Use the menu below to find the program that matches your grade level.  Your child will be enrolled in the grade level that he/she has just completed. 

Comet I

Multimedia Manipulation

Are you a James Bond of technological gadgets? Are you interested in how things like digital cameras, global positioning systems, and television projectors work? Multimedia Manipulation will expose students to a variety of common technology. Come explore how every-day objects function, as well as look at more complex items such as communication satellites. We will also explore different types of computer software and how they do what they do. Join us as we pull things apart and manipulate basic pieces of media and technology to develop new and inventive tools of our own.

Introduction to Archeology

Archeology is the study of people using what they have left behind as clues. Come unravel the mysteries of the past two hundred years at our archeological dig site. Plan to get dirty as your spend the mornings digging with your trowel. Spend the afternoons learning about the past and its people through drama, artifacts, simulations, field trips, and discussion. Limited to 14 students.

*******Veterinary Medicine - THIS CLASS IS FULL.***********************

Veterinary Medicine is one of GERI’s and Purdue’s most popular and competitive programs. Explore the complex world of animal anatomy through extensive dissection, study of animal systems, and ecosystem field work. Come find out what makes animals tick! Register early – this class fills quickly!

Master Authors

Come discover some of the world’s most renowned and most underappreciated authors. We will examine copies of famous original documents including the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. We will also examine the many representations of famous stories through their modern portrayal in film. You will have an opportunity to do an extensive amount of creative writing as you try to hone your skills in a variety of different genres ranging from fiction and history to drama and biography.

Resistance is Futile: Engineering in Action!

Did you ever wonder what makes a building stand? How a suspension bridge can be solid and move all at the same time? Come and explore the engineering design process. This hands-on class will also explore many of the principles that underlie structural engineering and see how it all relates to what you have to learn in school.

Lego Robotics

Learn the fundamentals of robot design, construction, and programming while you improve your problem solving skills. Come work with other eager Lego Robotics engineers and prepare to take your robot through a series of specific tasks.  A final competition will be the exciting culminating event for this hands-on course.

PSI: Plant Science Investigation

What makes a fruit a fruit?  Do you know where your veggies come from?  How can you clone a plant?  How do they grow plants in space?  Join this class and discover the answers to these questions and more!  We will look at flowers, fruits, propagate some houseplants, visit a greenhouse, make your own landscape plan, and more fun activities.

Comet II

The Life and Friends of Abe Lincoln - 

CANCELLED 

 Follow the life of the great man of the Civil War from his birth in Kentucky, his youth in Indiana, adulthood in Illinois, and through his national political career. While traveling through the heartland find the roots of Lincoln's greatness through drama, video, historic sites, and visits to museums in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Meet with national experts on the Lincoln years and walk where he walked and meet his friends and peers. Limited to 14 students.

Experimental Chemistry

Explore the world of chemistry through experimentation and observation. You will examine unknown mixtures, combine solutions, and identify them through surface and more complex molecular changes. Predict the results and use your observations to categorize elements as you explore all that chemistry has to offer!

Art in Nature

Some of the most basic and most beautiful art involves different representations of nature through the various artistic media. This class blends the topics on ecology and naturalism through art in the form of paint, drawing, sculpture, poetry, and film. You will spend an extensive amount of time in nature as a source of inspiration for artistic products.

Mythbusters

Modeled after the popular television series, you will tackle some of the most common urban legends. In addition to ready-made myths, you will also be challenged to come up with your own myths and even prove whether some of the more outrageous ones are really possible! This class is back by popular demand from 2007 and will involve some all new myths!

Web Design

Interested in basic web development? Learn two methods to build web pages: hand-coding HTML using a text editor and a WYSIWYG editor like Front Page. We will also have a brief introduction to the third style: Content Management System that separates design from content while making it easy for non-technical users to update a site. You will work to develop your own personal websites as well as work on a team to develop a mock business website.

******Talking Walls - THIS CLASS IS FULL. ******************************

If only walls could talk, or maybe they do! Take this course and learn about the fascinating world of forensic science. We will be dusting for fingerprints, processing "blood" samples, making footprint casts, examining forged documents, and deciphering many other pieces of evidence to get the information needed to solve a mystery. By the time you're done, you won't need the talking walls to tell you what happened!

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Game Logic and Strategy

Do you find games like Risk and Chess fascinating and challenging? Learn the secrets behind strategy and logic games like these, and see how improving your skills can enhance your thinking skills and apply to everyday life. You’ll get the chance to master famous games as well as design those of your own design!

Electronic Engineering

Have you ever been tempted to take apart the toaster or the telephone? Come explore the internal workings of many of your common electronic gadgets. In this electrifying class, you’ll learn basic electronic circuitry and common components that make them work. Come find the similarities among all electronic devises on how they work to do what they do.

Star I:  Morning Classes

Forensic Science:

Explore the rapidly advancing technology of forensic science and learn how investigators are turning to science to find important clues to help them solve crimes. Solve mysteries using evidence and discuss new technologies in crime fighting.

The Ins and Outs of DNA

CANCELLED

 We’re all one big double-helix, come examine yours! Learn about the functions and roles of plants and DNA by growing and studying your own genetically modified plants. At the same time you will investigate the role that genetics plays in our lives today and its role in the future. Students in this class will receive hands-on experience working with DNA samples as well as leaning how such information can apply to agriculture, criminology, and healthcare.

Professional Website Design

Understanding how to compose a professional website is a skill will help you succeed in our technologically driven society. Learn how to create websites using basic HTML, CSS, and other website design programs. You will have the opportunity to create a cooperative, dynamic, and professional website. With the knowledge gained from this course, you will be able to pursue more challenging avenues of website design in the future.

Physics of Machines

Discover the forces at work in the machines and inventions of modern life.  In this fun, hands-on class you will master concepts of physics, conduct challenging experiments, and construct machines and inventions to test your ideas. You will get to create complex machines to accomplish simple tasks as you explore the never-ending world that is physics.

The Many Stages of Shakespeare

CANCELLED

There is much ado about something this summer as we take to the stage and journey through the life and work of William Shakespeare. Transforming modern times into the Elizabethan Era, we will study the implications of politics, religion, and philosophy on the scripts of Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Othello, and Richard III. So come and crush a cup with us!

Star I:  Afternoon classes

Be an Engineer!

In this unique overview of the many schools of engineering, you will begin to make connections between theory and practice and develop an understanding of the many ways engineering is used in our daily lives, from the very large to the very small. Come apply basic engineering concepts to solve complex, real-world problems.

Pre-Med

Get a jumpstart on medical school this summer. Study anatomy and physiology and the causes of disease. Learn about innovative techniques for treating and preventing illness, explore careers in the rapidly advancing world of medicine.

Mixed Media Sculpture

Forms in space have fascinated artists for centuries. Learn about artists and how they create sculpture from different materials. The history of sculpture will be explored as well as aesthetics (the way we think about art). Express creativity by creating your own sculptures.

Model United Nations

CANCELLED

The United Nations plays a role in decisions made around the world. By looking at the Internet, cable, and newspaper one can easily monitor the UN’s role in international situations. Through discussion and debate, and by becoming a member state of the UN, you can understand why they were initially developed, along with their roles in the past, the present, and in hypothetical future conflicts.

Biochemistry

Come use chemical experiments to illustrate the general theories and unifying concepts of biochemistry. You will have the opportunity to study the chemistry, function, and metabolism of compounds found in living organisms in this hands-on class.

Star II:  Morning classes

*******Veterinary Medicine - THIS CLASS IS FULL.**************************

Learn about the anatomy and ailments of small animals, study disease prevention and treatment, and explore careers in the care and treatment of animals in this challenging course. Some small-animal dissection will be involved.

Rube Goldbergineering

Do you enjoy building machines and inventing new solutions to problems? Come join a design team to brainstorm and build creative contraptions to solve everyday problems in a complex way. This course will use hands-on learning to emphasize science, technology, and engineering concepts.

Green Science

Technological progress and environmental protection often have been opposing forces. However, a growing number of scientists and researchers are exploring ways to use technology to make our lives better while preserving and restoring the environment. In this course, we will explore topics like green building design, bioremediation, and renewable energy. We’ll use scientific concepts in order to design machines and policies that could make our world a better place.

Journalism

In this course, you will engage in concepts of civic journalism whose aims are not simply to improve the presentation of news or to meet the challenging demand of newspaper readers. Rather this course will seek how journalism can be made more accountable and meaningful to the community, thereby enabling you to become citizen-participants and experience democracy in order to function within it.

2D Illustration and Vector Art

Come learn how to use of computers to create 2-dimensional drawings and line art in comic-book style. Discover how to break images down into simpler shapes and lines and recreate these basic forms while adding their own styles of weight, color and blending to the forms. Course projects will include transforming a picture of yourself into a comic frame, creating a realistic representation of a product and finally recreating a real comic book page with added embellishments including color, blending and 3D effects.

Star II:  Afternoon classes

What the Heck is Going on Here: Quantum Physics and the Existence of Space Time

At their highest forms, all sciences become philosophy. Come explore the meeting point between science and theory in the areas of physics and quantum mechanics. You will have the opportunity to present your own beliefs and ideas on the theories presented by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and many others. Are you interested in why black holes are black or why it’s called the big bang? Come learn what ideas are out there and then develop with your own!

Applied Chemistry

Investigate common experiences by conducting hands-on experiments and applying the principles of chemistry in an interdisciplinary way. Topics will include experimental techniques, spectroscopy, and industrial applications, among others.

Introduction to Genetics

CANCELLED

Explore the microscopic world of cells and DNA. Learn about genetics and heredity while examining the role of genes in the way we look and behave through experiments and simulations. Examine the possibilities and controversies of genetic science in fields like criminal investigations, genetically modified foods, medicine, and more.

Physics of Sports

Study the curve ball and the spiral pass. Spins, rotations, and spirals determine the Physics of Sports! How do they combine to affect the flight of the objects? How does the use of simple machines, a.k.a. the human body, affect the physics? We’ll explore these and more!

Architecture: Applications in Mathematics

Mathematics is essential in architecture. Each student will be given a hypothetical family for whom to create a floor plan for a new house. Learn to draw to scale and present their ideas as an architect. Visit Samara, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, to get ideas for projects. Groups will be formed to build three-dimensional models as well as full-size PVC structures to house the entire group! Each project will provide opportunities to share special problems and be solved with mathematics.

*******Debate: Arguing with Style -

THIS CLASS IS FULL!

Debate is a Summer Residential favorite for those who love to argue, want to be a lawyer, or just like to discuss vital topics in our world. We will tackle both controversial and important issues, while learning and applying research, argumentation, and problem solving skills. Bring your opinions and be ready to defend and even change them. All thoughts and thinkers welcome!

Pulsar I:  Morning classes

Rocketry and Space Exploration

CANCELLED

What does it take to send a vehicle on an interplanetary voyage? Topics include launching a vehicle from Earth's surface, attaining a low earth orbit, transferring orbits for reaching a destination and finally recovery and landing. Come use mathematics and physics to design, build and launch your own sub-orbital rocket, while computer simulation software allows you to fly your vehicle beyond orbit to your destination using the principles you have learned in this class. You will build a working physical rocket using principles of impulse, gravity, drag and aerodynamics as well as you develop a fundamental understanding of the concepts involved in planning a mission beyond Earth.

Applied Statistics

Statisticians design methods for collecting and interpreting data gathered in many fields to aid in the planning, decision making, and research crucial to modern society. Come explore the methods and uses of statistics in situations that affect our lives. Topics include business, industrial applications, and academic research.

Oil and Charcoal: Painting the Portrait

CANCELLED

This class is tailored for the artistic student who would like to learn techniques in Oil and Charcoal. In this class you will learn how to render life-like charcoal drawings and paint colorful portraits using a limited palette of color. Instructions on drawing, paint-mixing, and portrait demonstrations in oil and charcoal will be given. Most of the class will be spent drawing, painting, and other activities to strengthen draftsmanship and understanding of color theory. Final projects will revolve around an ending project in either oil or charcoal.  

Mathematics and Physics in Engineering

Engineers use universal physical laws and mathematical principles to solve real-world problems. This course will cover the fundamental laws of the universe: Newton's laws, the laws of thermodynamics, and the laws of electro-magnetics.  Mathematical models will be created to understand the behavior of projectile motion, liquid-gas phase changes, buoyancy, automobile efficiency, and more!

Conflict, Power, and Justice

What issues of fairness and inequality concern you? How much influence do gender, class, race, and ethnicity have on us? How do institutions like government, media, and education control our lives? Together, we will critically explore these and other questions of conflict, power, and justice to help you become thoughtful individuals able to make a positive difference in the world.

Microbiology

Come explore pathogenic organisms from throughout the human body. Investigate microbial characteristics, pathogenesis, oncogenesis, and ways diseases are transmitted and treated. If you see medical school, nursing, pharmacy, or medical technology in your future, this course is for you!

Pulsar I: Afternoon classes

Human Anatomy

Have a strong interest in biology?  Think medical school might be on your horizon? Come focus exclusively on learning human anatomy through hands-on work with prossected human cadavers. Taught in conjunction with the Indiana University School of Medicine, you will cover material similar to that of first-year medical students in actual med school labs and classrooms. If you are considering this course, you should be comfortable with dissection.

Poetry Slam

CANCELLED

Step up to the mic and let your words flow, POETRY SLAM! The genre originated to breathe life back into the spoken word takes the stage this semester. While receiving a foundational grounding in the roots of poetry, students will compose and perform original works in the slam formats of open, theme, prop and 1-2-3 slams. The time has come to let your words go!

Scientific Models

Concepts and ideas in science are best demonstrated through the use of models. In this course you will have the opportunity to design and build represented models of concepts in biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, ecology, botany, and genetics. The course will guide you in modeling techniques from simple paper construction to creating clay sculptures, silicon molds and polyurethane castings. As you engage in the process you will begin to understand the selected sciences with an in-depth approach through modeling.

3-D Modeling and Animation

Are you a fan of animated movies, or have you ever wondered how they are made? Learn how to make your own character using 3-D modeling computer program! Sketching, modeling, lighting, and an introduction to animation will be covered.

Bio-Medical Engineering

Explore this hybrid field that incorporates the disciplines of biology, engineering, and medicine.  In this class you will learn about medical imaging and devices, clinical and tissue engineering, drug delivery, and regulatory issues. You will flex your biomedical engineering skills by working on projects that allow you to investigate the most complex issues found in the field today.

Pulsar II: Morning classes

Mechanical Engineering

This course will explore the two primary areas of mechanical engineering:  Newton's Law of Motion, and the Laws of Thermodynamics. These laws will be used to create models of an automobile collision. Newton's Laws of Motion will be used to analyze the collision between a car and a gas tanker, and the Laws of Thermodynamics will be used to understand how the gasoline engines inside the two vehicles operate, and to explain the explosion of the gas tanker after collision.

Computer Game Design

What does it take to create a great video game? Come explore the world of game developers in this intensive, interdisciplinary class. Working in your own development “company,” use your creativity to develop compelling characters, settings, and story lines. Learn graphics and animation software to create images for your games, and develop an advertising campaign to bring your game to market.

Robotics

Want to design a robot? Get hands-on experience in the design and fabrication of robotics in this course. Through this process you will have experiences in basic design, systems of manufacturing, mechanics of electronics, and problem solving. Robotic software programming and design will also be explored.

Introduction to Pharmacy

Are you interested in chemistry and anatomy? Get to know the fantastic career of pharmacy. You’ll learn how to produce medicines, study how they interact with the body, and debate ethical issues in medical research. This is a perfect match for those students interested in medicine and chemistry.

Law and Order: The American Justice System

Come explore the American system of law both in criminal and civil proceedings. Mmeet with law enforcement, practicing attorneys and observe actual court proceedings and then use this knowledge to expose flaws in legal proceedings present in popular media. This class will interest you if you enjoy areas such as debate, logic, and writing.

Bioengineering

Explore the rapidly-evolving science of genetics. Topics in this course will include genetic therapy, the debate over genetically-modified foods, ethics and issues in research, and career options in bioengineering and genetic science. Applications for healthcare, agriculture, and technology will be discussed and utilized for a final project.

Pulsar II:  Afternoon classes

America’s Genre: Film and Television

Perhaps more than any other nation, America loves its television and film. In this class you will take an interdisciplinary approach to the popular media. You will work with different software and professional equipment to create your own film trailers as well as examine what it is about the media of short and long film that is so enticing to the American persona. Activities include examining reoccurring themes, characters, and styles in order to create the most American-ly appealing trailer and final proposal for the next great American mini-series!

Practicum in Forensic Science and Psychology

This class is designed for GERI students who have previously taken Forensic Science, Forensic Psychology, or have other experience in a related area. Students will have the opportunity to expand on an area of their interest through research and independent study. Students will also have the opportunity to work with a professional in the field to put what they’ve learned into practice.

Research Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Behind every great medical discovery, engineering design, and stock market investment, there’s a statistician. This class will focus on the behavioral science applications of statistical analysis. Here you will have a chance to work with real-world data in learning common computer-aided analyses before collecting some of your own and writing your own code. Some industrial and engineering applications will also be addressed. Experience with upper-level algebra, statistics, and/or computer programming is suggested but not required.

Artistic Exploration

Explore all that the arts have to offer in this exciting and fast paced course! Hone your drawing skills and use them to your advantage as you sail through such art forms as sculpture, printmaking, painting and more! Get creative with cartooning, laugh with improv comedy, and become a fashion designer!

Energy Engineering

Energy is all around us. Despite this simple fact, harnessing energy still remains a relatively difficult task. This class will focus on the basics of power production at the global level as well as at the level of the individual. Come attempt to create more efficient insulating material, light bulbs, and cars. You will also have the opportunity to examine alternative fuels and means of producing power for the 21st century.

Physical Chemistry

Come explore the world of physical chemistry including the kinetic theory of gases, statistical thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular structure, ionic phases, and more. Plan on conducting many hands-on experiments to solve real world problems!