Summer 2025
Want to keep learning over the summer through fun projects? Welcome to our inaugural season! We will be introducing ourselves to the community with workshop series and intensives. Just like our offerings during the school year, class sizes during the summer will be kept small with no more than 6 to 8 students in most classes. Each will be taught by a subject matter expert with a passion for inspiring students. In addition, we will offer a combat robot program where students will be able to compete with their peers to dominate the arena. These programs will keep your student engaged all summer long! Summer Spark programs are for ages 12 and up.
Combat Robots
Students must attend a workshop to assemble the standard robot base, which includes an arduino controller attached to a wheeled platform. From this point, students may choose one of two divisions. The Sumobot division is about using brute force and physics to push the opposing robot off a platform. The RoboWars division takes things a step further and involves using servos to engineer attack arms that can flip or destroy the opposing robot. While students may work on their robot at home, we will offer Makershops where our tools, a 3D printer, and an engineer will be available to assist in bringing student ideas to life. These Makershops also offer the opportunity for students to encourage and inspire each other. This program is for ages 12 and up.
Electronics Foundation
Want to REALLY understand electronics? This series will give the foundation needed to succeed in advanced projects in robotics and microprocessors. Students will learn as they complete 11 projects including making an intruder alarm, an electromagnet, a motor, and a generator. They will explore circuits with a solderless breadboard, using resistors, capacitors, and relays to control an LED light. Through the series, they will be introduced to Ohm’s Law, will begin to understand electrical symbols, and will learn to safely use tools such as wire strippers and a multimeter. This series is for ages 12 and up, and is recommended for any teen who needs a solid foundation in electronics. It will be offered as both a 5 day week-long intensive, and as a weekly series of classes lasting 5 weeks.
Intro to Fusion (Computer Aided Design)
This class is for the student who wants to design his or her own creations. First, students will pull a file from Thingverse and manipulate it in Fusion. Then, they will move own to create two of their own designs from scratch; a donut (complete with icing and sprinkles) and a minifigure platform ring. Students will be able to print their work on our multi-color 3D printer! And if they are hooked on CAD, they’ll be able to enroll in a class in the fall which will start them on the journey toward a certification and potential employment. This intro program will be offered to ages 12+ as both a three-week series and as a three day long intensive We will also hold a special intensive reserved exclusively for teens ages 15 and up.
Arduino Foundations (Microprocessor)
Arduino allows students to explore the intersection of hardware and software. Students will be introduced to the basics of the arduino platform. We will offer this program as an intensive for ages 12+, and as a weekly series for ages 14. Later in the summer, a level 2 class will be offered exclusively to teens aged 14 and up. You’ll see a lot of arduino offered at Spark in the fall, and this is a great way to get acquainted!
Autonomous Robotics
For the student who REALLY wants to do robotics, this is a semester-long, project-based curriculum being offered via longer classes over the summer. Students will learn hardware and software as they build a robot that maneuvers autonomously using sensors and programming. This will be offered as a week-long intensive for ages 12+, and as a weekly series for ages 14+.
Engineering Drawing
Makers need to be able to get the ideas in their head onto paper! The series of classes offered to ages 12+ will focus on general depiction skills, while the one offered to ages 14+ will focus on more technical illustrations.
Soldering
Learn the skill of soldering through a series of four workshops that include three take-home projects; a jitterbug, an electronic game, and an electronic dice. Ages 14+ will be able to enroll in a series for their age group. Ages 12+ will first enroll in the introductory workshop, and may need to repeat each workshop level multiple times before moving to the next.
Engine Rebuild
Students of driving age (15+) can join this in-depth exploration of a Briggs & Stratton 4hp motor. Younger students will be able to enroll in this program in the fall.
