A must-see for dinosaur fanatics at Tellus
If you homeschool and are looking for something to do this Friday, you might want to check this out.
And if you homeschool and have a child who’s interested in dinosaurs, then you absolutely must check this out.
Tellus Museum is putting new arms on its Appalachiosaurus this Friday at 1 p.m. The museum will offer a lunch-and-learn session at noon, followed by the removal of the current arms on the display. They’re putting on shorter arms, because the latest research indicates the dinosaur’s arms weren’t as long as once thought. (The progress of scientific understanding among paleontologists will be the topic of the lunch-and-learn session.)
If you go, don’t forget to stop by the Tellus Facebook page to get a coupon for $2 off admission.
UGA-Duke TIP now registering 5th and 6th grade students for spring programs
Registration is now open for the spring 2013 sessions of UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures, to be held March 2 and March 23.
These one-day programs, held on the UGA campus, give talented kids in 5th and 6th grades a chance to study topics of interest with other talented peers.
The registration deadline is Feb. 13 for the March 2 session, and March 8 for the March 23 session, but spaces won’t last until then. Two courses are already full, but slots remain in Bugbot Programming, the Physics of Filmmaking, Forecasting Severe Weather, Creating Graphic Texts, and a few others.
To participate, your child must have participated in the Duke TIP 4th/5th/6th Grade Talent Search. Not registered with Duke TIP? Learn more about how to get started so you can take advantage of opportunities like this one.
Apply now for scholarships to early college program at West Georgia
The Advanced Academy of Georgia, located at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, is one of just a handful of U.S. colleges that allow students to earn their high-school diploma while attending school in a residential college setting. Students can enter the Academy for their junior and/or senior years of high school.
The Academy is now taking applications for merit-based scholarships for students who will be in 11th or 12th grade in the 2013-14 school year. The Freshman Foundation Scholarship deadline is January 18, 2013; the deadline for the Presidential Scholarship is February 22, 2013.
The regular admission deadline and need-based financial aid deadline for Fall 2013 are June 1, 2013.
$2 coupon for Tellus Museum, good through year’s end
Tellus Museum is offering a coupon for $2 off admission through the end of December.
The museum, located just off I-75 in Cartersville, includes a large rock and mineral gallery, a fossil gallery, and interactive exhibits. The newest exhibit, called “Space Spin-offs,” showcases common technology that was originally engineered by NASA.
The coupon is available through the Tellus Facebook page.
Georgia Tech program introduces middle-school girls to engineering
Women in Engineering (WIE) will hold its annual “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” day on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 on the Georgia Tech campus. The four-hour program gives girls in 6th-8th grades the chance to meet professional engineers and engineering students — all women — do hands-on engineering projects, and play science-related games.
Girls attending the event also can compete for scholarships to summer camps that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math.
Registration is open now.
Space Camp offers Black Friday discounts
Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., will offer big discounts on its summer programs in the days following Thanksgiving.
The sale kicks off on Black Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Beginning at 9 a.m. Central Time — that’s 10 a.m. here in Georgia — the first 10 people who book a week of Space Camp online will get a hugely discounted rate of $499 for the week.
If you don’t manage to grab one of those spots, you’ll have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26 to get a reduced rate of $779, which is $200 off the regular rate.
These specials apply to Space Camp, Aviation Challenge and the new Robotics Camp.
Online courses for the math-minded middle-schooler
Have a student with an insatiable appetite for math? The Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science is offering Elements of Mathematics: Foundations, a series of online math courses for highly talented students. Students who complete the 15-course program can learn all of the high-school math curriculum — except calculus — while still in middle school.
The program’s web site says:
Elements of Mathematics: Foundations is not an accelerated version of the standard US mathematics curriculum. Instead it establishes foundational concepts that allow the suitably talented child to progress quickly through material for which others would require significant drill and practice. It then proceeds to cover concepts in a mathematically consistent way, incidentally covering all of the standard curriculum — and much, much more.
Students who complete the high-school curriculum while in middle school can move on to college-level courses — also available online through eIMACS — when they reach high school.
IMACS is offering the first course in the Foundations series free of charge, if you sign up by Dec. 31, 2012.
Your child could represent the U.S. in the International Physics Olympiad
Registration is now open for the U.S. Physics Team competition.
Each year, the American Association of Physics Teachers assembles a team of pre-college students who excel in solving physics problems. The top five students represent the United States at the annual International Physics Olympiad, being held in July 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
To qualify, students first take a preliminary, multiple choice exam at their school. Those who score in the top 300 to 400 of all test takers will be invited to take a more intensive exam. Twenty top students are then chosen to attend an intensive, 10-day training camp at the University of Maryland, and five of those students will be selected to represent the nation in Copenhagen.
Students can’t register for the qualifying exam on their own. They must have a faculty member register on behalf of their school. Registration deadline is Dec. 10, 2012.
Tellus presents mineral collecting, lasers and digital astronomy
Tellus Museum in Cartersville offers three upcoming events:
Mineral Collecting and Identification – a primer on identifying minerals, starting a collection, and cleaning and cataloging samples. Includes a look behind the scenes at the mineral storage facility and the mineral preparation lab. Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Oddly, I couldn’t find this on the Tellus web site, but I got an e-mail about it, so I assume it’s happening.)
Family Science Night: LaserFest – Laser exhibits and a laser planetarium show. Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Free with admission to the museum.
Digital Astronomy Workshop – In partnership with the Smithsonian Institute, Tellus is training a few select people to operate the MicroObservatory robotic telescopes in Arizona and Massachusetts. Workshop participants will learn how to give the telescopes instructions to capture specific images and download them to a laptop. (Bring your own laptop if possible.) The best captured images will be displayed in the museum. Saturday, Nov. 9, 2012, 8-11 p.m. Participation is limited to 60 people.
The mineral and digital astronomy workshops both have associated fees, and are limited to ages 8 and up, no exceptions.
To reserve a space in either workshop, call (770) 606-5700. For Family Science Night, no reservations needed.
Magnet and charter schools hosting open houses for 2013-14
The metro area’s magnet and charter schools are beginning to host open houses for prospective students for 2013-14. Below is a round-up of the information I could find. If you know of other open houses taking place, please post them in comments.
You can find links to any of the schools listed here by visiting the appropriate county page under “Gifted Ed in Local Schools” on this site.
CLAYTON
Lovejoy High School – International Baccalaureate. Open houses will take place Nov. 13 and 14 at 6:30 p.m. for eligible 8th-grade students.
Fine Arts Magnet High School. Auditions in January. You must submit paperwork to the school by Dec. 16.
COBB
Campbell High School – International Baccalaureate. Open house Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Applications are due Dec. 7.
Kennesaw Mountain High School – Academy of Math, Science and Technology. Open house Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Application deadline Dec. 7.
South Cobb High School – Academy of Research and Medical Sciences. Open house Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Application deadline Dec. 7.
Wheeler High School – Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Math and Technology. Open house Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
Pebblebrook High School – Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts. Auditions will be held in spring semester; arrange at your convenience.
DEKALB
DeKalb School of the Arts. Audition / admissions information will be posted online in January.
FULTON
Riverwood International Charter School. Prospective parent tours Nov. 9, Dec. 7 and Jan. 18, all at 9 a.m. Applications will be available in November and due Jan. 31.
North Springs Charter High School. Open houses Nov. 4, 2-5 p.m., Nov. 8 at 1:15, Dec. 7 at 9 a.m., Dec. 13 at 1:15, Jan. 11 at 9 a.m., Jan 17 at 1:15 p.m.
Westlake High School – Math and Science Magnet. Open house Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Tri-Cities High School – Visual and Performing Arts magnet. Auditions in February. Applications available now. Tours by appointment.
GWINNETT
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology. Open houses Nov. 13, Dec. 13 and Jan. 15, all at 7 p.m. Open houses are organized by your home high-school cluster, and ideally you go to the one for your cluster, but you can attend any session. Registration packet will be available Nov. 1.
Gifted Atlanta 