Course Description
Music and math may seem like an odd couple, but they actually have a lot in common! This course will allow students to explore the intersection of these two disciplines through creative, hands-on activities that enhance computation, spatial reasoning, and creative problem solving… as well as unleashing musical self-expression! Music topics will include note values, meter, tempo, scales, intervals, harmonics and more. Whether you are a budding musician, or simply interested in new ways to exercise your math chops, music and math will soon be your forte!

Course Description
Discover the world of voiceover acting with instructor Michael Rivkin, a seasoned professional known for his roles as Mr. Galvin in “Big Nate” and Rooster in “Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny” among others. In this comprehensive course, you’ll acquire essential skills to become a versatile voiceover actor, capable of narrating novels, bringing cartoon characters to life, and learning what it takes to be the voice of brands like Geico or Coke. Under Michael’s guidance, you’ll master vocal exercises that transform your voice into a high-quality instrument. Whether you aspire to create captivating characters or excel as an announcer, narrator, or salesperson, this class will equip you with the tools needed to pursue a successful voiceover acting career. Join us this fall and delve into the captivating world of Voiceover Acting!

Course Description
How do the 118 elements of the periodic table combine and react to create the world around us? Students in this class will be introduced to what makes up the universe and how the most important chemistry discoveries were made by exploring the properties of matter, atomic structure, acids and bases, electrochemistry, types of reactions, and chemical bonds. Through hands-on experimentation, engaging discussion, and examination of groundbreaking chemists throughout history, students will become comfortable predicting reactions and carrying out the scientific method to explain their outcomes. Mastery will be demonstrated by a presentation explaining the work of a past or present chemist of your choice to your classmates.
MATERIALS REQUIRED: A $35 materials fee is required.

Course Description
Welcome to Page One, where writing springs from imagination! This course will draw inspiration straight from the stories, poems, lyrics and even comic books that students love most. Through short reading and writing exercises, students will learn how word choice, syntax, rhythm and rhyme bring setting, characters and plot to life. Interactive games and creative projects will build skills and confidence through exploration, experimentation and play. Mastery will be demonstrated by the creation of a short written work in the student’s genre of choice, which illustrates independent thinking and progress in reading, writing, and verbal expression.

Course Description
The sit-down, stand-up, inverted, and pipeline are just a few types of roller coasters engineered to be exhilarating and terrifying all at once. But what brings riders back again and again? Students will explore the principles that make roller coasters so thrilling, including inertia, gravity, centripetal forces, and the conversion of potential to kinetic energy. By applying these laws to the analysis, design, and manufacture of rides, students will discover how material science has led to faster and more complex coasters over time, from the switchback of 1809 to Wonder Woman’s Golden Lasso in Six Flags Texas. Mastery will be demonstrated by students’ ability to analyze the motion of gravity-driven coasters and by the creation of models that illustrate concepts covered.
MATERIALS REQUIRED: This class requires a $30 materials fee.

Course Description
In this course, students will explore the profound consequences of human activity on rising extinction rates, which are surpassing natural levels by 1,000 to 10,000 times. Together the class will investigate five historical mass extinctions triggered by Earth system shifts and students will engage in debates on positive and negative impacts of species loss. They will further develop their critical thinking skills by identifying and analyzing how human activity affects the rates of extinction and considering whether humans have a responsibility to take action to counteract the harm done to the environment. Mastery will be demonstrated by students creating an action plan to inform and mobilize others to preserve Earth’s biodiversity.

Course Description
Elements abound from aluminum to zirconium.  The periodic table organizes every element that exists – and those that have yet to be discovered!  There’s a story behind each and every one of them.  Some are part of our day-to-day lives.  Some not.  What are elements made up of?  What makes an element an element?   Students will explore the background, history, purpose, structure, interpretation of the symbols and the structure of the periodic table. There’s so much to learn in so little a time! 

Course Description
In this course that draws on writing exercises developed by legendary poet and teacher Kenneth Koch, students will explore the five senses through the art of poetry. Together we will write Color Poems, Noise Poems, Comparison Poems, Wish Poems, and many more poems combining various strategies for entering into the world of writing. This class will encourage students to write freely and creatively, and develop an appreciation for the infinite possibilities that arise when we begin to play with language. Students will read and listen to poems by Mary Oliver, Shel Silverstein, Joy Harjo, and more. We will also explore visual modes of art-making that complement our literary adventures. At the end of our 12 weeks, student work will be compiled into an anthology they can take home.

Course Description
Without the help of spellcheck, it can be easy to feel lost in letters! In this class, students will learn mnemonic devices and rhymes that make spelling fun – and more accurate! Rules will include the ubiquitous “I before E, except after C” and tips for spelling words like “friend” (“Your friend is your friend till the END, so the word ends with END”) as well as many others. Topics will also include etymology, covering Greek and Latin roots, and how to use their newfound knowledge to expand vocabulary and aid in reading comprehension. Spelling Rules as Tools I is not required as a prerequisite.

Course Description
Humans have been communicating their ideas and beliefs using their voices for thousands of years. Even with our technology, a human speaking is the most powerful persuasive tool there is. Presenting ideas and opinions orally is a skill essential to most careers and educational situations. In this class, students will examine the records of words that have shaped cultures, from political speeches to literature and drama, and learn what historical effects they had. Then students will practice in order to grow more comfortable with oral presentation, beginning with very short fragments and gradually extending the length of the document they will read aloud.

Course Description
Big emotions can be tricky for kids. In this class we will learn tools and concrete actions we can take in those moments of anxiety and stress. Yoga poses and deep breathing are very effective for self-calming. We’ll learn how to use the five senses to center oneself and return to a state of relaxation. Methods include practical mantras and counting tricks. This class will help kids learn how to “grab the reins” and conquer that runaway horse of emotions.

Course Description
Do you ever gaze into the starry night and wonder, “is there intelligent life outside our own galaxy?” Do you want to know more about UFOs and how sightings described as green fireballs, ghost rockets and ships in the sky can be explained? Are you fascinated by the wonders of space and technological advancements in space travel? In this class, students will explore what is fact, what is fiction, and what remains a mystery through inquiry-based discussion, creative problem-solving and hands-on projects to get closer to the age-old question of “what is out there?”

Course Description
In the 21st century we are all bombarded by media, whether TV news, political propaganda, or commercial advertisements. It has become increasingly difficult and time-consuming to determine the truth behind the noise. In this class, students will learn the 5 core concepts of media messages and practice applying them. We will discuss and analyze different examples of media messages, determining their embedded values and points of view and how they are intended to gain profit or power. Students will design their own messages, and explain their target audience, media plan, and how this message will achieve their goal to attain profit or power.

Course Description
Welcome to the fascinating world of speculative evolution! Armed with information about a planet (or system of planets), students will create creatures that would evolve to thrive in that alien environment and come up with a web of life/food chain for these creatures. Each class meeting in this course will represent the passage of 500 million years and students will speculate how their ecosystem of imaginary creatures would change and evolve during these spans of time. As the course unfolds, students will bring their creatures to life, creating original artistic renderings (drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.) In the final weeks, the timeline will accelerate involving the evolution of intelligence, technology, civilization, and culture, and the course will culminate with an art exhibit of all the creatures and entities that the students created. Join us on this exciting adventure, where the only limitation is the vastness of the cosmos itself!

Course Description
In this workshop-style class, students will use poetry and drama as a springboard for exploring myriad ways in which language is communicated. Through experimentation in haiku, cinquain, free verse, theater games and improvisational skits, students will gain confidence in their own creative process and learn strategies to communicate with greater fluency. Mastery will be shown by the making of a book of personal poetry written during the workshop.

Course Description
What would you do if you and your scientific team were tasked with communicating with beings from another planet? Alternatively, what would you do if you and your alien community were suddenly visited by a group of curious, inquiring humans? This role-playing course will give students background in the engineering and science needed to work their way through various first-contact scenarios. Aliens and humans will have to decide whether to cooperate or clash — but only once they’ve learned how to communicate with each other! Students must be active independently and in teams to problem-solve how to anticipate the actions of intelligences very unlike their own. Students will learn the simple design program Tinkercad to mockup 3D designs of aliens, interstellar starships, extraterrestrial habitats and more. Student-designed 3D models will be printed at IEA’s Learning Center. Mastery will be demonstrated when students exhibit problem-solving skills and empathy to save human and alien civilizations.

Course Description
Comics and graphic novels, or sequential art, have become some of the most accessible and engaging media for storytelling in the world. This course will provide students with the tools necessary to carefully balance art and language to construct narratives that bring their original characters and stories to life. Students will learn and apply elements of creation unique to visual storytelling, including drawing and inking techniques, character design, narrative rules, sequencing, page layout, text distribution, and more! By the end of the course, students will have completed a full-length comic, and they will have a roadmap to continue on to even longer visual stories. A list of recommended art supplies will be provided upon enrollment in the course, however, students can successfully participate in the class even with plain blank paper and markers they already have at home.

Course Description
Are you hungry to explore science through hands-on experiments using food you might find in your fridge or pantry? In this class, students will learn the fundamentals of biology, chemistry, microbiology and more as they investigate how common household ingredients can be combined to yield interesting and surprising results. This class will offer a fresh batch of experiments for students who have taken Kitchen Chemistry 1 and 2, as both new and returning students are welcome to join. Mastery will be demonstrated by the application of the scientific method to projects using hypothesis, experimentation, observation, analysis, conclusion and discussion. Get ready to put your chef hat and lab coat on for some kitchen-meets-the lab fun!
MATERIALS REQUIRED: A $25 materials fee is required.

Course Description
Imagine aliens arriving on Earth, AI surpassing human intelligence, and humans gaining the ability to teleport. In the world of science fiction, writers often explore these possibilities by starting with the question, “What if…?” In this course, students will learn the craft of storytelling within the sci-fi framework. Through a fusion of various disciplines and writing techniques, they’ll craft imaginative yet scientifically plausible narratives. Worldbuilding and original sci-fi concepts will be influenced by history and the physical sciences. Psychology will aid in character development and writing compelling dialogue, while the study of literature and story arcs will lay the foundation for creative writing. The class will adopt a workshop-style approach, allowing students to write, share their stories, and receive feedback from peers, and will culminate with an anthology of all the students’ captivating stories, giving life to the “What if…” questions that ignited their imaginations and challenge the boundaries of possibility.

Course Description
Do you want to learn how to use basic electronics to create wizarding tools, like an animal familiar or a wand that lights up in response to what it senses? This course will teach you how to use the Micro:bit, a specialized microprocessor that has sensors to detect acceleration, sound, light, and more, and the ability to light up patterns on a small display. The students will build several different projects around their Micro:bit during the course, including one that has a part that moves, one that lights up, and perhaps some efforts to make projects communicate with each other or work in tandem. Some programming background (in C, Python, Arduino, etc) will be helpful but not absolutely required. Students may be asked to bring a hat, belt, fabric scraps etc to enhance their creations. Mastery will be demonstrated by programming and testing these projects.
MATERIALS REQUIRED: A $40 materials fee is required.