Atlanta Science Festival is coming
The third annual Atlanta Science Festival will be held March 19-26, 2016.
From robotics to bird watching, astronomy to electronic music, nearly 100 science-related events will be held around the metro area. The festival culminates in the Exploration Expo, a gigantic, interactive celebration of science on March 26 at Centennial Olympic Park.
Some activities require advance registration, so take a look at what’s available and reserve your space now.
“Egg-Speriments” workshop for ages 8 to 12
The University of West Georgia invites kids ages 8 to 12 to its “Egg-Speriments” workshop, Saturday, March 5, 2016, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Kids will investigate the properties of eggs and will conduct an egg drop off a campus building.
Registration fee of $35 covers all supplies and a snack.
AICL adds a new summer program for high-schoolers
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.
Juried art competition for high-school students
High-school students from the Atlanta area are invited to submit their artwork to the 2016 Atlanta High School Art Exhibition, a juried art competition that culminates in a showing at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in April.
The AHSAE was established in the 1970s and now draws more than 700 entries per year. One hundred are selected to be shown at the festival. Students can win art supplies and scholarships.
The contest welcomes entries in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, pottery, computer graphics, and more. The work must have been created during the 2015-16 school year, either in school or as part of the school curriculum.
Interested students should start by talking to the art teacher at their high school to see about submitting through the school. If submission through the school is not possible, students may submit their work on their own.
The submissions deadline is Feb. 25, 2016.
Decatur Schools gifted survey
City of Decatur Schools is conducting a survey about its gifted education programs. If you have a student in the Decatur school system who has been identified as gifted and is receiving gifted services, you can complete the anonymous survey here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19DHj8C8pv5ar3Uhh7hM18TXAfPKxIxFyRLCNEvaVLYU/viewform?c=0&w=1
Summer camps at Midtown International School for grades K-8
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.
Emory Math Circle is for math-lovers, grades 6-12
Emory Math Circle is a different kind of math enrichment program.
First, it’s not a class. It’s more of a club.
And second, its purpose isn’t to push students so they can take calculus when they’re 15. Rather, it’s a place where kids who enjoy math can explore mathematical concepts or topics in a way their math classes don’t, with games, puzzles, and in-depth problems to solve.
Math Circle is open to students in grades 6 to 12. Students are divided into two groups, based on their grade level and math experience.
The program meets on Saturday afternoons on the Emory campus. Groups are taught by Ph.D. students from the Emory Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
The next session of Math Circle will begin on Saturday, Jan. 30. Registration is open now, with new students accepted on a rolling basis, as space allows.
Not ready to commit to a whole semester of math enrichment? Check out the Julia Robinson Math Festival this Saturday, Jan. 23, at Emory. At this two-hour event, students can visit multiple stations where they’ll explore math problems and concepts, with guidance from mathematicians. It’s free, but advance registration is required.
New programs for middle-schoolers at GT KIDS Club
The K.I.D.S. Club program at Georgia Tech has introduced three new middle-school classes for the spring semester: regenerative medicine, neuro-engineering, and biomedical imaging.
Like all K.I.D.S. Club classes, each of these will be taught on a single Saturday morning, on the Georgia Tech campus. Class fees are $50 per child, per class. Spaces are limited.
Contest seeks artistic interpretations of ocean pollution
Middle- and high-school students are invited to take part in the 2016 Ocean Awareness Student Contest, which challenges young people to learn about the oceans and create a work of art that shows what the health of Earth’s oceans means to them.
Students may enter in one or more of four contest categories: visual art, poetry, prose, or film. All entries are due by June 13, 2016. Winners will be awarded cash prizes of up to $1,500.
Full contest details are available from the sponsoring organization, From The Bow Seat.
VOX seeks teens for hands-on investigative journalism program
VOX, a local media organization by and for teens, is accepting applications for VOX Investigates, an intense, investigative journalism internship.
Selected teen journalists will work with a group of mentors and community partners to deeply explore the topic of dating violence and healthy relationships and their impact on teens. They will research and report on the subject by talking to local teens, then publish stories in a variety of formats.
The program will run from January 9 to May 7, 2016. Download the VOX Investigates PDF for more information about requirements and how to apply. The deadline to apply is this Saturday, December 19.
Gifted Atlanta 