Course Offerings

Learn all the ins and outs of 3D Design and 3D Printing! We'll cover how to use a 3D printer, how to design items to be printed in TinkerCAD, and numerous aspects of the design process: artistry, problem solving, slicing your files, and more! Laptops/tablets will be required for the class, although limited ones will be available for use each week.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Brian Jaffe

Learn all the ins and outs of 3D Design and 3D Printing! We'll cover how to use a 3D printer, how to design items to be printed in TinkerCAD, and numerous aspects of the design process: artistry, problem solving, slicing your files, and more! Laptops/tablets will be required for the class, although limited ones will be available for use each week.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Brian Jaffe

For those of you who already have experience in 3D Design and 3D Printing, this class will get more in-depth! We'll cover a variety of subjects related to bringing your designs to the next level, and there will be time every week for designing projects in-class, as well as chances for the students to print their own designs on the in-class 3D Printers!

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Brian Jaffe

This course focuses on analytic, argumentative, and persuasive writing. In the first half, students will learn key skills to enhance their writing, including the effective use of grammar, managing ideas across sentences and paragraphs, crafting purposeful storytelling, using primary and secondary sources, and making focused argumentative claims. Over the second half of the class, students will construct and refine a 1 - 2 page analytic piece on one of several topics offered by the instructor. The course will culminate in a mini-conference where students will present their projects and engage in peer discussions.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Sam Timinsky

How do we combine today's most powerful technologies with the biology of life to advance human health for the future? In Biotech Breakthroughs, we will explore how the basic unit of life, our cells, work every day to power our body. We will learn what happens when cells are not working correctly and how the biotechnology inventions created by scientists, doctors, and engineers are used to improve our quality of life. Throughout the course, students will be introduced various topics of molecular biology and learn how technology and engineering can be used to address global challenges related to health, agriculture, and energy.

Instructor: Matthew Chan

This chess class is designed to engage elementary age children in the strategic and exciting world of chess. The course incorporates engaging puzzles, videos, and fun head-to-head games with classmates to explore tactical patterns and essential winning techniques. Designed to foster critical thinking and strategic play, this course makes chess enjoyable and accessible for beginners, as well as a place where intermediate learners can continue to develop their game. Students will have the opportunity to play games with peers, develop new skills, and build confidence both on and off the board.

Instructor: Jordan Sherry-Wagner

How can we effectively communicate across different cultures and languages in our rapidly evolving and diverse world? Technology enhances our ability to develop essential 21st-century skills, such as creativity and digital literacy. In this class, students will learn how to convey messages or narratives using visuals, such as digital self-portraits, photography, composition techniques, and drawings, to engage their audience. We'll also explore layering techniques for digital painting and practice writing short scripts to design digital comic strips. All in-class materials, including an instant camera, will be provided.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Sidney Ying-Tung Lin

How do planes fly, and buildings stand tall? In this course, we will explore the fundamentals of engineering design and how we can use it to solve today's problems. Throughout the course, we will learn the how to use engineering design process to identify a problem, brainstorm a solution, design a prototype, and test the final product. Students will engage in multiple hands-on activities designed to challenge our creative and scientific minds and come up with new solutions to problems engineers face every day.

Instructor: Matthew Chan

In this class students will use historic primary sources to learn about and explore the various ways clothing has adapted to a changing environment and climate. Students will encounter photographs, drawings, video, fabrics, online content, and other visually rich historic materials and digital objects to see how fashion has changed and adapted to changing climate. As global discussions on Climate Change continue, through this class students will learn about their choices, decision making information, and cultural practices in order to better understand how to navigate today's drastically different climates. As a final project, students in small groups will design proposals for designing young people's clothing from adventure gear to fancy outfits for today's world.

Instructor: Itza Carbajal

Being able to speak comfortably and confidently in front of an audience is a valuable skill in many areas of life. This course will cover the fundamentals of public speaking, including voice projection and intonation, speech writing, effective gesturing, and audience engagement. Students will practice these skills across different speaking styles, such as informative, persuasive, and narrative presentations. The course is designed to be an enjoyable and interactive online space where everyone can learn to speak eloquently and confidently.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Jennifer Stephens

How people eat is important because it provides insight into the societies and cultures they come from. Likewise, what people eat is important because it tells us about the state of the world they live in. From ancient Greek Symposia (literally "to drink together") to Johnny Appleseed (yes, he was real!) and apple cider making on the American frontier, this course examines the history of food and eating as a fun excursion into world history. Each class will go into the history of a different food or meal, asking students to put themselves into the shoes of various types of eaters and chefs from times past. Every session will end with a real historical recipe, which students can choose to cook at home.

Instructor: Townsend Rowland

In this course, students will dive into the skeletal system of humans by learning the different regions of the skeleton from head to toe and many key landmarks on bones that help anatomists identify them.

Instructor: Paige Reed

This intermediate chess course is designed for students looking to deepen their understanding of chess. Building on basic knowledge, students will refine their skills in opening principles, midgame strategies, and endgame tactics. The course covers advanced piece movement, positional play, and introduces students to complex tactics such as forks, pins, and discovered attacks. Through puzzles, video tutorials, and competitive games with classmates, students will sharpen their strategic thinking and develop stronger problem-solving abilities. This class prepares students to advance in competitive play while enhancing their enjoyment of the game.

Instructor: Jordan Sherry-Wagner

This introductory chess class is designed to engage young learners in the strategic and exciting world of chess. Students will learn how to set up the board, move and capture pieces, and apply key opening, midgame, and endgame strategies. The course incorporates engaging puzzles, videos, and fun head-to-head games with classmates to explore tactical patterns and essential winning techniques. Designed to foster critical thinking and strategic play, this course makes chess enjoyable and accessible for beginners. Students will have the opportunity to play games with peers, develop new skills, and build confidence both on and off the board.

Instructor: Jordan Sherry-Wagner

In today's modern world, data is everywhere, but how can we make sense of all of it? In this course, we will learn the principles of data science using the R programming language, a powerful statistical computer language. We will learn how to collect and analyze data as we learn how to write code scripts in the R language to program our data analysis. Finally, we will demonstrate the importance of data visualization in order to present informed conclusions about our data. Prior computational experience or knowledge is not required, but a personal laptop device is required.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Matthew Chan

Should we have school dress codes? Should students be assigned homework? This course explores debate, teaching students how to support their ideas and argue effectively. Debate is a fun, engaging way for students to practice public speaking, develop sound logic and reasoning skills, and build confidence and self-esteem. Students will learn to express their opinions assertively and respectfully on a range of relevant issues. The course includes Zoom breakout rooms for team collaboration and one-on-one interaction with the instructor. It will culminate in a tournament, providing students with a taste of competitive debate.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Jennifer Stephens

Ever wonder what it's like to participate in a trial? Introduce evidence? Question witnesses? In this course, students will participate in a mock trial. Each session presents a new set of case facts, ensuring that even returning students will have a fresh courtroom experience. This introduction to law will include lessons on rules of evidence, direct and cross examination, and courtroom decorum. Students will be a part of every aspect of the trial so come prepared to act as advocate, witness, and jury!

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Jennifer Stephens

You'll never look at a superhero the same after this course! Students will learn about several topics in human physiology, from sweating to hearing, through the discussion of popular superheroes and what really makes their abilities super.

Instructor: Paige Reed

This course is a broad content course that would walk students through 3 major issues facing the US/ Seattle in the present day. The class will proceed first through 3 two week rotations. Weeks 1, 3, 5 would be content days where students will engage with the major issue from one side's perspective (say the average Republican voter, for example) and Weeks 2, 4, 6 would deal with the same topic but from another perspective. Students would engage in various activities like political poster making, Instagram post making, speech making, etc. to try and "reach" a given group to try and convince them to vote based on a given issue. Week 7 will be a prep day for a final team style debate where the students will engage in during week 8 on one of the topics that we have already covered in class. Families will be surveyed regarding which topics they prefer before the class and the instructor will prepare content for the top three selections by families. Some example topic options are (this is not a complete list): tariffs, Washington state income taxes, free speech, Seattle housing, emergency relief funding, the war in Ukraine, and AI.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Sam Timinsky

In this introductory class, students will learn about storytelling tools and techniques to explore, understand and tell personal stories. Students will learn about the art of storytelling and the various uses of traditional and modern digital methods to tell stories. Traditional storytelling techniques include oral histories, poems, drawing, map making, and dance. Students will also explore digital storytelling methods through digital photography, audio recording, and video. Learning the art of storytelling will empower young learners to better express themselves, as well as find inspiration and hope through observations, imagination, and creativity derived from families to pets or the environment and dreams.

Instructor: Itza Carbajal

Students will learn to use storytelling tools and techniques to explore, understand, and tell one of their most important personal stories, the college application personal statement. We'll begin with an introduction to storytelling methods such as oral histories and visual stories, moving on to other non-digital tools such as written books and dance. Students will then learn about digital storytelling tools such as digital photographs and online digital humanities platforms. As the final project, students will design and create their future college application personal statement from the perspective of their early adolescent selves selecting either a print or digital format.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Itza Carbajal

How does writing and craft feature in world-building? What goes into making a fictional world as vivid as our own? In this course, students investigate the way an immersive fictional world requires recurring rules, internal logic, and sensory detail, while intertwining these with the basic building blocks of fiction: tone, pace, and narrative arcs, among other core components. We'll look at popular examples--Airbender flight in Avatar the Last Airbender, the eagles and Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings, time-turners in Harry Potter--and examine why these questions might arise and how to move around them in our own fiction. On a broader level, this course will ask students to look at the world we live in, and to think critically about what is replicated in fantasy worlds and what we assume about the landscapes of fiction. This course will culminate in one final short story set in a fantasy world we have built together as a class, with any variations a student might come up with themselves.

Please note: This course requires the use of a laptop or similar device. The Robinson Center can provide a device if your child does not have access.

Instructor: Sanjana Ramesh

This course aims to expand students' understanding on the many ways perspective can influence fiction writing. We will move through perspectives commonly used in fiction that they may be familiar with (first-person singular and third-person singular) as well as less common perspectives (second-person singular and first-person plural) that are more commonly found in creative nonfiction and literary fiction. Through a multitude of readings spanning multiple sub-genres, students will engage in critically thinking about the way perspective can change the overall voice, tone, and direction a piece takes. Students will also construct their own stories with a focus on perspective and engage in elevating each other's fiction through peer review.

Instructor: Sanjana Ramesh