This year we are excited to introduce a middle school option, giving us a chance to welcome in new learners! This opportunity for middle school students will be held during session 2 and session 3.

Session 2: June 23rd - July 11th 

Session 3: July 14th - August 1st

Along with our writer's workshop, book clubs, and math class, we are excited to provide new STEM courses aimed at students in middle school. This means we have the opportunity to dive a little deeper and cover some more comprehensive topics. This summer we are planning learning around biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics -- sciences that students will continue to explore throughout middle school and beyond. 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. 

In this session we will start to dive into the study of life, through a focus on frogs. This will allow us to learn about the different body systems and how they work. Within this session we will dive into a comparison of plants and animals, where we learn how each gets its energy -- be it through food or photosynthesis -- and how that effects its growth. This study also provides the opportunity to learn about growth and development, through the study of tadpoles growing into frogs. 

Did you know there are areas called dead zones in bodies of water? Dead zones are areas where fish cannot survive because of low oxygen levels. In this session we will dive into a study of ocean waters that have become toxic. We will learn about the causes of toxicity, as well as what happens as a result of this problem. The question will be -- what can be done about it? Along with our discussion of dead zones, we will do a study of invasive species, to learn more about how the changes that we make might be damaging to the world around us. 

Students across America (and beyond!) take chemistry throughout middle school and high school, in order to better understand the world around us. This session is intended to introduce skills that are foundational for a deep understanding of chemistry. Within this session, we will introduce stoichiometry, chemical reactions, molecular gastronomy, and more! This will lead into an introduction to, or continued understanding of, the naturally occurring metals and alloys found on the period table.

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. During this study the middle school students will study buoyancy, mass, structure, and more. The task within this session? Design and build a boat, using limited supplies, and test its ability to float!

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 middle school 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.