S.T.E.M. Class

Mythical Forest: Art & Engineering

Grades: 1-3*
Rated 5 out of 5

Calling all artsy nerds!

Step into the glowing world of the Mythical Forest, where art, engineering, and imagination collide! Young artists will explore mythical creatures and their traits while learning essential art techniques like watercolor painting, paper mache sculpting, and building 3D structures. With projects that glow under black light, wearable creations, and magical landscapes, this adventure is a hands-on journey into creativity and wonder!

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Q. Why was the tree’s mother angry? A. Because he was being knotty.

Description

Step into a glowing world of creativity where art, engineering, and imagination collide! Young adventurers will explore the traits of mythical creatures while learning essential art concepts and techniques through hands-on projects.

As we journey through the forest, we’ll:
🌈 Experiment with watercolor techniques while painting dazzling rainbow landscapes and learning about lines and movement in art.
🐉 Study the features of dragons and use oil pastels to draw and paint baby dragons with bold colors and shading.
🌲 Build a neon (glowing) paper sculpture of the Mythical Forest while learning paper folding, cutting, and attachment techniques to create 3D forms.
🦄 Create wearable unicorn horns or goblin ears using sculpting, shaping, and decorating techniques.
🦋 Design neon symmetrical butterflies while exploring symmetry, color balance, and fluorescent paints that glow under black light.
🏡 Construct a troll and engineer a home for it, learning about structure, stability, and mixed-media building techniques.
🛠️ Sculpt your own mythical creature using tin foil armatures, paper mache clay, and fluorescent acrylics to bring it to life with color and form.

Through storytelling and hands-on exploration, kids will develop their art skills, discover new materials, and bring their imaginations to life.

**Don’t forget to dress for mess – in the Mythical Forest, creativity knows no bounds, and the journey ahead may be delightfully messy!

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

We are constantly making things in this class! We will be working with armatures and special paper-mache clay to make 3 dimensional sculptures. We will also be conducting engineering design challenges. How will you rescue the baby unicorn from the river? With a rope? A scoop? A ramp? What kind of hanging troll house will you design? Let’s test it to see what works best!

Nerds will learn to use the Engineering Design Process to find solutions to problems. They will investigate the problem, imagine possible solutions, plan their best design, create a prototype to test, improve the design, and finally share with the class!  We will also learn about Materials Engineering in this class. What are the properties of different materials? What materials are best for different purposes? Also, how do we make our projects beautiful? We will learn color theory and building techniques!

Our Little Nerd classes for grades 1-3, are engaging and exciting and vary greatly in content and structure, but in some form there is always direct instruction from the teacher, guided practice, and independent or small group work with help and support from peers and staff. We usually begin the day with a team building activity and move into our first lesson. Next is a hands-on activity or project. Halfway through the class, kids will take a brief recess and snack break. A second lesson follows break and the kids will do another project/activity or continue one they were working on. Bottom line: It’s hands-on, interactive, fun learning.

SUMMER & BREAK CLASSES ONLY: Class is 3hrs each day, so bring a snack for break time. Also, bring your own refillable water bottle. Don’t have one? Add our Nerding water bottle to your order and pick up on first day of class!

Gallery

Your nerd will build and discover like these nerds have.

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Locations, dates, and times vary by time of year.

Summer Camp

$185 - $225

Summer 2026 Registration will open Friday 10am, March 13, 2025.

After-School

View our After School page to see if this class is offered. Not all classes are offered after school.

$165

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