Patience, a steady hand, attention to detail – if this is an area where you’d like to see your kids grow, this just might be a great fit for them. Our class will be working together to make miniature models out of recycled materials, training the eye to see someone else’s trash in a new light! This is a great opportunity for imaginative play, fine motor practice, and plain old fun. Miniature building is a favorite IfSpace activity anyway; we’re happy to give it its own place on the schedule!

In this class, we will explore process-based art using unconventional materials and techniques. Keri-Anne will encourage students as they explore alternative canvasses, media, and interpretations of classic artistic techniques. Students may not bring home a ‘completed’ project each week, as some lessons may be collaborative or experimental in nature. There is a $20 supply fee for this class. Please do not dress in your finest clothes for IfSpace art class! Kids are likely to come home more colorful than they arrived.

In this class we will be exploring clean energy and creativity. We will be doing some experiments centered around renewable energy, and then we will focus specifically on solar energy. Our end goal will be to attend the Energy Whiz Olympics as a team/teams with our machines/inventions. The Olympics are held at the Florida Solar Energy Center on the second Saturday in May. Based on student interest we would choose from the following three events: Critter Comfort Cottage: This is a real-world, engineering and communications challenge, which showcases energy efficient building design and construction, based on small critters. (no actual critters needed 😉 )

Energy Transfer Machine: A competition that was developed to provide opportunities for students to explore hydrogen power through a hands-on engineering component. The students show understanding of hydrogen through a creative “timing” apparatus built with several ‘Rube Goldberg’ type steps.

Solar Energy Cook-Off: The Solar Energy Cook-off is a solar cooker competition. The teams demonstrate the performance of their solar heating devices, that they have designed and built by cooking an original dish of food created for the competition. Each solar cooker and recipe is judged by a panel of experts.

Meant for the older beginner, this class will progress from an unplugged approach to Computer Science that introduces the basics of logic, functions and variables to beginning projects in C, and perhaps other languages based on student goals and interests. This is a great class for students possibly interested in joining next year’s FIRST Tech Challenge team, or looking to become ‘code literate’ in their daily life. There is a $40 supply fee for this class, and students are encouraged to bring their own laptops if they have them.

This is a gentle introduction to conversational Japanese and Japanese culture for the younger crowd! With more focus on building simple vocabulary and character recognition, this class is a great start for students who are interested in Japanese but aren’t ready for the more intense grammar of the upper level class. In addition to language practice, Lonna introduces her students to Japanese holidays, traditions, foods and pop culture in her classes.