In CTY science courses, students have the opportunity to delve into a topic that is not generally part of the standard curriculum. Science instruction may be shortchanged or even sacrificed in students’ home schools, leaving many students to merely ponder the scientific content they crave. Young people are naturally curious about how things work and gifted students have a need for in-depth work that challenges them to answer open-ended questions. They are able to go beyond household or kitchen science and use more formal science equipment. In a CTY science course, students are able to do the investigations themselves, on their own or in pairs. Because of our schedule and small class size, our instructors are able to use student interest to deviate from or adjust a planned lesson so the students can pursue topics that are of particular interest to them. All of our courses focus on inquiry-based learning and each course does lab work every day. Students not only gain unique content, but they also learn science processes. These include writing concluding lab reports on the experiments they have carried out. They work collaboratively to further their understanding, whether on experimental phenomena or on research they have done. Please refer to our Eligibility web page. Sample syllabi for all courses are also available. Note: Selected biological science courses may include virtual or traditional dissection.
Bay Ecology
This course gives students a comprehensive view of the Chesapeake Bay, one of the largest estuaries in the world. Students examine the relationships among the land, the rivers, and the bay, and the human impact on this system. They address the greatest problems affecting the bay—excess nutrients and sediment—and learn how these pollutants reach its waters. Students consider different viewpoints on issues (political, economic, social, and scientific) affecting the health of the bay, and they speculate about the bay’s future. In the field, where they strengthen their skills in recording and interpreting data, students collect biological samples, test water quality, pull fishing nets, dredge for oysters, evaluate land usage, and observe wildlife. Note: While the level of this course is advanced, students from the Chesapeake Bay region may have covered at least some of the material in school. Please seek guidance from your school science teacher or coordinator in determining whether this course will be appropriate given your child’s knowledge and experience in this subject area. Sample texts: Chesapeake Bay: Nature of the Estuary, White; Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Lippson and Lippson. Lab & Field Trip Fee: $110 (Due to the intensive field component of this course, the lab and field trip fee is higher than for other science courses.) Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: Chestertown
Session 2: Chestertown Top
Dynamic Earth
What is happening miles beneath your feet right now? How did Earth become a habitable place for us, and how does it continue to change? In this course, students explore the long and complex history of Earth. Students begin by examining the universe in which our sun is only one of billions of stars, and our planet is a tiny speck. Students then zoom in on Earth—its climate, geologic structures, and plate tectonics. From this perspective students look at cataclysmic events, including volcanic eruptions, avalanches, and earthquakes. Students also focus on gradual alterations of Earth’s surface through erosion, weathering, and other forces. In labs and field work, students differentiate among Earth’s movements using seismographs, test multiple factors affecting rates of erosion, and simulate sediment transport and deposition. The class concludes by focusing on basic matter, studying the atom in terms of structure, periodicity, and reactivity, and exploring acid/base characteristics of elements. Field trips include a journey to the San Andreas fault zone. By understanding Earth from its place in the universe to its molecular makeup, students gain a greater appreciation of the constant motion that makes ours a living, changing planet. Sample text: Materials compiled by the instructor. Lab & Field Trip Fee: $95 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: Palo Alto
Session 2: Palo Alto Top
Sensation and Perception
You may know that our skin helps us decide whether or not the bath water is too hot and that our nose helps us tell fresh from spoiled milk. Do you know why? In this course, students are introduced to the science behind these everyday observations. In the laboratory, students dissect sensory organs and investigate sensory perceptions. They learn what cell types make up a sensory system, how those cells communicate with the brain, and how the brain can be fooled by illusions and expectations. Students learn how cats can “see in the dark,” how people can point to the source of a sound with their eyes closed, and why fingertips are much more sensitive than knees. Students also learn about sensory abilities alien to our own, such as sonar navigation and electric organs. In group exercises, students brainstorm all the possible sources of information for a living organism, and invent new technologies to improve or repair the senses. Students also become comfortable with the scientific method by creating hypotheses, collecting data from their classmates, and formulating their own answers to questions about sensation, perception, and the brain. Sample texts: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Sacks; Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Book, Marieb. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: Chestertown, South Hadley, Sandy Spring
Session 2: Chestertown, Alexandria Top
Examining the Evidence
How can an abandoned car, devoid of license tags or other identifying marks, help detectives solve a jewelry heist? How can a single hair keep a man from going to jail for a murder he did not commit? In this course, students discover the answers to these types of questions as they explore the science behind forensic investigation. After reviewing the basic scientific skills of observation and deduction, students learn how to properly process a crime scene. In lab exercises, students draw upon techniques employed by forensic scientists to analyze fingerprints, hair, fibers, impressions, and documents left at the scene of a crime. Students also explore blood typing and spatter patterns, toxicology, and DNA analysis. Through the study of notorious cases, such as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, students become familiar with the history and advances of forensic science. Finally, in mock investigations students use the scientific method and their newly acquired analytical techniques to uncover clues, examine evidence, and draw conclusions to help them crack the cases. Note: In this course, students learn about forensic techniques used to solve crimes. Instructors gear their treatment of the material to the age of the students, but some violent crimes are considered. Sample text: Forensic Science, Bertino. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: Chestertown, South Hadley, Thousand Oaks, Brooklandville, Sandy Spring
Session 2: Chestertown, South Hadley, Thousand Oaks, Alexandria, Brooklandville, Sandy Spring Top
Crystals and Polymers
Have you ever wondered why cows can digest grass but humans can’t? Why some plastic containers melt in a microwave oven but others don’t? Why salt crystals are cubic but ice crystals are hexagonal? Chemical structure provides the key for answering these questions. Of the ninety naturally occurring elements, only four—carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen—comprise most of the thousands of materials we find in our daily lives. The only differences among these materials are the ways they connect to form tiny building blocks, and how those building blocks are arranged. In this introductory chemistry course, students examine the structural features of gems and polymers to better understand their properties and behavior. Students learn about metals, ionic solids, and composite materials such as orthodontic memory metal. Sample projects include research on the characteristics of each student’s birth stone and building models of simple cubic unit cells. Students then investigate synthetic polymers and use three-dimensional replicas to help distinguish between polymers such as Teflon®, Styrofoam®, Saran Wrap®, and polyester. The course culminates with a study of biomolecules, also known as natural polymers. Students examine the structural differences between saturated and unsaturated fats, starch and cellulose carbohydrates, and hair and wool proteins. Geometric principles and spatial reasoning play important roles in this course. Sample texts: Eyewitness: Crystal & Gem, Symes; Polymers All Around You, Sarquis, ed. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: South Hadley, Thousand Oaks, Brooklandville
Session 2: Bethlehem, South Hadley, Alexandria Top
Science and Engineering
How do simple machines work? Why do hot air balloons rise? How do you build the strongest bridge with the lightest building materials? Physics, the science of matter and its motion, helps answer these questions and more. In this course, students explore concepts from basic physics and engineering through hands-on activities and projects. Brief lectures, class discussions, and practice exercises clarify and reinforce the concepts. During the course, students are introduced to principles of mechanics, electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, and thermodynamics. In order to learn about projectile motion, for example, students might participate in a catapult design challenge or take part in an egg-drop container contest to investigate impulse. To study potential and kinetic energy, they might design and build roller coasters, and they could learn about current and voltage by using a lemon to light a bulb. Students carefully analyze data they collect and write reports about the projects. Students learn how to ask scientific questions, hypothesize, and experiment in order to interpret physical phenomena. By the end of the course, students acquire an understanding of major concepts in physics and an enhanced ability to work in groups and individually to solve problems in the physical sciences. Note: Students in this class should have a strong background in pre-algebra or have completed CTY’s Inductive and Deductive Reasoning or Data and Chance. Sample texts: The Cartoon Guide to Physics, Gonick; The Art of Construction, Salvadori. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: All residential sites, La Jolla, Pasadena
Session 2: All residential sites, Alexandria, Pasadena, Sandy Spring
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Flight Science
From the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci to the expeditions of Amelia Earhart, humans have long struggled to unlock the mysteries of flight. In this course, students join scientists and explorers, past and present, as they examine flight in both the natural and man-made worlds. Students turn first to topics including Newton’s laws and the four forces of aerodynamics: weight, lift, drag, and thrust. They then apply this knowledge as they consider birds, balloons, airplanes, and rockets. Students design, construct, and test model planes; investigate the aerodynamic capabilities of gliders and helicopters; and explore the challenges of space travel. Students complement their discussions and explorations with field trips to aviation facilities. Sample texts: Understanding Flight, Anderson; The Cartoon Guide to Physics, Gonick. Lab & Field Trip Fee: $95 Students must have completed grades: 5 or 6 Session 1: Chestertown, South Hadley, Thousand Oaks, Windward
Session 2: Chestertown, Thousand Oaks, Windward
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Be a Scientist!
What do scientists actually do? How do they ask and answer questions? What tools do they use for finding their answers? In this course, students are introduced to the methods scientists use to answer questions about the world around us. They build skills essential to scientific inquiry by engaging in hands-on investigations in a range of areas, such as botany, genetics, and chemistry. Students examine strategies and techniques used by scientists and put them into practice. For example, students may design and build a terrarium or create a field guide for the unique environment at their site. They also might observe firsthand the behavior of worms, recording notes and drawings in a scientific log; research what others have learned about worms; and share their findings with classmates. Students learn to question and hypothesize; identify and manipulate variables; observe, measure, and record data; and analyze and interpret results. Throughout the course students discuss their challenges and successes in regular class forums and then incorporate that feedback into further study. As a culminating project, students work in teams or individually to design and carry out their own original investigations. Each student leaves the course better prepared to be a scientist. Sample text: Materials compiled by the instructor. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 2 or 3 Session 1: Brooklandville, La Jolla, Pasadena, Sandy Spring, Windward
Session 2: Alexandria, Pasadena, Sandy Spring, Windward Top
Through the Microscope
Since the first microscope was created in the sixteenth century, scientists have been expanding the frontiers of the microscopic world. The idea that living things are made of cells arose when Robert Hooke studied a thin slice of cork under the microscope in 1665. Students in this class take a new look at their world through microscopy, and in doing so acquire an introduction to science. This course begins with the history of microscopy and an overview of how microscopes work. Students examine individual cells of the human body and compare them to living one-celled organisms. Nature walks around the campus provide an endless source of creatures to collect and observe. The microscope also gives students a new appreciation for the intricacies of familiar things such as a feather, a human hair, or a blade of grass. Students learn about the atom and explore why we can’t see atoms with light microscopes. Additionally, they grow salt crystals in class as an introduction to molecules. Measuring through the lens allows students to appreciate the relative sizes of tiny objects, from millimeters to nanometers. Finally, students use the microscope to answer questions about how tiny things work, including velcro and wristwatch gears. Sample text: Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope, Rogers. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 3 or 4 Session 1: Sandy Spring, Windward
Session 2: Alexandria, Brooklandville, Sandy Spring, Windward Top
The Edible World
Have you ever wondered about the strange smell of vinegar, the purple stain left by grape juice, or the ingredients in a sports drink? Why do canned foods last for years without refrigeration? How do you make ice cream creamier? In this course, students take a closer look at the common products on grocery shelves, and use these items as a springboard to learn about chemistry and biotechnology. The three basic components of food—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats—are the building blocks of all life as we know it. They are also the fuel the body burns to provide the necessary energy for everything from taking a breath to reading a book to running a marathon. By researching and writing about foods from different cultures, students discover how the need for proteins, carbohydrates, and fats is met by different people around the world. Through class discussions and laboratory experiments, students look more closely at the composition of familiar foods, consider the chemical reactions necessary to make certain foods, and explore the role that food plays in health and disease throughout the world. Activities might include determining the fat content of cheeses, separating the pigments in plants, or measuring the caloric content of a peanut. Students may keep a food journal and conduct nutritional analyses of their own diets, or prepare a poster presentation on how seaweed can be changed into salad dressing. Sample texts: Food Rules!, Haduch; It’s Disgusting and We Ate It: True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout History, Solheim. Lab Fee: $65 Students must have completed grades: 3 or 4 Session 1: Brooklandville, Sandy Spring
Session 2: Alexandria, Sandy Spring, Windward Top
Inventions
How does a toaster work, and what might make it work better? Can a tower made of spaghetti, marshmallows, and tape support a can of soup? In this course, students dismantle gadgets to figure out how things work and use ordinary household items to create new inventions. Students apply for “patents,” collaborate with their fellow inventors, keep an inventions journal, and work in teams to create stronger bridges or more effective mousetraps. In addition, students research the lives and newfangled ideas of inventors past and present. Throughout this process of inquiry, discovery, and problem solving, students explore not only the how and why of various discoveries and inventions, but also the impact they have had across the centuries. This integrated examination of inventions in our world offers young inventors a fuller understanding of the implications and promise of their creative imaginings. Sample text: Inventing Stuff, Sobey. Lab & Field Trip Fee: $95 Students must have completed grades: 3 or 4 Session 1: Brooklandville, La Jolla, Pasadena, Sandy Spring, Windward
Session 2: Alexandria, Brooklandville, Pasadena, Sandy Spring, Windward Top
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