June 10-14, 2013: SLAM Summer Camps

Two camps are being offered June 10 - 14, 2013: "Science of Illusion" with Beth Thompson and "Let’s Put on a Show!" with Liz Rossi. A tough choice, which one will you choose?
 

"Science of Illusion" with Beth Thompson

This camp will focus on how the brain perceives and processes sensory information. Through lots of visualizations and hands-on projects, students will explore topics such as optical and auditory illusions, oddities of nature, common magic tricks, and how motion is perceived in fixed images.

Click here to register for "Science of Illusion".

"Let’s Put on a Show!" Instructor: Liz Rossi

This week we will write a one act musical! As we create our masterpiece, we will explore plot, character development, lyric writing, casting, directing and much more!

 

Click here to register for "Let's Put on a Show!"

Join us for five fun days of active, hands-on, project-based learning plus daily afternoon swimming at MCPARC's Wave Pool.

All camps run 9 am - 4 pm at the Songbird Learning Center, in Fairmont, WV.

Designed for students aged 10 to 14.

Camp Cost: $175 per student if you register before May 20th for the early bird discount! After May 20th, the camp will cost $195.

Interested in our other summer camps? Click here for more information.

Have you signed up for our SLAM Summer Camps?

If you are interested in any of the SLAM Summer Camps (we're offering 8 this year!) sign up now to get your early bird discount! Instead of paying $195 per camp each camp is $175. That's a savings of $20. Sign up now before time runs out to get your discount!

We are offering some truly amazing camps this year.

Check our our main page for details on all the camps and registration information.

The Scieneers are in St. Louis!

It's Day 3 of the Scieneers trip to the FLL World Festival in St. Louis. You can keep up with the photos in our album on Facebook. The booth has been set up, there are pictures of the other teams and test runs.

Want to follow the Scieneers on their journey at the World Festival? More pictures are on our Facebook page. Also, check out the live feed: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/robotics/

Stay tuned for more check ins! Go Scieneers!

On Their Way

They have arrived!

Group Photo

Team Coaches Barbie and Beth

The Scieneer Booth

The Scieneers are on their way!

The Scieneers are STEM club team sponsored by Learning Options, and today the Scieneers are on their way to St. Louis for the World Invitational Competition.  This is a really special competition for invitees only, and only those states selected in the lottery are able to attend. So we are really excited for them!

The Scieneers consist of 9 hard working kids who won the WV state championship as a rookie team.
The team members are Caleb Sorensen, Evan & Mackenzie Nielsen, Jack & Caroline Thompson, Tim & Drew Burget, Kemp & Gabe Holtzer, and team leaders Beth Thompson and Barbie Johnston. In November 2012, they placed in the top 3 in two different challenges today at the First Lego League scrimmage in Morgantown, a great accomplishment for this first-time competition team. On December 8th, at WV First Lego League State Competition, the Scieneers won the State Championship,

They have spent the last few months working hard, not only on their project, but to raise funds to cover a registration fee, hotel reservation fees, and travel expenses which include a 650 mile road trip. Today, they are one their way. Stay tuned for updates on how they are doing! Go Scieneers!

Next Science Saturday: May 11, 2013, Fire! Fire!

Join us on May 11, 2013 for "Fire! Fire!" with Darren Culp.

Fire has been essential to humans since the earliest days.  But, with the use of fire, came an unexpected responsibility, learning to control the fire and to safely extinguish it.  We will be discussing four main theories of extinguishing fires including temperature reduction, fuel removal, oxygen removal and chemical flame reduction. Students will be around fire during this workshop.

Visit our website for more information: http://learningoptions.us and to register.

To pay for the workshop online click here.

End of the Year Showcase for 2012 - 2013

On April 18, 2013, we celebrated the end of the 2012-2013 year with our End of the Year Showcase. Words cannot express the awesome showcase of talent this last day of LOL. We have some amazing and talented students. There was singing, dancing, skits, and poetry readings. The Scieneers presented their presentation for St. Louis (they leave on Tuesday!). We gave thanks to some amazing people who've been a part of the co-op this year. And, we sent our graduates off into the world with hugs and wishes of wellness.

Greek Mythology - Today, students answered the question, "If you were a god or goddess, what would you be?" Students presented their favorite god or goddess, and answered questions from the class about them.

The Africa Class finished making their animals.

Playing the game of Telephone to see how stories change when shared verbally.

Ready to see the Showcase!

Poetry Reading

Song

Reading a Story

Dancing

Doing the "Robot" dance.

The Scienceers present

Behind the scenes.

The Scieneers Team

Our graduates of 2013.

2013 - LOL's Big Happy Family

Science Saturday with Ron Collins (April 13, 2013)

Now that the Barnes and Noble Book Fair is complete, let's take a look at April's Science Saturday with Ron Collins, "Dig It!" On April 13th, 2013, students spent the day outdoors with archeologist Ron Collins to investigate our shared past, excavate scientific shovel test probes, and recover artifacts by screening all sediments with shaker screens. And in the end, they learned how to put things back the way they found it. A fun time was had by all!

Ron introducing himself and talking about what archeologists are and what they do.

Taking a close up look at artifacts.

Spear tips, arrow heads, pottery, bone, and buttons - oh my!

Setting up the dig site.

Time to dig!

Learning how to sift the dirt.

Taking a soil sample. It shows the different strata, to let them know if it was undisturbed ground. Basically lets them know if it's okay to dig.

Showing how the soil sample and strata match up.

Comparing the color of the soil to determine the type of soil.

Always leave the spot like you found it.