SEW COURSES 2008
Grades K-1 Courses
Session A (8:00-9:45)

"Singing in the Rain" Forest
Have you ever wondered if orange frogs exist? Or if there are creatures that have not been named? Join me for a wonderful adventure through the tropical rain forest. Learn about the different layers in the rain forest and what animals live in each layer. After studying the layers and animals, you will become a creature of the rain forest and learn how to survive in your layer. We will top everything off with a taste test of foods that come from the rain forest. You don't want to miss this rain storm!

Let's Get Dramatic
Do you like to play pretend? You can use your creativity to make a mini-play. You will get to write a mini-play, act in it, and make the costumes and sets. Learn all about the world of theater. Find out about some historical playwrights. Come on, and let's get dramatic!

Lions, Scorpions, and Gorillas, Oh My!
Take a safari through Africa and search for African animals in desert, rain forest, and grassland homes. Explore why animals are so different, why some have big ears versus small ears or long arms versus short arms. Find out why zebras have stripes and how camels survive in the blazing hot sun and sand of the Sahara. Swing like a chimpanzee and jump like an impala. Learn about the use of camouflage in different habitats. Create a project of world records from Africa.

Session B (10:00-11:45 a.m.)

Awesome Artists
Learn about famous artists and recreate their many different types of art. Become amateur artists while learning the basics. Mix red and blue and make a new color. Create a swirly landscape with a paintbrush like Vincent Van Gogh. Re-create a Picasso by making your own clown collage. Learn about Monet and layer tissue paper into his famous "Water Lilies" painting. Pipe cleaners and matching shapes can also be transformed into an exciting mobile. Finger painting and splatter painting can be part of the fun, too!

Step into the Ring
Ladies & Gentlemen...Children of all ages...Step into the ring for Big Top Fun while you become a circus performer. Design and practice your own act. Maybe you'll be an acrobat, clown, knife thrower, strong man, or ring master. Whatever you do, you are sure to have fun with the SEW Circus.

Saddle Up, We're Head'n West
Explore the adventures of the Wild West as a pioneer, trail blazer or gold seeker as you make the sometimes treacherous trip west. Set up your homestead, and create a map of your travels to send back to your family.

Grades 2-3 Courses
Session A (8:00-9:45 a.m.)

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night...
It was a dark and stormy night, and a would-be writer stared at the blank page and could only think of "It was a dark and stormy night." Don't be this writer; learn how to go beyond a bad beginning. In this creative writing class, you will learn how to go from the desire to write to generating ideas, from having ideas to knowing how to get them on paper.

Thrilling Theatre
Your favorite picture book characters will jump from the page to the stage as we present our SEW curtain raiser! Maybe you will paint the sets, design the costumes, apply the stage makeup, or star in the show. We'll all work together to create a smash hit sure to leave the audience begging for an encore!

DigiKids' Klub
Does it seem that people are always taking pictures of you? Well, it's time to turn the camera. Come with me as we explore the parts of a digital camera, learn to take interesting photographs, and develop exciting photo creations. Before you know it, you will be the person saying, "Smile for the camera!"

Session B (10:00-11:45 a.m.)
Up, Up, and Away
Go to infinity and beyond as you learn about the history of flight from hot air balloons to modern day rocketry and space shuttles. See a real hot air balloon and discover what makes us go up, up, and away. You will even make a hot air balloon that really works. Find out how the Wright brothers got their first plane off the ground and make your own model plane. Learn through hands-on activities what gets airplanes, helicopters, rockets and space shuttles off the ground. Let's go up, up, and away!

Perplexing Puzzles and Mystifying Mysteries
Writers and puzzle solvers take notice! Love to solve perplexing puzzles? Thrilled by mysteries? Want to be a hero in a mystery story? Join us in examining clues and learning to create mystifying mysteries. We will be exploring perplexing puzzles and composing our own mysteries.

Toy Store Physics
Explore the magic of physics found in everyday toys! You will investigate the ways in which the science associated with magnets, electricity, sound, balance, and light is used to create objects of wonder and fancy. Use your understandings of these physics concepts to construct your own toys. Balancing butterflies, marvelous mobiles, and purple ducklings will help you explain the power of physics!

Grades 4-5 Courses
Session A (8:00-9:45 a.m.)

Bring on the Clowns
Step right up for the greatest show in town! The SEW Circus is looking for jugglers, magicians, tight rope walkers, and other circus performers. Learn about clowns and circuses of the past as you learn the circus lingo. You'll make your own history while performing acts or being part of the crew in the SEW Circus.

Trail Blaz'n
Head west as a pioneer, gold seeker, bronc buster, or an outlaw. Do you have what it takes to survive? Put your building skills to the test as you construct your own sod house in preparation for your family's arrival, and sharpen your map making skills as you create a map to help your family make the trip west. Test your cow-hand abilities as you learn how to "rope"! Be prepared to have a rip-roaring time!

Physics Phun
Where's the Physics? Just look around you! The simple principles of physics are being used everywhere, even in the very toys you play with at home. You will explore different types of gadgets and phenomena to understand the basic physical concepts that are at work. Enjoy creating your own toys and tricks to help explain the simple magic of sound, light, balance, and motion to others. Have some Physics Phun by making your own spinning tops, squawking chickens, shadow puppets, and balloon rockets!

Session B (10:00-11:45 a.m.)

Remarkable Rain Forest
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live where it rains nine FEET a year? Join us for a trip deep into the tropical rain forest. Exploration of rain forest land will be key, and you can chart a map. Discover many bright, colorful creatures, including army ants and "ant birds," and identify examples of symbiosis. Sculpt animals and plants of the rain forest and develop info centers about them. Become a tour leader and guide other students through our rain-filled environment.

On Safari
Trek across Africa through desert, rain forest, and savanna in search of answers to questions about natural selection. Meet a variety of African animals, such as the rhino, pica, and boa. Explore animal adaptations to survive, such as camouflage, body features, and unique abilities. Experiment to find ways to stay cool in the hot desert. Learn about the world's greatest migration of animals. Simulate and explore erosion and conservation efforts in Africa. Read and write folktales about the most interesting of animals.

On Broadway
Have you ever wondered how the stars of Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, or Les Miserables landed their dream roles? Learn acting techniques and perfect a monologue or a solo to "wow" the director at your next theatre audition. Show off your acting skills in a One Act that's sure to bring a standing ovation. Break a leg!

Middle School Courses

Session A (8:00 – 9:45 a.m.)

SEW Art Studio
Discover the artist in you! Re-create art of famous artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, Jackson Pollack, Kandinsky, and many more. Paint the swirls to create your own "Starry Night" by Van Gogh. Sculpt foil figures with pipe cleaners and pretend you are a famous sculptor. Create an African mask like ones from the 19th century. Tissue paper layered on white paper can become Monet's "Water Lilies." Glittering tiles and splatter painting can be part of the fun, too. Come learn about famous artists and become a master artist yourself.

Flying First Class
How did the very first hot air balloons rise into the skies? What did the Wright brothers figure out would get their flying machine off the ground? What enables a space shuttle to launch into space? What keeps pilots and astronauts safe in the aircraft? Find out the answers to these questions and any others that you may have about flight. You will be building a model rocket and launching it, making a hot air balloon and demonstrating how a real one rises into the air, and running a test in a low-speed wind tunnel. With the Department of Aerospace Engineering at The University of Alabama assisting you in this course, you are sure to be flying first class!

Puzzling, Perplexing, Peculiar!
This study of mysteries and puzzles lets you enter the world of the unknown and the weird, the baffling and unexplained, the unsolved and the peculiar. We will unravel crimes by examining clues, solve perplexing puzzles, and become mystery writers. Confounding, yet enlightening--this is your invitation to join a journey to the sphere of puzzles and mysteries. You will need to bring a love of solving all things puzzling and perplexing and an interest in writing and creating your own mysteries.

Session B (10:00-11:45 a.m.)

The Birth of A Story
Where do writers get their ideas? What are the stories behind actual events? These are the basis for many stories "ripped from the headlines." In this class we will use current events from the newspaper to develop story ideas and flesh out characters. The news will never be boring again!

Sampling Shakespeare
Do you have a flair for drama? Learn about the theater seen through the eyes of Shakespeare. Learn about the life and times of Shakespeare while performing scenes from some of his most popular plays. Then, step into the shoes of the Bard himself by modernizing an act from A Midsummer Night's Dream. You will become the actors, playwright, set designers, costume designers and more. Come learn about Shakespeare while getting dramatic.

Digital Photography
Even if you don't know a pixel from a pickle, you can learn to take pictures like a professional photographer in no time! Come and explore the fun and exciting world of digital photography. You will move beyond taking mere snapshots as you progress from the basics to using your creativity to complete fun photo assignments like "Zany Zoom-Ins"--a scavenger hunt for your telephoto eye. A willingness to have fun is required!