July 6 – August 14, 2026 · Six weeks
Four units. Everything you build, you keep.
Twelve sessions across six weeks, in four units. Each unit ends with something the students built and tested themselves. Materials are provided and every student keeps what they make.
Unit 01
Aerodynamics & Flight
Design, build, and fly your own aircraft — then tune it through real testing.
Session 01
The four forces of flight
Lift, drag, thrust, and stability, introduced through paper gliders built to test each one.
Session 02
Wing geometry
How aspect ratio and wing shape change glide distance, measured across custom designs.
Session 03
The Plane Challenge
Control surfaces added for pitch, roll, and yaw, then a launch-and-measure competition.
Unit 02
Machines & Motion
How gears, ratios, energy, and friction turn force into motion.
Session 04
Levers and pulleys
Mechanical advantage found by experiment rather than formula.
Session 05
Gear ratios
Gear trains built to see how diameter ratios trade speed against torque.
Session 06
The Car Challenge
A gear-powered racer built for both a flat-out speed run and a hill climb.
Unit 03
Circuits & Electronics
Making abstract electricity concrete enough to hold.
Session 07
Closing the loop
Batteries, switches, and bulbs wired into a first working circuit.
Session 08
Series and parallel
Two ways to wire the same components, and why the difference is visible.
Session 09
Troubleshooting
Students are handed broken circuits and have to find the fault themselves.
Unit 04
Biology & Life Science
The living world, up close.
Session 10
Cells under the microscope
Prepared and live samples, drawn and compared by the students.
Session 11
DNA, extracted
Pulling real DNA out of everyday material with household chemistry.
Session 12
How the body works
Systems of the human body, plus a final showcase of everything built over six weeks.
What's provided
Materials
Balsa, gears, axles, wheels, rubber bands, wire, batteries, and microscope slides — plus every tool needed. Students bring nothing and keep what they build.
Instruction
A lead instructor plus assistant instructors working with small groups during every build.
Cost
None. The program is funded by donations and run in partnership with the Mount Vernon Public Library.