In the first portion of this course, we will explore how the structure of cells, tissues, and organs supports their function and how these parts form interacting systems in multicellular organisms. Students will also investigate how natural selection drives adaptation in populations and how environmental changes can alter species’ survival and distribution. Continuing into the second portion of this course, students will make connections about how energy and matter move through ecosystems and how interactions between organisms help keep systems stable. We will also look at what happens when conditions change, sometimes leading to new or transformed ecosystems.

• Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-10:30 beginning July 6, 2026. 

This course will begin with Weather and Space, two of the four major branches of Earth and Space Science. This includes meteorology, the study of the atmosphere and weather, and astronomy, which is the study of space, celestial objects, the universe, and Earth’s place in the cosmos. It will then continue to cover Rocks and Waves. This includes geology, the study of the Earth’s interior, rocks, and events such as earthquakes and plate tectonics, and oceanography, which is the study of currents, layers, and biology of the oceans. 

• Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 beginning November 2, 2026. 

This project provides students with the opportunity to investigate Earth as a complex, interconnected system and to examine how Earth's processes relate to broader concepts in Earth and Space Science. Through an in-depth study of a selected natural phenomenon, students will explore the interactions among Earth's systems and the scientific principles that help explain both terrestrial and celestial processes. The project emphasizes the integration of disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts that form the foundation of modern Earth and Space Science.

• Beginning July 6, 2026; Rolling enrollment, schedule varies. 

In the first half of this course, students will learn about the behavior of various types of waves (mechanical, sound, electro-magnetic) and how they are used in technology every day. Students will also learn about viewing things in the world around them as “systems” that balance energy and momentum. The second half of the course is an introduction to the basic chemistry concepts that will help students understand everyday chemistry in life. We will explore the structure of an atom as it relates to the elements on the periodic table that make up everything individuals can see, taste, and touch, and why the periodic table looks the way it does.  We will explore the chemical and physical properties of these elements to understand why some are very reactive, and others are not, and how that applies to the unique uses of each element.  

• Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00-2:30 beginning July 6, 2026.