Writing with Science and Nature

This class is for students who want to put their love of creativity and their love of nature together. Each day students will spend time outside, engaging with MSU’s campus and their peers. As they do this, they’ll learn about different genres for creative storytelling, write collaboratively with peers and friends, and unearth the messiness of the writing process.

Monday: Map our Writing Process. Students will start by mapping their own writing process to reflect on where they write, when they write, and why. Students will be able to reflect on where they find other people in their writing process, and how and when nature may be involved.

Tuesday: Haikus! Students will learn about the genre of poetry – specifically focusing on Haikus, before heading outside to take inspiration from Michigan State University’s Campus, and write their own poems.

Wednesday: Odes! Students will learn about the genre of poetry – specifically focusing on Odes, and head outside to write their own letters.

Thursday: Short stories. Students will learn about short stories, and head outside to talk to their peers, and write their own short stories in teams.

Friday: Finalizing our writing collections! In the final day of class, students will reflect on the writing they’ve done and create portfolios to remember the work they’ve done in the course and reflect on the role nature and collaboration played.

Spartan Quest: The Campus Hunt

Join the adventure as Young Spartans embark on a quest to unlock mysteries and track down hidden treasures scattered across campus! Starting with brain-bending puzzles in the classroom, students will decipher clues and follow leads that take them on a thrilling treasure hunt. From lockers to secret spots, every discovery will test their teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. Can you solve the riddles and uncover the hidden gems ? Only the sharpest minds and most collaborative players will prevail in this high-stakes quest!

Minecraft

One of the most popular computer games, Minecraft at its core is a sandbox game that provides an environment for its players to explore and create. This class will focus on the Education Edition of the game to introduce students to programming to control the in-game abilities of their character, allowing them to make games that involve granting players superpowers.

Monday: Introducing and sampling the different powers that can be granted in Minecraft custom games. These include things like Speed, Invulnerability, and Flight

Tuesday-Wednesday: Having the students work in small teams to build maps and set up the interactions using coding blocks to complete a checklist of effects. 

Thursday-Friday: Play the games, identify fun and unfun parts, and begin tweaking the gameplay.

Cosmology

In this five-day course, students will embark on a journey through the cosmos, uncovering humanity's evolving understanding of the universe. From ancient stargazing to the latest images from space telescopes, explore how our ideas about the cosmos have been shaped over time. Each day delves deeper into the universe, from the wonders of our solar system to the mysteries of the big bang. With captivating videos and group discussion, students will leave with a new perspective on the universe and their place in it.

Monday - "Where are we, and how did we figure it out?"

Tuesday - "Our cosmic backgroun"

Wednesday - "Building blocks of the universise"

Thursday - "Mapping the universe"

Friday - "Are we alone? What else is out there?"