Browse SA2U Classes | Saturday Academy

Late-Opening Class Options

Grades 2-3, 4-5 or 6-8

In this class block students explore:

Inclined Planes & Wedges – Students explore physics using inclined planes and wedges. They construct devices and then modify them to learn about motion, force and effort.
Pulleys & Levers – Students investigate mechanical engineering by building their own simple machines using pulleys and levers. They construct machines and explore effort, load, and mechanical advantage.
Rube Goldberg – Students gain hands-on engineering experience as they work in small teams to design and build over-engineered contraptions out of everyday materials. Along the way, they will learn about the physics of energy conservation, inertia and forces.
Wheels & Axels – Students explore wheels and axels on simple machines to learn how they affect motion and mechanical advantage.

Grades 4-5 or 6-8

In this class block students explore:

Fingerprints & Footsteps – Students learn about fingerprint identification by taking their own fingerprints using powder and a brush. They learn to analyze the information presented by footprints by creating prints at varying gaits.
Hair & Fiber Analysis – Students learn to use a microscope to examine various hair and fiber samples. They conduct an analytical analysis of fibers to determine the identification of an unknown fiber.
Intro to Genetics – Students learn about genetics by building “marshmallow bugs” based on dominant and recessive genes. They utilize a Punnett square in order to analyze the chances of the phenotype based on genotype of the offspring.
Physical Anthropology – Students learn to use Vernier calipers to examine and identify human bones. From these bones, students will determine the estimated height, age and gender of the specimen based on genotype of the offspring.

Grades 4-5 or 6-8

In this class block students explore:

Earth’s Internal Structure – Students discover the composition of different layers of the Earth (liquid/solid). They learn how lithospheric- plate movement created the Supercontinents of the past and will change the continents of the future.
Plate Tectonics & Types of Boundaries – Students learn about divergent and convergent boundaries and what features are seen on the surface of the Earth caused by these boundary collisions.
Rocks, Minerals & Volcanoes – Students learn about different types of volcanoes and how lava compositions are different. They discover what kinds of rocks and minerals are found at these different geologic sites.
Earthquakes & Preparedness – Students discover why some locations around the globe have more earthquakes than others, what causes these earthquakes and how to be prepared when they happen.

Grades 2-3, 4-5 or 6-8

In this class block students explore:

Brainteasers – Students explore the tactics used to solve different types of puzzles, codes and games such as Brainteasers and Sudoku.
Codes – Students learn about shift ciphers, the Vigenere cipher, and the Enigma machine in order to better understand how to create secret codes, decode encrypted messages and why it is safe to type a password on the internet.
Optical Illusions – Students learn how to utilize measurements and shapes to create optical illusions. Explore the magic of line design and how to turn perfectly straight lines into curves.
Puzzles – Students solve fiendishly clever puzzles and play ancient games. They discover the strategies behind puzzles as they build their own and learn the tools and tactics for playing classic games.