Get $100 off technology camps — sale ends Monday
If you’re an early planner for summer, you can save $100 on technology camps at Emory presented by iD Tech.
The Emory iD Tech camps are open to kids ages 7 to 17. Topics include coding, game design, app development, robotics, photography, web design and more.
iD Tech also will offer Alexa Café, a STEM camp for girls ages 10 to 15, to be held at Georgia Tech.
The camps offer a low student-to-instructor ratio and lots of hands-on learning. Some programs — including the two-week teen academies at Emory — allow students to live on the college campus; others are day camps only.
The $100 discount is valid if you register and pay for a summer program by Monday, Dec. 15, 2015.
UGA now accepting 8th-11th graders for Duke TIP Scholar Weekends
The University of Georgia is now registering students for its Duke TIP Scholar Weekends being held on Feb. 28 to March 1 and April 18-19, 2015.
Scholar weekends are open to students in grades 8-11 who have either A) taken part in a talent search conducted by Duke TIP; or B) been identified as gifted by their school. This includes students taking accelerated, honors, Advanced Placement or IB classes.
Available topics for the weekends include oceanography, new media, robotics, international relations, and Shakespeare, just to name a few. The most popular classes will fill quickly.
Students stay on campus in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education during the weekend.
Limited financial aid may be available.
UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures spring programs now registering 5th and 6th graders
UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures for fifth and sixth grade students will be offered on the University of Georgia campus on Jan. 24, Feb. 14, and March 21, 2015. Registration for all three sessions is open now on a first come, first served basis.
To participate in this one-day program, your child must be enrolled in the Duke TIP 4th-6th Grade Talent Search.
Academic Adventures students choose a single topic to study, such as zoology, chemistry, fantasy literature, improv, social media, sharks, Bugbot design, and mini vet school. That’s just a sampling — there are dozens more courses covering topics your child is unlikely to encounter in school.
Popular courses will sell out. The cost for each one-day session is $145. Need-based scholarships may be available.
If you haven’t registered your child with Duke TIP, it’s an easy process, and it gives you access to programs like Academic Adventures as well as useful information about raising gifted children.
Get $200 off Space Camp through Monday at midnight
Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., is offering a $200 discount off programs for kids and families, now through Monday at midnight. 
The discount can be used for a week of Space Camp, Aviation Challenge, or Robotics summer camp, or for the weekend family camp versions of Space Camp or Aviation Challenge.
If it feels too early to commit to summer camp dates, don’t sweat it. 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.
Family Engineering Night at Tellus this Friday
This Friday night, Nov. 14, is Family Engineering Night at Tellus Museum in Cartersville.
From 5 to 9 p.m., you can learn about robotic design and operation, with a little computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering thrown in.
Then, you can use what you’ve learned to build your own robot in the LEGO Creative Build Competition. Spaces for the competition are limited, and you must pay a small fee to participate. Pre-registration is required for all competitors, by calling (770) 606-5700, ext. 431. All competitors will receive a LEGO build kit to take home.
For Star Wars fans, R2-D2 will be at the museum for photo ops.
Deadline TODAY to register for tomorrow’s digital astronomy workshop
Kids can learn to capture photographs from the Smithsonian’s robotic telescopes by taking part in the Digital Astronomy Workshop, TOMORROW, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville.
The workshop will teach participants how to operate the telescopes, which are located in Arizona and Massachusetts, to capture images for download. As “homework,” these newly trained digital astronomers will be expected to process and share their best images with Tellus. Some of the images may be displayed at the museum.
Open to ages 8 and up. $15 for Tellus members, $30 for non-members. Call 770-606-5700, ext. 417 to register. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. today. As of 10:40 a.m., there were five spaces left.
DeKalb offers ITBS testing for magnet school applicants
DeKalb County Schools is offering ITBS testing for students who want to apply to its magnet programs, including the high achiever magnet schools at Kittredge / Chamblee or Wadsworth / Chapel Hill / Southwest DeKalb, but who lack qualifying test scores.
Who is this test for?
- Students currently in grades 4, 6, or 8 who did not have qualifying scores for the high achiever programs when they took the ITBS test in 3rd, 5th, or 7th grade
- Students in homeschool or private school in grades 3 through 8
If your child already has qualifying scores, there’s no need to register for this testing. It is only for students who lack the required test scores for admission to the magnet programs.
Download the PDF for more information and an application for the test. The deadline to apply is Oct. 24, 2014.
Space Camp scholarships available
Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., will soon begin accepting applications for its 2015 scholarship program. Full scholarships cover tuition, room and board for any week-long program, which includes Space Camp, Aviation Challenge, or Robotics summer camps.
Scholarships are awarded in four categories, one of which is academic achievement. Participation in a gifted program qualifies a student to apply in that category.
To apply, a student must be in 4th to 12th grade. Application deadline is Dec. 15, 2014, but the application process is rather involved, so if you’re interested, get started.
LEGO robotics team seeking sixth-grade girls
A newly formed FIRST LEGO League Robotics team in Buckhead / Sandy Springs / Dunwoody is looking for three or four sixth-grade girls to join the team. Together, this team of girls will learn teamwork, programming, and problem solving.
Prior LEGO experience is appreciated, but not required. The team will meet once a week, on Saturdays or Sundays (depending on team members’ schedules), through November. If the team does well in its fall competition, the season could stretch into early 2015.
This particular team is sponsored by the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, so team members must either be active in Girl Scouts or be willing to join Girl Scouts. (They need not join or participate in a troop, but must pay a membership fee.) Total cost for Girl Scout membership, team fees and team T-shirt will be around $90.
For more information about the team, e-mail Ann, the team leader, at District13Robotics-at-gmail-dot-com (e-mail deconstructed to prevent spam; you put it back together). She needs to turn in her roster soon, so if you think your daughter may be interested, contact her this week.
Debate teams for grades 4 and up
Ivy Bridge Academy is seeking students in grades 4-12 for its debate teams. The debate program is offered on the weekends at the established campus in Johns Creek and the newly opened school campus in Cumming.
As you’d expect, students learn how to conduct research, organize ideas, and speak confidently before an audience. The debate teams compete in two regional tournaments per semester, as well as in a national tournament in the spring.
Gifted Atlanta 