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Investigate black holes, spacetime, and paradoxes as you build a time-travel theory in this 3-week program for middle school students at UCLA.
Course Description
A time-travel story can send someone into the past with a flick of a switch. Physics makes the idea work much harder.
In this course your student will compare quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the search for quantum gravity. Black holes, negative energy, cosmic strings, and spacetime raise questions about what current physics allows.
Experiments and scientific arguments help separate evidence from possibility. Through thought experiments and debate, students follow time-travel paradoxes, look for contradictions, and consider whether a timeline could change. Each assumption has consequences to work through.
For their own time-travel theory, they’ll choose the physical ideas behind a proposal and explain which paradoxes it must address. Sharing and defending it brings physics, philosophy, and storytelling together. The challenge is to make an imaginative case while showing where evidence ends and speculation begins.
This three-week course for middle school students is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on UCLA’s campus in Los Angeles, California. Residential and commuter options are available.
What You Will Do
• Compare quantum mechanics, general relativity, and quantum gravity
• Investigate black holes, negative energy, cosmic strings, and spacetime
• Analyze time-travel paradoxes and the idea of mutable timelines
• Examine experiments and evidence connected to theories of time
• Test competing ideas through thought experiments and debate
• Develop and explain an original theory of time travel
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Compare physics ideas about spacetime and the possibility of time travel
• Explain how an assumption or contradiction can change a scientific argument
• Distinguish evidence from speculation when explaining an idea about time
You’ll leave with your personal time-travel theory and a certificate of completion.
Why Theoretical Physics Skills Matter
Questions about time travel demand more than imagination. Students have to distinguish scientific evidence from speculation, compare theories that explain the same problem differently, and follow an idea far enough to uncover its contradictions. That kind of reasoning is useful across physics, mathematics, engineering, and any subject built around evidence.
The course also develops communication skills. Explaining spacetime or defending a response to a paradox requires students to organize complicated ideas, define unfamiliar terms, and respond thoughtfully to questions. These habits help students become more precise thinkers while giving them a deeper way to engage with science.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.
If your student likes black holes, time-travel stories, or finding the flaw in an unusual idea, this course gives those questions room to stretch. They’ll work through challenging concepts with thought experiments and debate, then explain a theory of their own. It suits students who enjoy a question even when the answer is still uncertain.
Institute for the Gifted eligibility requirements apply; see the program FAQ.
Your Summer at UCLA
UCLA gives middle-school students an energetic place to learn, have fun, and experience campus life in Los Angeles. The setting brings together science, technology, creativity, entertainment, and culture, helping new subjects feel connected to a wider world of ideas.
The program combines hands-on academics with friendships, campus activities, clear routines, and support as students become comfortable in a large university environment. Students can try new challenges, share interests with peers, and build confidence through participation without needing to decide where those interests will lead. For families, UCLA offers a structured middle-school experience that balances substantive learning with fun, community, and age-appropriate independence. Students leave with new memories and a clearer sense of what they may want to 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