no personal experience with these programs, so I’m putting this one out to you, readers. If you have a child who has participated in a Duke TIP summer program, would you take a minute to comment about where they attended and how it was?

Thanks!

The Appalachian Institute for Creative Learning, which has been offering summer enrichment camps since 1982, will introduce a new camp this summer for students rising into grades 8 to 12.

Dubbed “Week Zero,” the new residential camp will maintain AICL’s emphasis on hands-on learning and the fun of exploring new ideas, but will have a greater academic focus than AICL’s other camps. It will be held at Mars Hill University, near Asheville, N.C.

My children have attended AICL, and last summer I taught there. I was impressed with the dedication of the camp instructors and staff, and with the overall vibe of the camp, where campers who defy the common mold are not only accepted but appreciated for their unique qualities. If your child is often the odd kid out in their everyday life, AICL may be where they finally find their tribe.

Registration is open for Midtown International School’s 2016 summer camps, open to students in kindergarten through 8th grade.

This summer, the one-week camps will cover a range of topics including rocketry, robotics, art, photography, and volcanoes. Campers will be grouped by grade level. Groups are limited to 12 campers each.

Camps will be held on the school’s campus in northeast Atlanta. A limited number of scholarships are available.

Space Camp‘s annual Black Friday sale is back. From Friday, Nov. 27 through Monday, Nov. 30, you can save $200 off programs for kids and families.

The discount can be used for a week of Space Camp or Aviation Challenge summer camp, or for the weekend family camp versions of Space Camp or Aviation Challenge.

If you’re not ready to commit to specific dates for summer camp, that’s okay. Space Camp will let you register now, take the $200 discount, and select your program dates later.

This is the only sale Space Camp offers to the general public.