Class Descriptions

"Science is fun", is what we hear from kids taking Wonderama classes. Wonderama instructors seem to have a knack at turning science into a fascinating and educational class. Communities all over Michigan have enjoyed having Wonderama conduct these classes for several years and the positive response from parents and students has been enormous. The hands-on approach to learning is a good supplement to our districts curriculum and can help your kids on standardized tests like the MEAP. This program will definitely be a big plus to any child's summer fun and learning.
There are descriptions following for our classes. If we can assist you in any way, please contact us at wonderama via phone, (517)896-6948; or email, wonderama@juno.com.

Young Scientist Classes (5-7 years old)
Curious Explorers
The ABC's of Slimy Science
Jurassic Juniors

Chemistry (8-14 years old)
Mysteries of Chemistry's Colors

Biology (8-14 years old)
Busted Bones
Shark Dissection
Life in the Oceans

Physics (8-14 years old)
Zap the Electron
Blast Off I
Blast Off II
Blast Off III
Earth's Mighty Mysteries

Computer Science (8-14 years old)
Computers Inside & Out
Computer Adventures in Programming
Creating Your HTML Web Page

Title: Curious Explorers
Description: The mystery of science is all around us. This hands-on class focuses on fascinating ideas and things in science we use in daily living . Students will begin to understand how to explore the world by using their curious minds and hands. There are varied fun activities, some they take home, to keep them curious explorers for days.
Ages: 5-7 Length: 1.25 hr X 4 days

Title: The ABC's of Slimy Science
Description: Kids will explore their world and learn about science through the use of their hands and senses in this class. The program will consist of fun, exciting, and dazzling activities designed to keep your child talking about the experiments for days to come. Many of the completed projects are taken home.
Ages: 5-7 Length: 1.25 hr X 4 days

Title: Jurassic Juniors
Description: Dinosaur's have a mystery that takes over a child's imagination and curiosity. This class uses this intense interest to help students learn the how's and why's of dinosaurs through the use of real bone and dinosaur replicas plus hands-on activities. Kids will learn how scientists unravel many of the dinosaur mysteries by themselves becoming a scientist. The program has projects and gadgets the kids take home.
Ages: 5-7 Length: 1.25 hr X 4 days

Title: Mysteries of Chemistry's Colors
Description: This hands-on class takes students into the mysterious world of chemistry through chemical reactions and experiments that change color. Designed for the student who likes to mix chemicals together, it provides a laboratory setting where students can conduct a variety of fascinating, interesting and educational color changing experiments and tests.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 1.5 hrs X 4 days

Title: Busted Bones
Description: These busted bones don't hurt. Instead, they tell us about the huge mysterious beasts called dinosaurs. Unlike any other class you've had, this explores how and why they lived by examining what dinosaurs left behind; including eggs, big bones, poop, sharp teeth, pointed claws and deep tracks. Replicas like teeth, claws and skulls from dinosaurs like T-Rex and Triceratops will be examined. As in all Wonderama classes, there are experiments and items to take home, including, dinosaur bones, insects in amber, student made fossil replicas and much more.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 1.5 hrs X 4 days

Title: Shark Dissection
Description: The shark is a much feared denizen of the deep. This myth is dispelled through an examination of the sharks environment, history, and dissection of a student's own preserved specimen (provided) to keep if desired.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Title: Life In The Oceans
Description: The oceans of our world are filled with mysterious, beautiful, and seldom seen creatures. Oceans are an important resource, in danger of disappearing because of people's abuse. This class explores these ideas and more through a hands-on investigation of life in the oceans. The class will include the viewing, handling and simple dissection of several preserved sea creatures. Six jars of different sizes are needed to keep take home specimens in.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Title: Zap the Electron
Description: Electricity can be helpful or harmful. From the power in lightning storms to the smallest electrical devices, electricity and how it is harnessed will be examined. We start with a student exploration of our 400,000 volt Van de Graff generator and continue through a variety of hands-on activities. Students build switches and circuits, even a circuit board with flashing lights. Students enjoy whirring, whizzing projects that examine the uses of electricity around them. Some of these projects they take home to continue their explorations.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Title: Blast Off I
Description: This class teaches an understanding of flight, physics, math, technology and rocketry through the hands-on investigation and construction of a student's own large (20"+) rocket (provided). On the final day of class, each student will launch their completed rocket and watch it Whooosh up into the sky, then drift down ready for another flight.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Title: Blast Off II
Description: This class is a continuation of the Blast Off I rocket class. The rockets will be more challenging to build than Blast Off I. Students may select one of two kits if available. Past kits have included rockets like the Star Wars X-Wing Fighter or two stage rockets. The class will be loads of fun, and challenging, with a launch of all students' rocket's the last day of class. Students must have taken Blast Off I or built and launched rockets independently to enroll. Call Dennis at 517-371-5070 for questions.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 2.5 hrs X 4 days

Title: Blast Off III - A Design Class
Description: This five day class is a continuation of the Blast Off I & II class from which students built rockets from a standard kit. During this class, they apply their knowledge and experience to design their own individualized rockets. Students continue to learn more about aerodynamics and how to test their rockets' flight worthiness. After designing, testing and building their own rockets, they launch them during class. Students usually build at least two rockets. This class meets Monday to Friday. Student's who have built rockets independently or completed a Blast Off I or II class may enroll in this class. Parents should call Dennis at 517-371-5070 for questions on eligibility. This class transforms students into young engineers who carefully design, test, and build their ideas. The excitement and coolness level is extremely high with this class because students launch rockets THEY designed. Class size is designed to be less than usual.
Ages: 9-15 (Maximum enrollment for this class is 12.)
There are two options available for offering this class.
1) Length: 2 hrs X 5 days
2) Length: 3.5 hrs X 5 days

Title: Earth's Mighty Mysteries
Description: There are tremendous forces working on the earth causing incredible dramatic change. This hands-on class examines the changes and the forces behind them; like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, mud slides, rain, snow, hail and volcanoes. Each day includes projects students may take home like our tornado in a box, self propelled airplane to study air or investigating weather with dry ice.
Ages: 8-14 Length: 1.5 hrs X 4 days

Title: Computers Inside & Out
Description: This class will examine and explain the inner workings of a computer, its software, math and terminology. A wide variety of fun, exciting software programs are used by students. These include databases, wordprocessors, games, sound generating and graphic programs, giving them an idea of where and how computers are used in society. Students will also begin an exploration of computer programming through fun activities.
Ages: 9-14 Length: 1.5 hrs X 4 day

Title: Computer Adventures in Programming
Description: Computer adventure games can capture our imaginations, but more fun than playing one is creating your own. This class teaches students programming through the use of a special adventure game generator program. Students will put together pictures, sound, puzzles, characters, creatures, potions, spells and mazes to create their own individual program. Participants keep the IBM software. Students should be familiar with the keyboard and the basics of computers to enroll.
Ages: 9-14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Title: Creating Your HTML Web Page
Description: The explosion of the internet has grabbed the attention of all kids. The internet is used in all aspects of life, including science. This year we are adding this new class to help jump start students into web design and programming in HTML. We will be using HTML to help students understand on-line programming. This will introduce them to concepts which will apply to programming in other languages. HTML, like any computer language, can be dry and detail oriented, but is used to create cool web pages. Students will need to be familiar with a keyboard. If they have taken our other two computer classes, they should be ready for this class. By the end of the class, students should have their own FREE web page on the internet. In order to set this page up, please pay close attention to the following details. They are unusual but necessary for a class of this nature. Call with questions 517-371-5070.
Course guardian/parent details:
1) Only those 18 or older can obtain a website. Anyone under 18 needs parental permission. For us to set up a web page for your child we will need your permission and personal information. This includes your name, address, birth date, e-mail address and yes even a credit card #. If you want to set up the account yourself we will gladly provide you with the info at the end of the last class. The student may then use a Wonderama account during the class, but this web page will be deleted at the end of the week. We will try to put web page on diskette, to be uploaded by you, but we make no guarantees this will work. We will be contacting parents before class starts to obtain the necessary information.
2) The Tuesday before the class starts is the last day to sign up for this class. Students must be signed up by the close of the business day. This allows time to contact you before class sta rts and set things up.
4) If a student drops the class between that Tuesday and the start of class, they forfeit the course fee.
5) This will be a really cool class, with our usual fun, wacky, exciting approach to learning, but it will require a lot of thinking and attention.
Ages: 10 -14 Length: 2 hrs X 4 days

Wonderama@juno.com

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