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Classes for Little Nerds

These classes are geared towards grades 1-3
Summer Camp Note: Based on grade your nerd will enter after summer.

Grades: 1-3*

Calling all artsy nerds!
Enter the mythical forest and use art and engineering to rescue mythical creatures. Create 3D clay sculptures, and tackle engineering design challenges. Develop problem-solving skills with the Engineering Design Process, learn about materials engineering and building techniques.

This class is for creative nerds that love art and to build. And WHO DOESN’T?

Fun Fact: More than 80% of our planet’s plants and animals call the forest home.

Grades: 1-3*

Are you a future zookeeper or wildlife biologist?
Hold LIVE animals! Learn all about amazing animals and use awesome digital microscopes to see the micro-world! From the jungle orangutans to the arctic polar bears, we will learn all about incredible animal species while doing fun, hands on science!

A great fit for caring nerds that want to learn about our incredible animal world and also what they can do to help endangered species survive and thrive.

Fun Fact: An elephant weighs less than a blue whale’s tongue.

Grades: 1-3*

Be a Paleontologist!
Mini Paleontologists delve into the past, touching real fossils and creating model fossils. Learn about dinosaur types, lifestyles, extinction, and fossil formation. Build a time machine, go on an ancient safari, write in your field journal, excavate a dino dig, and more!

It’s really hard to NOT love this class. Any nerd that is interested in dinosaurs or animals will love this class. There is so much to learn and do for a young paleontologist!

Fun Fact: Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent- even Antarctica!

Grades: 1-3*

Let’s dig deep and unearth the mysteries of geology!
Embark on a geological adventure! Explore rocks, minerals, and fossils in a fun, hands-on way. Create edible rocks, grow dazzling crystals, and make mini volcanos. Dive into the world of spelunking and start a rock collection to show off. Curious young minds will love this playful, interactive class!

If your kid loves to explore and get their hands dirty, this geology class is the perfect fit for them! Whether they’re the adventurous type who’s always looking for the next big thrill or the creative type who loves to build and make things, they’ll have a blast in this class. It’s great for curious minds who are always asking “why?” and “how?” and love to learn by doing. If your child has a love for rocks, fossils, and crystals, they’ll fit right in with our group of young geology enthusiasts. So, come join us and let’s rock this summer!

Fun Fact: Geologists study more than just rocks and minerals. They also study things like earthquakes, landslides, and even the effects of climate change on the Earth’s surface.

Grades: 1-3*

My other set of wheels is a robot…
Get ready to code 3 different types of robots, Ozobot, Dash and Indi! Our robots can follow lines, detect colors, and be programmed using either paper and markers or a kid- friendly digital program. This class is fun and accessible for early coders!

The nerds that love this class are interested in robotics and coding, but there is still LOTS of room for creativity, art, and building in this class! Our little robots are easy to understand, but are also capable of complex tasks and conditional logic. This is great for nerds that have no coding or robot experience, but also those that need a challenge!

 

Fun Fact: A robot named Raptor runs twice as fast as a human!

Grades: 1-3*

May the force be….understood.
Unleash the FORCE in this physics class! Learn about forces, motion, and magnetism while creating pod racer tracks, exploring magnets, and building simple machines. Blend real science with sci-fi fun and even make your own (totally real) light sabers. A thrilling adventure for curious minds!

Some interest in sci-fi space movies is certainly a bonus, but if you don’t love it already, this class might convert you… There are a ton of fun building projects and challenges in this class mixed in with real science and science fiction! Any nerd’s dream!

Fun Fact: Physics is a scientific field that is always changing and evolving. Physicists study everything from electricity, astronomy, light, sound, motion, and more!

Grades: 1-3*

I need my SPACE!
Join the NERD Astronaut Training Program! Explore the solar system, experiment with cosmic forces, and launch rockets. Land Mars rovers, create comets, and build your own space station. Discover, imagine, and learn in this out-of-this-world adventure for star-gazers and adventurers alike!

Are you a star-gazer? An adventurer? Hop in the ship and let’s BOLDLY GO! In this class, nerds learn a ton about space exploration, but they also get to build, imagine, and create! Sometimes we are learning together and discussing what difficulties we might have living in space, and other times we are working in interactive stations throughout the room sending “planets” (marbles) around a “star” (weight) in our gravity well demonstration (its like a trampoline)! There is lots of science in this class, but it isn’t about memorizing facts. This class is about wondering, discovering, and building!

Fun Fact: One day on Venus is longer than one year on Earth!

Grades: 1-3*

It’s SLIME TIME!
Dive into the squishy world of slime! Learn about states of matter, polymers, and molecule chains while making fluffy, clear, bubbling, and edible slime. We will even explore color mixing and bubbles! Fun and science combined!

Nerds LOVE to learn about how slime works and experimenting with variables to change the properties of their slime. Nerds also love getting their hands right in there and feeling the interesting textures and sensations of different types of slime.

Fun Fact: An inventor accidentally made Silly Putty when a rubber experiment failed. Failures can lead to unexpected discoveries!

Grades: 1-3*

Code a game! Code a turtle! Code a friend!
Physical and digital games, games, and more games! Are you ready to join the exciting world of programming? In our "Coding Mini-Games" class, we will have a blast learning the basics of coding by making and playing interactive games.

This class is great for nerds that like games! Playing them and building them! The Scratch Jr platform is easy to use and understand, with blocks, colors and symbols that are friendly to our little noob nerds, but is also capable of creating complex scripts for our more advanced nerds! Our little nerds love that this class is interactive, with lots of movement and physical coding, while still creating fun digital games.

 

 

Fun Fact: The first ever computer programmer was Ada Lovelace. She was coding way back in the 1840’s!
Updated!

Grades: 1-3*

A Hands-On Exploration of Sound, Music, and Ukulele!
UDATED this year with UKULELE! This awesome class is BACK with Mrs. Q, an amazing general ed music teacher! Learn about the science behind sound and music, discover instruments, learn ukulele basics, create your own crazy instruments and do sound experiments!

This class is the perfect fit for curious young musicians who love to explore and create! If you’re a kid who loves to listen to music and wonders how it’s made, then this is the class for you! Whether you’ve never made an instrument before or you play an instrument of your own, you’ll have a blast learning how to build your own unique creations. If you’re the kind of kid who loves to experiment and discover new things, then you’ll fit right in with our sound explorers!

 

Fun Fact: The ukulele originated in Hawaii in the 19th century. Its name roughly translates to “jumping flea” in Hawaiian!

Classes for Big Nerds

These classes are geared towards grades 4-7
Summer Camp Note: Based on grade your nerd will enter after summer.

Updated!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Discover the secrets of light and optics!
Ready to GLOW? Dive into the world of optical sciences as we make 3D glasses, glowing art, pinhole cameras, and even attempt to hide from an IR camera. Discover the fascinating optical properties of everyday items and learn how engineers are using light to create epic technologies.

This class is perfect for curious and inquisitive kids who have a natural love for science and art. It’s for those nerds who have ever pondered the mysteries of rainbows and wondered how polarized sunglasses work. It’s for the young minds who are fascinated by the captivating beauty of colorful images and always wonder about the physics behind the colors or luminescence. This class is designed for kids who love exploring and discovering new things, and who want to learn about the world of optical sciences in a fun, interactive, and engaging way.

 

Fun Fact: Light travels at an incredible speed of 299,792,458 meters per second!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Design and code your own reality!
Learn the mechanics of how virtual reality (VR) works and develop your very own VR games! Code using a block-based coding language and create everything from digital zoos to obstacle courses then enter your games and 3D spaces using our VR headsets!

This class is for our techies and gamers! Nerds who love coding and/or video games will have a blast in this class. No VR experience is necessary for students in this class – whether you’re a seasoned veteran with a VR headset or a newcomer to the world of virtual reality, this class will be just as thrilling! Plus, if you’ve ever wanted to try a VR headset on, this is your chance.

Fun Fact: In the future, VR might be all around us! Imagine being inside your favorite video game or interacting with people thousands of miles away in a virtual space!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

WEAR your designs!
Master the art of graphic design using vector software to create custom t-shirts and stickers. Learn color balance, visual composition, and typography. Transform your designs into vinyl stickers and heat-pressed t-shirt prints, combining creativity and technology for artistic fun!

This class is awesome for artistic Nerds who love drawing and designing. It’s especially superb for anyone who wants to see how art and technology can be combined to do amazing things like create t-shirt designs and print 2D graphics! No artistic skills necessary – whether you’re a master artist, or you think you can’t draw, you’ll have a great time in this class!

Fun Fact: The first-ever logo was designed in ancient Greece, around 400 BC, for the island of Rhodes. It featured a head of the sun god, Helios.
Updated!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Print your imagination into the palm of your hand!
Learn all about 3D printing, how it works, and learn the software skills you’ll need to create your own unique designs! Take home several mini-prints and watch your final project print on our 6 classroom 3D printers! Nerds love to repeat this class, so we are always updating the projects! Returning Nerds welcome!

This is the perfect class for nerds who are interested in 3D printing technology and the amazing impact it has – and will continue to have – in today’s world! We’ll use TinkerCad, an easy-to-use online program, to learn how to design and build our awesome creations.

Successful nerds are imaginative learners who enjoy visual planning and designing on the computer. Nerds will share their clever ideas and projects during the week!

Your nerd will also interact with kids with similar creative interests and will make new friends as they cheer each other on.

Fun Fact: 3D printing is older than you think. 3D printing experiments started in the 1980’s!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

It’s not magic, it’s SCIENCE!
Join Hognerds School of SCIENCE & Wizardry! Explore science through magical experiments like glowing slime, levitating spheres & more. Dress in wizard robes, craft your wand, and learn chemistry & physics in a fun, fantastical world. It's not magic, it's SCIENCE!

This is the PERFECT class for any nerds who love fantasy and magic. Anyone who wants to learn about science within the context of spells and use chemistry and physics to do things that seem like magic will have a blast in Wizard Science.

Fun Fact: The word “wizard” (spelled “wisard” in the 15th century) originally simply meant a wise person.

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Are you ready to shape the future of space exploration?
Join us as we explore the final frontier - outer space! Come learn about all the amazing technology and engineering that lets us reach infinity... and beyond!

If you enjoy Bill Nye or Mark Rober, this class will be a dream come true for you!

Space Tech & Engineering is stellar for anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and wondered what lies beyond our planet. Any nerds who love astronomy, space travel, or even space-based science fiction will absolutely love this class! If you hope to see humanity exploring other galaxies and outer space being accessible to everyone within your lifetime, this class will show you the technology that could make that day possible!?

Fun Fact: The footprints on the moon will be there for 100 million years!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Stop. Code. And Roll!
Dive into robotics with Sphero, a powerful rolling robot! Learn coding fundamentals, program Sphero for maze competitions and challenges, build robo-boats, and explore the history of robotics. Perfect for code-loving, robot-enthusiast nerds!

Nerds who love coding will love this class because of the immediate feedback your robot gives as you iterate your code. Coding games on the computer is fun too, but it’s a bit more of a rarity to see your code come to physical life! Of course, nerds who love robots will also LOVE this class.

Fun Fact: In 2022, NU invented a half millimeter-wide remote-controlled robot that can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn and jump.
Updated!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Build, test, improve, race!
We have awesome flexible tracks for creating loops and stunt tracks! Design and build your own racers and show off your skills in speed, distance, and style in a friendly, supportive, and energetic environment! Test and tweak variables to optimize your design, and discover the science behind your cars & tracks.

This is the ideal class for anyone who loves to make things out of recyclables, and anyone who loves building! If you think you’d enjoy designing and building your own car out of cardboard and creating crazy tracks and tricks for it, you will LOVE this class!

 

Fun Fact: The physics of a loop-de-loop balances gravitational forces, centripetal forces, and friction.

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Where bananas become piano keys!
Learn the shocking secrets of electronic circuits and make inventions of your own using wire, copper tape, LEDs, motors, and batteries! Also use a fun tool called a Makey Makey to build fruit pianos, gummy game controllers, and wacky keyboards!

This class is for nerds who are creative, inventive, and sometimes silly! Anyone who finds circuits intriguing and wants to learn more about how electronics work will have a blast in this shockingly fun class!

Fun Fact: The first electric circuit was made in 1800 – it used bowls of salt solution connected by metal strips!

Grades: After School 3-6, Summer 4-7

Can you break into the box in time?
"Unlock" the secrets to ancient civilizations and lost cities and use that knowledge to crack codes, solve puzzles, and find keys! Inspired by the “Escape Room” concept, but no one gets locked in a room. Instead, we use our clues to break into our crazy lock boxes!

This class is for nerds who love histories and mysteries! And puzzles, and clues, and cyphers, and teamwork, and ah-ha moments!

Fun Fact: Cities can become “lost” through natural disasters, abandonment, burial over time, or human factors such as war or migration.