2017 Summer WondersBuffalo Grove for Grades PreK-8

The Center for Gifted ~ Midwest Torrance Center for Creativity

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I. June 7-16Full Day $672; Half Day $336

Science, Nature, and Wonderment (PreK-K)World Class Explorers (PreK-K)Architectural Engineering (4-8)Artbotics (3-8) Bermuda Triangle (4-8)Come, Play with Clay! (K-3)Create-A-Culture (4-6)Fairy Tales Revisited (K-4)Get Published! (5-8)Java Bootcamp (5-8)Just Write! (1-4)Lego WeDo Robotics (K-3) Mathemagicians (K-2)Math Games and Strategies (3-8)Painter’s Studio (3-8)Snap! Crackle! Pop! (K-2)Tinker Space (1-4)Web Game Design with Scratch (3-6)

II. June 19-23Full Day $420; Half Day $210

Books Galore and More! (PreK-K)It’s a Bug’s Life (PreK-K)3-D Math (3-8)Ancient Egypt (1-5)Chess for Beginners (K-3)Chess Games and Strategies (3-8)Digital Photography (4-8) Fantastic Fermentation (3-8)Geometry, Design, Construction (K-2)Lego Mindstorms Robotics (3-8) Lego WeDo Robotics (K-3) Mask Madness! (K-3)Minecraft (3-8)Outer Space Escapades (K-2)Readers Theater (1-8)Science and Star Wars (3-8)Science Fiction Writing Workshop (4-8)Sculptor’s Studio (4-8)The Amazing Brain (3-8)

III. June 26-July 7Full Day $756; Half Day $378

Space Explorers (PreK-K)Tour the USA! (PreK-K)Animal Stories and Art: From Peter Rabbit to the Pigeon (K-3)Archaeology (4-8)Art Quilts (5-8)Edible Chemistry (K-2)Makey Makey (3-8)Math Games Around the World (K-2)Monsters of the Microworld (3-8) Moon Base (3-8)Musical Theater (1-8)The Number Devil (3-6, AM only)Things that Fly, Float, and Flee: Mechanical and Animal (K-3)Travel the Silk Road (2-6)Uke Is Fun for Everyone! (1-5)Vlog, Blog, and Podcast (4-8)Wilderness Camping and Survival (3-8)Writing, Art, and Calligraphy (4-8)

IV. July 10-14Full Day $420; Half Day $210

All About the Farm (PreK-K)Science Explorers (PreK-K)Art Makes Music! (K-3)Balloonatics (3-8)Be a Paleontologist! (K-5)Chess, Math, and Finch Robots (K-2)Conquer the Cube (3-8)Creative Writing (1-8)Digital Photography (4-8) Grossology of Biology (1-4)Handmade Happiness (3-8)Introduction to Calculus (6-8)Makerspace (4-8)Minecraft (3-8)Musical Theater (1-8)Mysterious Math (3-5)Optical Illusions and Other Ways to Trick Your Brain (3-8)The Fine Art of Drawing (4-8)Wonders and Blunders of Science (K-2)

Meridian Middle School2195 Brandywyn

Buffalo Grove

Innovative summer challenges for advanced learners!

Apply online at www.centerforgif ted.org

Workshops for PreK - K

Students attend a single workshop each morning and/or afternoon.

All About the Farm: Imagine that you lived on a farm raising cows, horses, sheep, or lla-mas, or growing corn, soy beans, or apples. Experience life on different kinds of farms through stories, music, science, and creative, hands-on activities.

Books Galore and More! Explore the won-ders of books through art, drama, science, and math! Use your vivid imagination and original ideas to create your own stories.

It’s a Bug’s Life: Discover the amazing world of insects! Investigate the lives of ants and beetles, butterflies and dragonflies. Delight in fictional characterizations such as The Grouchy Ladybug, Chester Cricket, and Crickwing.

Science Explorers: Why? How? Bring your curiosity and your questions! Investigate amazing scientific phenomena in a hands-on lab. Explore different branches of science through creative, interdisciplinary activities.

Science, Nature, and Wonderment: Experiment with chemical concoctions that pop and squish. Investigate the habitats and habits of different animals and birds. Wonder and delight in the world around you!

Space Explorers: Blast off, astronauts, to an astronomically fun, factual, and fantastic ex-ploration of the universe! Discover the won-ders of outer space through simulations and model constructions in this stellar course.

Tour the USA! Travel the United States from mountain ranges to plains, Great Lakes to seacoasts, and swamps to deserts. Discov-er America’s people, cultures, and history. Explore the states through creative, interdis-ciplinary activities.

World Class Explorers: Climb a volcano, stare down a kangaroo, cruise the Danube River, go on an African safari, scale the Great Wall of China, and ride the flow with pen-guins as you embark on an intercontinental expedition!

Classes for K - 8

Students attend two classes each morning and/or afternoon, selecting their favorites among the course offerings. Note that for courses spanning several grade levels, stu-dents are scheduled with their age peers.Course descriptions not listed here are available online at www.centerforgifted.org.

3-D Math: Build a variety of 3-D figures, from cubes to dodecahedra, as you develop your spatial senses and imagination!

Animal Stories and Art: From Peter Rabbit to the Pigeon: Do you like animal stories? Especially stories with wonderful illustra-tions? Explore a rich diversity of stories and artistic styles. Express your own creative ideas through both writing and art.

Architectural Engineering: Discover the art of construction using straws, sticks, paper, balloons, sponges, Styrofoam, and more! Perform experiments to learn engineering principles demonstrating how human ingenu-ity brought us from cave to skyscraper!

Art Makes Music! Express yourself and make an original instrument which produces interesting sounds! Select various materials to make drums, shakers, percussion instru-ments, horns, and rain sticks. Paper tubes, empty water bottles, plastic lids, tin pans, and other materials will spark your imagina-tion to create a new sounding instrument.

Art Quilts: It’s fun! It’s easy! Explore the tex-tile art of fused quilts using batiks and fusible webbing. Create an image or a design with colorful fabric and an iron. Learn some basic stitches to embellish your quilt, then put it all together with batting and backing to hang on your wall! ($15 lab fee)

Artbotics: Explore an imaginative approach to robotics! Artbotics brings together art, ro-botics, and computer science to create inter-active, kinetic sculptures. Enjoy robotics in a setting that encourages a creative approach to constructing and programming robots.

Balloonatics: They’re fun at parties, but you can use them for much more! Use balloons to learn about air pressure and Newton’s Laws of Motion! Make a hot air balloon.

Be a Paleontologist! Would you like to handle real dinosaur bones and teeth? Hold plant and animal fossils that span millions of years—from before the dinosaurs all the way to mammoths—and meet Illinois' very strange state fossil, the Tully Monster! Learn excavating techniques and geological facts in our Paleontology and Geology 101 course!

Bermuda Triangle: Have you ever wondered what happened to the people who were lost in the Bermuda Triangle? What kinds of scientific anomalies are happening in that section of the world on a daily basis? Let’s discover together some of the mysteries and legends of the area that has its points at San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miami, Florida, and Bermuda, as well as how the experts explain the happenings in the region.

Chess for Beginners: Intrigued by the game of chess? Learn how to play! Explore basic openings and end games. Enjoy trying out different strategies as you play chess with your classmates.

Chess Games and Strategies: Designed to challenge chess freaks of all calibers – from basic rules and simple strategies, to highly sophisticated schemes and end-game tactics. Test your skills as you challenge your peers!

Come, Play with Clay! From play dough to air dry clay, learn to make pinch pots, plaques, statues and other fun figures! Shape, model, and mold your way into creative configurations.

Conquer the Cube: Hone your STEM skills utilizing the iconic Rubik’s Cube! Unlock the secrets to solving this mysterious block with tips and tricks direct from the experts. Use multiple cubes to create detailed mosaics by learning to think backwards, visualize pixels, and make circles out of squares!

Create-A-Culture: Discover all of the ways a culture comes together through hard work and time spent. Choose the time period for your culture, how your people arrive in the area you choose to settle, the family struc-ture, living quarters, the language of your people, system of government, modes of transportation, and much more as you create a new culture with your small group.

Digital Photography: Don’t know the secret to becoming insta-famous? Try out new tips and tricks to the art of photography. Experi-ment with camera angles and macro lenses. Manipulate images to create various artistic effects. ($15 lab fee)

Our Summer Wonders programs are designed for bright, motivated learners who welcome dynamic opportunities to explore diverse subjects in a challenging, creative environment. In all classes, hands-on activities and inventive modes of participation foster originality and imagination, evoking active involvement and discovery; the development of problem-solving skills, creativity, and critical thinking is inherent in the framework!

Applications are accepted online via our website, or by mail, email, fax (847-901-0179) or in person. $80 deposit is required per session and will be applied to tuition. Applications have a $4 processing fee per session, and some courses require lab fees (see course descriptions). Payments are fully refundable for withdrawals requested by the beginning of each session. Financial assistance is available.

New students require recommendations from educators (form is available on our website). Grade reports or test scores may be substituted.

Extended CareOrganized, nurturing supervision is offered every day, 7:00-8:50 a.m. and 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., at a cost of $9 per hour.

Additional course descriptions, details, and online application available at www.centerforgifted.org

Meridian Middle School, 2195 Brandywyn, Buffalo Grove | Full day: 9:00-3:00 | AM: 9:00-11:40; PM: 12:20-3:00 | Extended care available

Edible Chemistry: Freeze, heat, dehydrate, distill and decompose to discover chemical properties and reactions of sundry edibles, in a hands-on science lab.

Fairy Tales Revisited: Do you love fairy tales? Ever wonder what happens after Rapunzel lets down her hair? What if none of the Three Little Pigs let the wolf blow his house down? Compare traditional fairy tales to more modern versions. Rewrite your own endings to these magical stories.

Fantastic Fermentation: Learn about the microorganisms that create much of the food you eat. Did you ever wonder how cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, bread, kefir, kombucha, and other fermented foods are made? Take home your own sourdough starter to make delicious homemade bread and pancakes.

Geometry, Design, Construction: Use your geometry skills to design your own city. As the lead architect you will design and create a city infrastructure with buildings, parks, roads and more.

Get Published! Imagine, create, produce, and edit. The purpose of this process is to get published and to share your ideas and creativity. Opportunities for publishing abound!

Grossology of Biology: Embark on an in-depth investigation of the unmentionable yet fascinating functions that keep us alive! Gain an understanding of the science behind human body systems while investigating the importance of blood, phlegm, sweat, gas, mucus, pus, and all things gross!

Handmade Happiness: In many countries, handmade goods are highly valued. In addi-tion, many people find it very relaxing to do handwork. Whether you want to learn to knit or to learn some new stitches, this class is for you. Beginners are welcome.

Java Bootcamp: Java is the most popular programming language in use. Java is a general-purpose programming language derived from C and C++ that is popular for its code’s ability to run on multiple platforms without being rewritten.

Just Write! Do you like to write? Heighten your imagination and hone your skills as you write stories and poems in response to posters, books, and music. Come, share your inspiration!

Lego Mindstorms Robotics: Explore principles of engineering and programming! Employ gears, sensors, and motors to create robots. Work in engineering teams to innovate and experiment in designing, constructing, and programming your robots. ($15 lab fee)

Makerspace: Let your imagination come to life in a space where trans-disciplinary learn-ing, inquiry, risk-taking, thinking, crafting, tinkering, and wondering can blossom. ($15 lab fee)

Makey Makey: Use this invention kit to turn everyday objects into touch pads. Artists, engineers, designers, and inventors all love the possibilities! ($15 lab fee)

Mask Madness! Make masks that explode with creativity. Use a variety of materials such as plaster casting, recycled gallon bottles, and paper grocery bag masks. Paint, color, and embellish them with jewels, beads, and feathers. Become the character you have created!

Math Games Around the World: Discover different cultures through the math games their children play. Embrace math through games of chance and strategy. Play games from Africa to China, from Native American communities to the Hawaiian Islands!

Minecraft: Explore the possibilities of de-signing and creating with Minecraft.

Monsters of the Microworld: Explore the amazing universe invisible to the naked eye! ($10 lab fee)

Moon Base: What would it take to survive on the moon? Look at the elements needed for lunar survival and create a model moon base using up-cycled materials.

Musical Theater: Participate in the process and product of a live theater production for friends and family. Younger students will perform a children’s musical while older students will stage a review of favorite songs and scenes from popular musicals.

Mysterious Math: Explore mathematical topics not generally found in your math text-book. Think outside the box and be creative in your approach to math.

Optical Illusions and Other Ways to Trick Your Brain: Could you possibly not notice a gorilla walking right in front of you? Can something be both hot and cold at the same time? Learn how to fool your brain!

Science and Star Wars: Lightsabers, levitat-ing cars, and faster-than-light travel. All these things make Star Wars fun at the movies, but can they happen in the real world? Inves-tigate and try to recreate some of the fun science from Star Wars.

Science Fiction Writing Workshop: Analyze what makes a story science fiction, then cre-ate your own! Explore some of the best clas-sic science fiction stories for inspiration, then become science fiction authors yourselves!

Sculptor’s Studio: Shape, chisel, model, or otherwise express your wildest ideas. Experiment with both traditional and recycled materials. Will you become the next Michelangelo or Michelle Reader?

The Amazing Brain: Take an in-depth journey deep inside the organ that makes us who we are! From cerebrum to cerebellum and hippocampus to amygdala, explore brain anatomy and physiology through tricks, tests, experiments, and constructions. Build your own plasticine brain and observe the dissection of a real one!

The Fine Art of Drawing: Learn to view the world in a new way, using line, shape form, perspective, proportion, shading, and com-position. Try your hand at still-life, gesture, and contour drawings.

The Number Devil: Join Robert as he discovers the fascinating world of numbers, including infinite numbers, prime numbers, and Fibonacci numbers. The Number Devil’s visualizations of these high-level math con-cepts provide excellent starting points for exploration. (AM only)

Tinker Space: Let your imagination run wild in our Tinker Space, designed like a Maker-space. Choose your own materials and tinker away to build robots, microbots, inventions, machines, and anything you like!

Uke Is Fun for Everyone! Discover the joys of playing ukulele! Learn chords and simple songs. Perform for your family. Bring your own ukulele or purchase one the first day of class.

Vlog, Blog, and Podcast: Have you ever thought about becoming a YouTuber? Then this class is for you! Learn skills that will help you on your journey into the entertainment industry.

Web Game Design with Scratch: Want to know how flash games got their start? Create your own version of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” or try something new of your choosing.

Wilderness Camping and Survival: Learn how to survive in various life-threatening sit-uations by following the priorities of survival. Explore ways to use your natural surround-ings to your advantage and test your skills against all odds. Create your own survival kit!

Wonders and Blunders of Science: Invent a concoction that’s actually good for some-thing. Explore famous scientific bloopers that worked out.

Writing, Art, and Calligraphy: Do you love to paint pictures with words? Express your creative ideas through free verse poetry and haiku. Use watercolors on rice paper to paint beautiful images to complement your poems. Enhance your writing with italic calligraphy.

Additional course descriptions, details, and online application available at www.centerforgifted.org

Meridian Middle School, 2195 Brandywyn, Buffalo Grove | Full day: 9:00-3:00 | AM: 9:00-11:40; PM: 12:20-3:00 | Extended care available

1926 Waukegan Road, Suite 2Glenview, IL 60025

Ingenuity. Inspiration. Imagination. Innovation.

Tinker-a-Thon!at Elmhurst College

for students entering grades 1-5

Enroll for one, two, or all three weeks!July 17 - August 4

‘at Elmhurst Collegefor students entering grades 6-12

FREE Transportation!

Project 17

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July 17 - August 4

Worlds of Wisdom and Wonderfor students entering grades PreK-8

see our website for details

- Barrington- Chicago- Crete

- Elmhurst- Glenview- Naperville

- Skokie- Wheaton

2017 Summer WondersJoan Franklin Smutny, Founder and Director

The Center for Gifted is a not-for-profit organization under IRC Section 501(c)(3)