Sample Courses

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Here's your chance to learn some of the basics of American Sign Language, an exciting, expressive language in a course that recent students have called “awesome,” “challenging,” “cool,” “fun,” and “my favorite course!” You'll be learning the fourth most commonly used language in the US; the language which brings words and meaning to the lives of deaf people across this nation. You'll learn to communicate with signs, gestures, and facial expressions. We'll play some games that will get us working together in pantomime, and then we'll learn the hand shapes, the manual alphabet, finger spelling, and basic conversation. It won't be long before the group will be able to perform signed songs, stories, or poetry.

ANIMANIACS – Digital Animation
Who hasn’t seen an animation on television or in the movies? I bet YOU have. Ever wonder, “How did they do that?” In Digital Animation you will start learning the basics of animation. After a few exercises in subjects such as time lapse and rotoscoping you will be ready to move onto a more ambitious project such as a movie short using stop motion techniques. During class we will decide what can be animated, perhaps we will use legos, clay or something no one has ever thought of animating before. At the end of the class you will have a new understanding of animation as well as a cool DVD to show your family and friends.

THE APPRENTICE - Business and Leadership
Do you have what it takes to be the next CEO of a great company like Google or Amazon.com?  Can you envision and create the next "hot item?" The Apprentice is the ultimate six-week program for kids who want to learn how to be leaders and good team players, creative thinkers and successful entrepreneurs. Students will create business plans that include surveys, marketing, branding, and all other aspects that make an idea become a successful reality. In our boardroom, you will gain the skills, knowledge and understanding that prepare you for your first interview where you will hear "You're Hired!"

ART OF CARTOONING
Did you ever read the cartoons and comic strips in the Sunday paper and wonder if you could create your own? Well the answer is YES. Anyone can learn to draw and in this class we’ll create our own cartoon characters and comic strips. By looking at single cell cartoons, comic strips, and perhaps a longer graphic novel we’ll discover the secrets to developing interesting characters that readers really care about. We’ll explore comic strips that are serious, exciting, funny, political, historical, or even inspirational. In class you’ll learn drawing techniques, design storyboards, and develop characters. At the end of the session you’ll be well on your way to becoming the creator of the next Garfield or Peanuts!

BLOOD AND GUTS – Anatomy and Dissection
Since we know it’s not crazy glue, bobby pins, rubber bands, or engines that keep us together and going, let us see exactly what does. We will be examining some of the important organs and systems in our body to determine how they function separately and together to keep us on the go. Be prepared to dissect chicken legs, sheep's eyes, brains, and hearts to better understand what is inside of you. You will get some bones and have to guess what they are or what function they serve by examining their shape. You will learn how to take your blood pressure, find out what nearsighted and farsighted really means, and you will never take your thumb for granted again.

COLOR MY WORLD – Watercolor Painting
Would you like to learn some techniques to help you develop your painting skills?  Do you think you would enjoy the spontaneity and creativity of painting?  In this class you'll get the chance to work with watercolor paints as we create representational and abstract paintings from observation and our imaginations.  You'll learn various techniques that will broaden your artistic skill such as laying a wash, gradation, the wet-in-wet technique, dry-brush layering, and more. You'll learn about analogous, monochromatic, and complementary color schemes as you try out all your new techniques.

CREATE YOUR OWN COMPUTER GAME
You've played computer games. You've used word processors and Web browsers. But where did all that software come from? Did it come from someone's magic wand? No, of course not! It was created by a process we call “programming.” In this course you'll learn how to design and write software as a beginning programmer. In five short weeks you'll create a small but working computer game and will learn the skills that you need to continue further on your own. Who knows, maybe then you'll design next year's best-selling computer game!

CSI: FORENSIC SCIENCE
Join this crime lab to discover forensic science and understand crime detection! A single fingerprint, a drop of blood, a small smudge of ink - each of these could be the key to unlocking a mystery or solving a crime. In this course we will take an in-depth look at the science of crime solving. We’ll have first hand experience with the scientific methods of testing and analyzing evidence. Each class will feature hands-on labs in physics, biology, and chemistry. These real life science labs will help you understand DNA, hair fiber analysis, soil analysis, shoe prints, tire treads, and other topics of forensic science.  We will also practice our research skills in data collection and analysis and sharpen our reasoning skills to prepare logical conclusions from the evidence.

DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY
Here's your chance to learn some new skills that are not only a lot of fun, but could become a life-long hobby, help you do awesome projects for school, or even help you in many future jobs. Did you know that there are many, many ways to experiment with photography? In this class we will explore the creative potential of light and light sensitive materials by making photograms, sun prints, and slide shows. We will use the Milton Academy darkroom where we will learn how to use special equipment and chemicals to develop and print our own pictures. We’ll make postcards that you can send to your friends, tone photographs so that they’ll look old-fashioned, and hand-color black and white pictures. Take this course and you will discover how much fun photography can be!

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY
You probably didn’t know we all have chemistry labs right in our homes - the kitchens! There’s much we can learn from the food we eat: bases and acids, supercooling, moisture (and the lack of it). crystals, fats, bacteria and leavenings. Sounds like a heavy diet of learning but the best part is that we EAT our experiments! Popcorn, banana chips, ice cream and bread are just a few of them. Munch your way to knowledge in Kitchen Chemistry!

EGYPTIAN EXPEDITION
You may think it is 2008 and you'll be going to Milton Academy, but this class will travel to Egypt and back in time. You and your fellow time traveling expedition will begin by exploring hieroglyphics, and in no time you'll be able to send and decode secret hieroglyphic messages which you can sign with your own name cartouche. We'll learn about the Egyptian process of mummification and each student will create their own mummy and sarcophagus. Other projects might include creating our own Egyptian tomb paintings, making canopic jars or making replicas of Egyptian ornamental amulets. For each project we'll be learning about the ancient culture and traditions that were connected to our Egyptian artwork. We'll learn about the pyramids and Tut’s Tomb, what life was like in ancient Egypt, and how the beliefs these people held affected their civilization. Join us as we uncover the hidden secrets of this ancient civilization.

THE GREEN TEAM – Environmental Science
Here’s your chance to join our very own planet patrol, the Green Team. We’ll examine how humans have impacted not only their local environment but the entire planet, and figure out what we can do about it. Through hands-on activities exploring acid rain, water pollution, air pollution, sound pollution, and more, students will become active members of the Green Team. We’ll learn the effects of pollution on humans, animals, and vegetation, the causes of pollution, and ways of preventing it. Students will discover how they can help protect their environment using the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Joining this class might be one of the most important steps you can take to help save our planet!

PHOTOSHOP MAGIC – Computer Digital Imaging
It used to be that seeing was believing.  Now, however, special computer effects allow you to effortlessly create a picture of yourself on top of the Mt. Everest riding on a tiger. In this course students will learn various digital photo techniques using digital cameras, computers, the internet, and an amazing graphics program called Photoshop. During class students will use these techniques, combined with their imaginations, to develop their own style of design as they learn to use digital cameras and scanned images that can be manipulated in hundreds of exciting ways on the computer. By the end of the session students will be able to create amazing pictures, heal wounded images, use special effects, adjust color and contrast, and introduce type into their photographs and designs.

SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES
After you watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, did you wonder if it was possible to make a broom fly?   While sitting through Star Wars – didn’t you want to own a light saber?  And what about Superman – is it really possible to leap a tall building in a single bound? Hollywood is creating movies with exciting scientific possibilities – in this class we will explore the reality behind these possibilities. In class we might create flying hovercrafts, levitate objects using magnetism, write messages using disappearing ink, or create 3D pictures. Go behind the scenes of movies like Superman, Harry Potter, and The Fantastic Four and see if scientific principles could make some of your favorite special effects come true.

SECRET LIFE OF ANIMALS - Biology & Environmental Science
Have you ever wondered how owls and bats find their prey in the dark? What kind of microscopic animals live in a drop of pond water? Do cats and dogs dream?  If you have questions about the secret lives of animals, then this is the class for you. We'll explore animal worlds of night and day, land and sea, miniature and gargantuan.  And your own knowledge of animals will be important to share in this class, too!

S.K.I.T – Spontaneous Kids Improvisational Theater
With an eye, ear, nose and mouth toward a final performance, jump aboard this exciting class that allows you to explore improv theater. We’ll begin with group exercises, improv theater games, and skill building activities to get our minds and bodies ready. Students will develop a sense of play and spontaneity and increase their ability to focus and listen to others. Improv helps actors to think “on their feet” which is invaluable at auditions, in a live performance, or even in their school classrooms. Students will be encouraged to use their imaginations as they learn to create characters, build scenes, and invent whole worlds without ever using a costume, prop, or set piece. Students will also practice teamwork to help them work as an ensemble and learn the discipline of performance.

STOMP ROCKETS, WHIRLIGIGS & FLYING OBJECTS - Aerodynamics
Have you ever wondered what makes things fly?  Join us to explore how planes and helicopters work, why hovercrafts stay afloat, the way rockets fly, and other exciting investigations of aerodynamics. You’ll construct and assemble different airborne machines to learn about propulsion, aerodynamics, thrust, and trajectory. Of course we will talk about important contributors such as Leonardo da Vinci, the Montgolfier Brothers, the Wright Brothers and we'll appreciate the history of aerodynamics, right up to the modern day Space Shuttle. We'll look at insect wings and bird feathers, and then explore the science behind hot air balloons, rockets, and airplanes. To test what we have learned we will build and fly some aircraft of our own. 3-2-1 Lift-Off!

SUPER SLEUTHS
Crime alert! Calling all sleuths. A crime has been committed and we need the most astute minds to help us solve the mystery and identify the perpetrator. As a detective on our squad, you will be examining the scene of the crime, analyzing the physical evidence left behind, interrogating suspects, and running tests in the science lab in order to determine who has committed the crime. What can fingerprint, chromatography, DNA, and fiber analysis contribute to our understanding? Can you solve the mystery? Crack the case? Put on your detective hat and join the Saturday Course squad.

A TASTE OF ITALY! - Language, Culture and Cooking
Ciao!  Come join us in our voyage through Italy where we will explore its culture, language, art, literature, music, and, of course, tasty food. Italy is home to mysterious islands, ancient ruins, famous soccer players, world famous art museums, and incredible scenery, Roman mythology, huge mountain ranges, and much much more! Students will learn how to speak some basic Italian phrases, taste the variety of Italian regional cuisine, listen to music, learn about the Italian Renaissance masters, read some poetry, and discuss some of the most interesting history and politics in the world! This class is perfect for all students who would enjoy learning about this popular and interesting place.

TRIAL COURT
Can you think fast and win a case? You will become a lawyer and participate in cases presented before a jury; or maybe you will be a witness and testify; or as a juror you must decide if the defendant is guilty. We will take a look at cases that are making headlines today as well as some that have helped to shape the laws of this nation. The outcome of any case is never known until the jury decides!  As we play a variety of games and run our own trials, you will become familiar with the judicial system.

WRITER’S EYE - Creative Writing
Tired of the same old writing assignments? Get ready to look at the world through your own imaginative and perceptive writer's eye! You will develop your own creativity as we explore new worlds through written expression. We will read stories and poetry, play with language, and look at photographs to feed our imaginations and inspire us. We will respond to each other's work and use the responses to refine our pieces. You will publish your own wonderful Literary Journal.

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