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Test rockets and code an animated experiment in Scratch in this 3-week program for elementary school students at Fairfield University.
Course Description
Launch a paper rocket, then bring an experiment to life on screen.
In this course your child will test ideas with rockets, hovercrafts, and paddle boats. They’ll change one thing at a time, record results, and make graphs to see what happened. Balloon reactions, bubble solutions, and rain-garden models bring more discoveries.
Those same clear steps become instructions in Scratch. Your child will create characters, moving backgrounds, timers, and games with visual code blocks. Then they’ll choose an experiment and turn it into an animated story. A storyboard, custom artwork, and speech or sound help tell what they tested and found. Sharing the animation gives them a chance to explain both their science and their creative choices.
This three-week course for elementary school students is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on Fairfield University’s campus. The course is available to commuter students.
What You Will Do
• Build a paper rocket and test one change
• Explore force and motion with hovercrafts and paddle boats
• Investigate balloon reactions, bubble solutions, and rain-garden models
• Create Scratch characters, timers, backgrounds, and platform and chase games
• Draw a storyboard for an animated experiment
• Code an animation that shares a scientific discovery
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how changing one thing can make an experiment a fair test
• Use step-by-step instructions and changing values in a simple Scratch program
• Use an animation to explain what an experiment tested and found
You’ll leave with your Scratch projects, including an original animated science project, and a certificate of completion.
Why Science and Coding Skills Matter
An experiment and a computer program both depend on clear steps. Changing one thing and watching the result helps children work out why something happened, whether they’re testing a rocket or fixing an animation.
Turning an experiment into a Scratch story also asks them to put events in order and explain a discovery. Drawing on what they measured gives the story a reason behind it, connecting creative work with evidence.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade.
This course brings together children who love trying experiments and those who enjoy creating on a computer. Your child might be drawn to a rocket launch, a game idea, or the chance to make a discovery move on screen. Guided activities and Scratch’s visual code blocks give them a visual way to work through ideas and build coding confidence.
Institute for the Gifted eligibility requirements apply; see the program FAQ.
Your Summer at Fairfield University
Fairfield gives elementary students a fun and welcoming first taste of campus life in a coastal Connecticut town along Long Island Sound. The day includes hands-on classes, outdoor courtyard time, shared meals, and opportunities to make friends in a setting that feels active without feeling overwhelming.
The commuter-only Institute for the Gifted has operated at Fairfield for more than two decades. Students try new challenges and build confidence within a clear, structured program day. For families, Fairfield offers an age-appropriate combination of learning, creativity, friendship, routine, and support. Students get the fun of a summer program and the satisfaction of discovering what they can make, solve, and explore next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification of completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive