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Welcome to our battery-powered future! We will spend this week powering our future vehicles and homes with batteries. The week begins with a voltaic cell, the first battery. Visualize the transfer of electrons by stacking copper and zinc plates. Illuminate an LED. Take what you have learned and power a drag-racer. Make a physical connection with the circuits you create with a Morse Code device. Call the operator's switchboard to connect your call — via a circuit — to a friend. Power a home with a solar cell.

What is your impression of light, color, atmosphere, and shapes? Become an Impressionist painter by observing the landscape and world around you along the Mill River and its vicinity. Capture movement and light by emulating the techniques of Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Pierre-August Renoir, Edgar Degas, and their cohorts. Master their techniques while studying their style of observing the world. Travel outdoors, “en plein air,” where you will be guided to sketch, paint, and observe your environment in a renewed way — seeing beyond the obvious.

In the forthcoming prequel to the Harry Potter series, Albus Dumbledore and Newt Scamander assemble wizards and witches to stop Gellert Grindelwald from taking over the wizarding world.

The Wizarding World is full of magical creatures. And young Wizards (such as yourselves) need to learn a thing or two about them to stay safe and use them to battle dangers wisely.

Travel through South America — a journey of 3000 miles in one short week. Board an electric bus in Ecuador and then follow the Pan American Highway south through Peru and Chile en route to Argentina.

Stop in a big city inside each country that has both historic and modern buildings. Travel to the countryside and meet people in traditional costumes. We will make studies of the animals — Jaguars, Alpacas, Pumas, and Llamas — and we’ll make copies of the native birds, too.

Please Note: This is a four day class: Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri.
Mon, July 4th we are closed.

From 1900 to 1950, more people in the United States traveled by rail than any other means of transportation available. The railroad helped to usher in the industrial revolution, pushing innovation and technology forward by connecting people and places. A.C. Gilbert traveled to New Haven by rail in order to attend Yale University. On one of his trips to New York City from New Haven, he was inspired by the iron and steel construction he viewed from the train and began to design his famous Erector toys. Like Gilbert, we will start with a train and a track.

Please Note: This is a four day class: Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri.
Mon, June 20th we are closed.

Recently, scientists in Australia discovered the world's first true millipede. While the name millipede means “1000 feet,” the previous record holder had only 750. This new species has a total of 1,306 and was found underneath the earth’s surface between 15 and 60 meters (50 to 200 feet). This new species, Eumillipes persephone, named after the Greek goddess of the underworld, which begs the question: what more could be down there?

For centuries, stars have led us through time, told us stories, and helped us find our way. Cultures have regarded the stars through the lens of folklore and science. Greeks imagined the heavens as a great solid dome, forged of bronze upon which the constellations were fixed. Across Africa, stars are used as markers for growing seasons. Cree storytellers share tales of Grandmother Spider and the Star Woman, the Great Bear, and the Seven Birds. A source of myths that cultures have based belief and direction upon, the stars above generate shared wonder for children and experts alike.

The forest never sleeps. Nocturnal creatures — great and small — keep the ecosystems of East Rock Park buzzing all night long. Investigate owls, moths, flying squirrels, raccoons, lightning bugs, and more. Build bat boxes to help control our mosquito population and continue pollination and dispersing seeds. Learn to connect a circuit to light up fireflies you construct. Construct an owl with gears that urges wings to flap and heads to turn. Make your squirrel fly and bring life to a moth attracted to light.

As America began to concentrate work and people in cities in the 19th Century, thoughtful educators and organizations advocated reconnecting children (and adults) with nature. We organized parks and camps where the air was fresher, schedules could be more relaxed, and learning could be spontaneous.