Along with our writer's workshop, book clubs, and math class, we are excited to provide new STEM courses that your learners are going to love! We group the incoming 4th and 5th grade students to best match their maturity, their interests, and their abilities in math and ELA. This also gives the 5th grade students a chance to show some leadership.This summer we are planning learning around chemistry, engineering, physics, pollution, a science fair session. At registration you will be asked to rank the STEM sessions, which helps us to plan for learning that is most exciting to our learners. See the options below to learn more about what we have to offer at Experience Academy. 

Have you ever made a volcano using vinegar and baking soda? Because one is an acid and the other is a base, they create a chemical reaction. In this session we will be learning about chemical reactions, why they take place, and what happens because of the chemical reaction. We will be come scientific researchers as we experiment with chemical reactions -- in a way that is safe, of course! As we learn about chemical reactions, we will also utilize the science and engineering practices to help us develop hypotheses, test different reactions, and build a better understanding of the magic to be found in a study of chemistry.

There are over 2 million engineers in the United States alone! In this session, we will be exploring different engineering processes through a study of engineering design and teamwork. Within a study of bridges, we will start to use the science and engineering practices to help us develop hypotheses, test our hypotheses, and build a bridge. Our goal is to achieve the highest structural efficiency -- a bridge that is very lightweight and capable of holding the most possible weight. This is a challenge commonly used in Science Olympiad competitions and we are excited to bring it to our learners! 

We have had many students with a passion for correcting pollution. In this session we will start to look at the world around us and ask questions about the pollution that exists. Why is it there? What are the effects of pollution in our environment? And is there a way to correct it? Is there more to pollution than the trash on the ground? Within this session we will start to identify systems and/or devices that can help us to clean up the world around us. In this age group we will tune into our roles as global citizens, as we learn about what can be done, both within our communities and globally, to ensure we are sustaining the world around us. 

Physics offers so many explanations for the things happening around us. In this session we will start to identify and experiment with properties of physics. In this session we will be creating a barbie bungee jumping simulation, allowing us to learn about collisions, force, motion, speed, velocity, elasticity, and more! We will also dive into a study of roller coasters, which will enforce the properties of motion, while giving us a different vantage point for the study of force and motion. Within our study of roller coasters, we will start to analyze common trends. Did you know that roller coasters often start uphill, in order to build potential and kinetic energy? And they frequently end with a turn. Do you know why?

We are excited to bring this opportunity to our upper elementary students. Within this session, students will explore all facets of science through the development of a science fair project. Within this session students will develop their own question related to something they are passionate about. They will be tasked with identifing their independent and dependent variables, developing hypotheses, testing their hypotheses, and drawing conclusions. At the end of the session, students will present their findings in a mini science fair.