Fall Learning Lab - Gifted Resource Council

Fall 2011 Learning Lab Classes

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9:30 - 11:00

Discovering the Rainbow - Instructor: Kathie Eckelkamp: Ages: 3-4
Investigate all things rainbow! Rainbow myths (Is there a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?), rainbow books, rainbow colors. How often does red occur in nature? How can you make your very own rainbow? Explore a different rainbow color each week, mixing colors in paint, creating designs with colored water, looking at books such as "The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow", "The Rainbow Fish", and "The Rainbow Sea".
Muscles and Organs and Bones, Oh My!! - Instructor: Liz Lombardo: Ages: 4-5
You know about your bones but what else goes on inside your body? Explore the systems that make up the human anatomy and find out how your body works. How does the air you breathe help your body? We'll make a model of our lungs to see how they work. How does air pollution and smoke affect your lungs and your breathing? How do your bones work? Discover what bones are made of and how they help us walk and run as we make a life-size skeletal drawing. Test your own nervous system with experiments that use our five senses. You'll be the brainiac once you learn about the amazing brain that controls your entire body! Incredible but true: Human anatomy is all about you!
It's Bear-ly Time for Fun! - Instructor: Claire Flesch: Ages: 4-5
Explore the world of bears! Where does the grizzly bear live? Which bears really like honey? How does the polar bear survive in the frozen north? What makes the panda different from other bears? We'll also see the bear world through our beloved friends Corduroy, Winnie the Pooh, the Berenstain Bears, and others. Are you ready to try some bear foods (like berries)? Math games (using gummy bears of course!), stories, art, and science – the 'bear' necessities for fun! Bring your (teddy) bear friend for a tea party our final week! Join us for a beary good time!
We're Not Playing with Our Food! - Instructor: Abby Lombardo Leeper: Grades: K-1
Combine exciting scientific principles with foods and objects from your kitchen! Explore buoyancy using your favorite fruits and empty chip bags. Grow lettuce from a sponge and mummify an apple. Try out Bernoulli's Principle – it's about an increase in the speed of moving air and the resulting decrease in air pressure – using empty soda cans and plastic spoons. We'll make a potato battery and invisible ink from lemon juice. Experience static electricity with Rice Krispies®. Believe us: You can't get the full impression of this class on paper!
Math in Hand! - Instructor: Christine Schaeffer: Grades: 1-2
How many ways can you 'touch' math? Join us to explore math in many media. Build shapes in 3-D (solid geometry) – see the 'faces,' find the vertices, and name the polygons. We'll also 'make' change by playing games using – yes! –'money.' Create your own masterpiece using tangrams. And then 'absorb' all you can about fractions with pizzas and pies! Bend your brain with mind mysteries (brain teasers), problem solving, and lots of fun math!
Science Alive: Up Close and Personal with Vertebrates & Invertebrates - Instructor: Steve Marsden: Grades: 1-2
Do spiders fascinate you? Do you think amphibians are awesome? If you love animals of all sizes, shapes and skeletal structures, join us! We'll investigate invertebrates in person, then we'll bone up on beasts with backbones (vertebrates). Use scientific methods and journals to observe our weekly visitors. Examine the environmental peculiarities of each class of the animal kingdom and how they interact with their surroundings. Our weekly visitors will include spiders, insects, furry mammals, slimy amphibians, slinky reptiles, chatting birds, and silent fish. Consider the needs of and care required for animals we commonly call "pets." ("Hands-on activities" take on a whole different meaning in this class!)
Checkmate! - Instructor: Stephen E. Randoll: Grades: 1-4
A formal introduction to chess for the novice or the amateur player. Learn how the pieces move and how to record your games, as well as how the pieces work together to produce checkmate. Learn basic principles of the game. More advanced students will be accommodated within the classroom.
Math Fun from Far-off Cultures - Instructor: Shayla Graves: Grades: 2-3
How did the ancient Mayan people count? Could you follow an original Egyptian word problem to find the volume of a frustrum (a pyramid with the top cut off)? The Egyptians did it for fun! Why did Pythagoras believe that mathematics rule the universe? See if you can keep score in the Mayan game Bul and the Egyptian game Senet. Explore and examine a variety of number systems from ancient civilizations, play games and hear stories, as we explore our numerical beginnings. You'll even create your own number system for an alien planet.
The Way Things Work - Instructor: Kathleen Greenwald: Grades: 2-3
What possible link could there be between zippers and plows, dentist drills and windmills? What about parking meters and meat grinders, jumbo jets and jackhammers, remote control and rockets, electric guitars and egg beaters? In this class we'll use experiments, games and the computer to discover the "secrets" behind the things we see or use every day. Take apart an electronic device - maybe even a computer. Create your own invention! We'll delve into the physics and scientific principles behind these questions and much more.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Science and Math of Baseball - Instructor: Stacy Shupe: Grades: 3-4
Are you batty about baseball? We'll keep score as you have fun! Bunt with sabermetrics (how to calculate baseball statistics), and then use these stats to decide who is the greatest player in baseball history! How do players from the old-time "Negro leagues" stack up? And women players? How does Albert Pujols hit the ball so far? How do you get the ball to go a certain direction? We'll do experiments in the physics of baseball and the laws of motion to get the answers. How would you change the rules and equipment to play baseball on the moon? Come join us for inning after inning of fun!
Get a Clue: Solve a Mystery! - Instructor: Megan Mills: Grades: 3-4
Mystery and intrigue! Detecting clues! Do you think forensics is fun? We'll follow "The 39 Clues" to explore detective work past and present. When were fingerprints first used in criminal cases? What detective skills are used in "The 39 Clues?" If you were a member of the Cahill clan, which branch would best suit your personality? How will we find each of the 39 clues from the series? What is our body of evidence as we solve a mystery? Of course, we'll dust for fingerprints and examine the 'crime scene.' Then we'll create our own 'whodunit.' The biggest mystery: How much fun can you have? Prefer knowledge of the series "The 39 Clues."
Harry Potter: Full Circle - Instructor: Art Koenig: Grades: 3-6
If you read book seven and are ready to dissaparate to the time before the first book and start over, join us to relive the adventure of the "Boy that Lived." From accio (a summoning charm) to Zonko's (the joke shop), from Animagus to the Whomping Willow, we'll eat the foods, play the games and debate the characters that make up Harry's world. Keep us spellbound by your expertise in book trivia games. If your interests lie in the battle between good and evil, the mythological connections to the Wizarding world, or even literary trivia, this the Learning Lab class for you!
NXT Generation Robotics - Instructor: Lisa Hummel: Grades: 4-5
NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers have put robots in the limelight through their exploration of Mars; lasting long beyond their design lifetime. They've carried out geological investigations under harsh environmental conditions, and Opportunity has remained active since 2004! Learn what it takes to make robots work as we design and build our own rovers using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kit, then program our rovers to navigate, respond to their environment, and pick up objects! Experienced students can be accommodated within the structure of the class.
Battle of the Gods - Instructor: Rick Hasler: Grades: 4-6
Rick Riordan writes resplendent reports of the raucous rancor between the Roman and Greek gods. Who are these entities? How are they alike? How are they different? Why did confrontations of epic proportions exist between them? Examine the gods through myth, song, and popular media rendering. Which of the classic gods do you align with most? Will you be the herald recording the deeds of the immortals? Walk with the gods, and learn their mysteries, histories, and secrets. Then create costumes, poems, and stories about your favorites, their foibles, actions, and battles.
Bids! Tricks! Risk? Win! - Instructor: Carol Haukap: Grades: 4-8
Tricks and melds? Win or lose? It's card-game heaven! Learn techniques and subtleties of some of the most interesting card games of all times. Bridge, Spades, Hearts, and Pinochle. All games involving skill, strategy, 'taking tricks,' and, in some cases, melds. The queen of them all? Bridge. Bring high-level thinking skills and be ready to take risks as you strategize how to take a trick. Master the basics of bidding and play. You won't believe you're using probability, logic, and abstract thinking to play a game of cards!
Harry Potter's World of Architecture & City Planning - Instructor: Laura Miller: Grades: 5-6
From Little Whinging to Hogsmeade, from Diagon Alley to Nurmengard, wave your wand over the architecture of the buildings that make up the world of Harry Potter. How do the arches of King's Cross Station and Platform 9 ¾ compare to the design of the St. Louis Arch and Union Station? How are the design and functions of Azkaban, The Ministry of Magic and Hogwart's Castle similar and how are they different? Consider architecture used for transportation through the Millennium Bridge and the Hogwart's Express Bridge. Pack your trunk, pocket your Chocolate Frogs, and grab your drawing pad, as you are sorted into your 'house' to design your own city with your 'classmates.' You should have seen at least three of the Harry Potter movies for this class.
Fighting and Winning World War II - Instructor: John Clark: Grades: 6-8
World War II was the deadliest war in human history, but why? Did it really involve the whole world? Why did the Allies win? What was combat like for the soldiers? Pore through primary-source materials – journals and letters of actual soldiers – to find answers to these and other questions. Compare combat and living experiences of people in the different countries involved. Then discover the global extent of the conflict by creating maps of the world. Create your own strategies for winning the war from both sides' perspectives before you scrutinize actual war-time strategies. We'll also examine the two major philosophical problems of the war: the Holocaust and the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Watercolor Painting: A Stroke of Brilliance - Instructor: Chandria Howard: Grades: 6-8
Take the brilliant color and fluid stroke of watercolor art and make it your own! Understand how paper type and preparation affect your art. Select your palette (the group of paint colors you will use) and learn how the ingredients of watercolor affect the end result. Reserve white space by using tape to produce the effect of "paintless" space on your paper. More experienced artists can try layering washes, modeling with color, unusual textural accents. The individualized nature of painting allows you to work at your own skill level in this class.
Off Campus Class Moving & Shaking - An Introduction to Engineering - Instructors: Ruth Okamoto & Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert: Grades: 6-8
Are engineers movers and shakers? Work alongside real professors in their scientific laboratories and learn basic engineering principles: everything from water treatment to wind power to creating nano-structured materials! Class meets each week on the campus of Washington University in Jolley Hall.
(Class size limited to 10, with priority registration for girls before September 23, 2011.)

11:10 - 12:40

It's Bear-ly Time for Fun! - Instructor: Claire Flesch: Ages: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Discovering the Rainbow - Instructor: Kathie Eckelkamp: Ages: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Muscles and Organs and Bones. Oh My!! - Instructor: Liz Lombardo: Ages: 5-6
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Math in Hand! - Instructor: Christine Schaeffer: Grades: K-1
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
We're Not Playing with Our Food! - Instructor: Abby Lombardo Leeper: Grades: 1-2
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Science Alive: Up Close and Personal with Vertebrates & Invertebrates - Instructor: Steve Marsden: Grades: 1-2
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Science and Math of Baseball - Instructor: Stacy Shupe: Grades: 2-3
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Harry Potter's World of Architecture & City Planning - Instructor: Laura Miller: Grades: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Math Fun from Far-off Cultures - Instructor: Shayla Graves: Grades: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
The Barbarians: Bad or Just Misunderstood? - Instructor: Art Koenig: Grades: 3-6
The Barbarians: Who were they, these bad boys of the ancient world? Was it just bad publicity from the supposed "civilized" world? The Romans and Greeks turned up their noses at nomads. Civilized people distrusted the tribal lifestyle. But they weren't all, well, barbaric! Get the inside scoop on people like the Scythians, the Parthians, the Vandals, the Germans, the Huns, and the Dacians. See them from the stories written about them by the great historians like Herodotus. Inhabit their world and their mythology. Why did the Dacians have a ritual that helped a person to 'become' a wolf? And of course the important question: Did the Barbarians know how to 'conquer' good cuisine?
Get a Clue: Solve a Mystery! - Instructor: Megan Mills: Grades: 4-5
Special Fee: $5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Fighting and Winning World War II - Instructor: John Clark: Grades: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Watercolor Painting: A Stroke of Brilliance - Instructor: Chandria Howard: Grades: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Clowning Around - Instructor: Rick Hasler: Grades: 4-8
Do you like to make people laugh? Tickle their funny bone? How about taking it to the next level: Be a clown! Soak up some tricks of the trade – using your body to get laughs, mastering the fine art of mimicry, pairing odd sounds with even odder movements… Pick some tricks and create your own clown persona! Investigate some of the greats – jesters, mimes, the Three Stooges, Cirque du Soleil – and see how they put together a look, an action, make-up and more to bring people to their knees laughing! We'll perform a short show as we prepare for: Next stop – the Big Top!
Checkmate! - Instructor: Stephen E. Randoll: Grades: 5-8
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Creative Writing - Instructor: Carol Haukap: Grades: 5-8
What are the qualities of excellent writing? What makes some stories just "good" and others outstanding? Work with the tools – characterization, dialogue, theme and plot – that turn ordinary writing into compositions with impact! Analyze new and classic pieces of literature for inspiration: recent award-winning authors such as Paolo Bacigalupi ("Ship Breaker"), Clare Vanderpool ("Moon Over Manifest") and Paul Griffin ("The Orange Houses"), as well as time-honored greats Madeleine L'Engle, Harper Lee, Jack London, and Laurie Halse Anderson. Strengthen your voice and develop skills as a creative writer. Discover your own writer's voice and follow in the footsteps of the greats!
NXT Generation Robotics - Instructor: Lisa Hummel: Grades: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Off Campus Class Moving & Shaking - An Introduction to Engineering - Instructors: Ruth Okamoto & Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert: Grades: 6-8
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description

For more information regarding any of these events, please call 314-962-5920 or e-mail us at: info@giftedresourcecouncil.org.