SAVY Fall 2019 Courses
Kindergarten | 1st & 2nd Grades | 3rd & 4th Grades | 5th & 6th Grades
The status of each course (full- waiting list closed, full- waiting list only, available- limited space, available) can be seen below. Please contact our office at 615-322-8261 or savy.pty@vanderbilt.edu if you have questions about the length of a specific waiting list.
Kindergarten
Matter Mysteries – Course Cancelled
Strange things are happening: a mysterious, unidentified substance has been found, the principal’s water is disappearing, and even more mysteries abound. Never fear, you are on the case! In this course, you will become a detective and use scientific skills to solve mysteries. After learning about the investigative processes of a scientist, you will gather your own information about solids, liquids, and gases by making scientific predictions, designing and conducting experiments, carefully recording your observations, and collecting data. You will then use the information and discoveries you uncover to solve some very puzzling mysteries about matter!
*Course adapted from an evidence-supported curriculum, What’s the Matter?, from the College of William and Mary.
First and Second Grades
Archaeology 101: Uncovering Secrets of the Past – full, waiting list only
If you love puzzles and history, and don’t mind getting a little dirty, then this class is for you! A construction company in your town is tearing down an old school building when they come across some artifacts buried in the ground. As a budding archaeologist working at a museum, you’ve been hired to explore the grounds and investigate the treasures they’ve unearthed. But what are these artifacts? Where did they come from and what can they tell us about the past? As you try to answer these challenging questions, you will learn about the tools and technology of archaeologists, excavate your own mock archaeological site, analyze artifacts, and draw conclusions about the relics you find. Come along as we dig for answers and unearth clues to the past– who knows what knowledge you might uncover!
*Course adapted from an evidence-supported curriculum, What a Find!, from the College of William and Mary.
Measurement Matters – full, waiting list only
Who is the tallest person in your class? How much floor space do you have in your room to play? What is the distance around your neighborhood? You may not realize it, but you think about measurement everyday! In this course, you will investigate the many ways that we measure through hands-on, engaging mathematical challenges. We will explore a variety of standard units of measure, investigate the importance of selecting appropriate measurement units based on the situation, determine different ways that we measure, and combine our understanding of mathematical skills, including geometry, to solve mathematical mysteries! Get ready to measure up, down, and all around as you learn how to quantify space through measuring length, perimeter, area, and volume. After this course you will not only realize that measurement matters, you will know how to measure whatever you encounter!
*Course adapted from an evidence-supported curriculum, In Search of the Yeti: Measuring Up, Down and All Around, from Project M3.
Third and Fourth Grades
Psychology in Action: Understanding Symbols – available, limited space
Whether you are reading your favorite book, watching television, or working on a math problem, did you know you are interacting with symbols? Symbols can take many forms, from caveman drawings, scale models, numbers, and even apps and video. But what exactly are symbols? What kind of information do symbols tell us? How do we learn to interpret and make sense of symbols? By taking on the role of a developmental psychologist, you will investigate how the human mind processes and makes sense of the symbols we interact with every day. Through hands-on experiments, scientific investigation, and a visit to Vanderbilt labs to see research in action, you will uncover how symbols are helpful in our lives and learn how psychologists use numbers and theories to draw conclusions and answer important questions. You will then have a chance to test your own hypothesis as you design a study, collect and analyze data, and present your findings. Experience psychology in action as you use your new knowledge to discover new ideas about symbols!
Programming and Robotics – full, waiting list only
Robotic engineers are learners, dreamers, strategists, and creative thinkers. Robots are cool to play with, but how are robots used in the real world? Can robots really help make our lives easier? How do robots turn lines of computer coding into action? What are the thinking processes needed to successfully code a robot to complete a task? Come learn the answers to these questions and more as you challenge your mind and test your creativity by engineering and programming Lego Boost interactive robots! In this course, you will take on the role of a robotics engineer as you brainstorm hands-on solutions to real-world problems through computer programming. You will program how your robot moves, looks, and interacts with apps, including augmented reality games, as you try to solve robotic challenges. After taking this course, you will have new ideas about how to use coding and robotics to solve big problems in our world and the positive and negative implications of robots in the workforce today!
*Lego Boost robots and code.org will be utilized.
Spatial Smarts: Delving into Dimensions – full, waiting list only
Have you ever dreamed of designing and building your own roller coaster? Ever wonder how photographers know how to capture the very best shots and angles? Do you like reading or creating your own maps? What do pilots, surgeons, engineers, artists, and film-makers have in common? They are all individuals with strong skills in spatial reasoning! People with spatial intelligence tend to learn visually and may tend to think about things in terms of pictures and shapes. Come learn how to see and communicate in new dimensions as we explore and discuss the shapes and planes in the world around us. We may explore topics such as prisms, tangrams, symmetry, and reflection as we learn how to harness, predict, and move objects in space. What kind of problems might we be able to solve with this new knowledge? Who knows what you can create or where you will go in this exploration of spatial dimensions!
*Course adapted from an evidence-supported curriculum, Spatial Reasoning, from the College of William and Mary.
Fifth and Sixth Grades
Robotic Engineering – full, waiting list only
Robotic engineers are learners, dreamers, strategists, and creative thinkers. Robots are cool to play with, but how are robots used in the real world? Can robots really help make our lives easier? How do robots turn lines of computer coding into action? What are the thinking processes needed to successfully code a robot to complete a task? Come learn the answers to these questions and more as you challenge your mind and test your creativity by programming interactive robots! In this course, you will take on the role of a robotics engineer as you brainstorm hands-on solutions to real-world problems through programming and robotics. You will work in teams to use motors, gears, and sensors to create a self-driving model car that can avoid obstacles, pick up and carry objects, detect color, and more. After taking this course you will have new ideas about how to use coding and robotics to solve big problems in our world today!
*LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 and Spheros will be utilized.
Spies and Conspiracies: The Making of America – available, limited space
The study of history is much more than the study of just old printed documents and debates, which may be seemingly insignificant and uninteresting to the modern American. History is also much more than what might appear on the surface, as we are usually only taught about important names and dates. Join us as we take an interactive and hands-on approach to history and investigate the often forgotten stories of spies in the era of the Early Republic! In this class, we will learn to look at primary sources—letters, diaries, newspapers and more—in a new light to unlock some of the great secrets that connect spies to the nation’s founding and its founding documents (such as the Constitution and the Federalist Papers). We will explore international conspiracies that sought to rip apart the territories and territorial claims of the young United States. The spies we will encounter, more often than not, were working on behalf of at least one, and sometimes as many as three, foreign powers, usually France, Spain, or Britain. Who could be trusted in the American West? Get ready to partake of the real fun that historians have as we unpack the conspiracies, intrigue, and spy networks of the past!
Strength and Structure of Engineering Materials – available
If you’ve ever wondered how engineers know a plane won’t fall apart mid-flight, then this is the course for you! Learn principles of engineering and apply this information to machine parts and assemblies as you work first-hand with a real engineer. You will examine topics such as the stress/strain relationships within different materials, investigate failure theories, and learn how engineers predict failure by stressing materials until they break, and examining how and when material failures occurred, just like structural engineers do. You may also have the opportunity to visit Vanderbilt Engineering labs and put your newfound knowledge to the test. It’s time to examine stress and learn from failure in true engineering fashion as we examine the strength and structure of engineering materials!