Arlington Community Education

Discover how apps work and learn how to make your own. In this no-experience-required course, we will make fun, creative apps for Android phones and tablets using MIT App Inventor software. We will also explore wireless communication by building custom bluetooth hardware controllers and readouts for our apps.

Master your engineering skills and explore architecture using tens of thousands of LEGO parts. Design and build as never before, and explore your craziest ideas in a supportive environment. Build structures like tunnel boring machines, stilt houses, and teacup rides, or construct elaborate houseboats, heavy-duty forklifts, and Big Ben clock towers.You can sign up for one week or more—we’ll focus on different projects each time.

Learn about what it means to write, debug, and execute computer programs that communicate with different robotic devices. Using the power of code, we’ll turn Sphero SPRK+ robots into Magic 8 Balls, automated Red Light/Green Light games, and the arcade classic Pong. Unruly Splats will become voting machines, relay races, guessing games, or anything else you can think of.

Have fun doing creative hands-on experiments that go beyond what you would learn in school. We’ll dabble in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Focus on things that fly by constructing paper helicopters, launching straw rockets, and participating in a paper airplane challenge. Build a marble maze, a spaghetti tower, and more. Do chemistry experiments, explore electricity, and get “attracted” to magnetism, then make a flip book about our experiments to take home and share.

Spend your time learning about science through food. Each day you’ll explore and experiment with edible creations. Join us to build DNA molecules out of candy, extract DNA from strawberries, and design and build solar ovens to make your own s’mores. You’ll recreate phases of the moon using Oreos, experiment with lemons and lemonade, and even make ice cream in a bag. Who knew science could be so delicious?

This exciting fusion of art and mathematics will ignite your creativity and challenge your problem-solving skills. Activities will include making large-scale cartoon dilations, designing geometric tangrams, exploring repeated patterned tessellations inspired by M.C. Escher, and crafting intricate curves from segments through string art. Whether you choose to experiment with all the projects or focus on perfecting one detailed piece, you’ll discover how math and art can come together in surprising ways.

Minecraft is more than just a game—it’s a creative tool that allows players to design and experience feats of engineering, stunning structures, and epic works of art. We’ll visit fantasy worlds, travel to space, explore modern architecture, and more. Design and build your own architectural creations inspired by your exploration while learning the meaning of good digital citizenship and practicing teamwork.

Using LEGO, explore real-world concepts in physics, engineering, and architecture while building your favorite Minecraft mods, tools, and objects. Build an Iron Golem, the Nether Portal, the Ender Dragon, and more.

Get your gears turning in this creative class where you’ll be challenged to turn simple mechanisms into complex creations. Transform a lever into an elastic catapult, use gears to engineer a belt-driven gondola, and more. Collaborate with classmates or work towards a personal best as we apply real-world concepts to LEGO challenges.

Unlock your creativity and become a Minecraft mastermind by engineering your own interactive escape room. Discover the secrets of redstone, Minecraft’s powerful circuit system, to build traps, locks, and hidden mechanisms. Design devious challenges and clever contraptions that will keep players guessing at every turn. Along the way, you’ll test your creations, collaborate with teammates, and fine-tune your designs—just like a professional engineer.

Love running obstacle courses in real life or video games? Create your own in Minecraft! Learn to design jaw-dropping courses that will amaze your friends and push your skills to new heights. Discover how to build bouncing platforms, set up pressure plates, create daring 60-foot jumps, and more. Challenge your creativity and push Minecraft’s physics to the limit as you construct the ultimate obstacle course.

Let’s get creative with electricity! In this hands-on electronics course, gain experience creating your own electronics. Design custom light-up greeting cards, electric games, mazes, and even musical instruments. Each day consists of a circuitry lesson and a hands-on project, using components like lights, buzzers, switches, motors, and sensors.

Build and program robots while developing basic programming, problem solving, and teamwork skills. Grades 3-5: Learn basic programming skills and use motors, sensors, and lights to build a variety of different robots in this introductory robotics class. Grades 6-8: Learn about mechanical and software design, loops, and conditional statements as you design and construct a robot that can avoid obstacles, pick up and carry objects, and play sounds.

Creativity and curiosity collide as you bring scientific concepts and inventions to life through 2D and 3D projects. Experiment with graph paper and simple techniques to create stunning 2D drawings and eye-popping 3D illusions. Use modeling clay, cardboard, and other materials to design and build unique models. Craft intricate chain reaction contraptions or marble mazes using all kinds of materials. You’ll have the freedom to explore the areas of art and science that spark your imagination the most.

Travel through history following thrilling true-story adventures of the Cold War, Titanic, and Forbidden City. Get introduced to each time period by watching a short cinematic Minecraft film. Then take on the role of a famous historical figure such as President John F. Kennedy or Emperor Yongle. Try to find an imposter on the sinking Titanic, skydive into the Forbidden City to loot treasure, survive endless waves of zombies and other Minecraft mobs in the U.S. Pentagon, and more, in authentic Minecraft recreations of these historic locations.

Explore the world of money and become a financial pro! Learn how to set goals, stick to a budget, and make smart money decisions. Spend time online, researching rental properties, exploring stocks, and planning essentials for your own business. Play fun financial games and stock market simulations to understand how cash flow, credit cards, and compound interest work. You’ll create a financial portfolio and a business pitch deck to showcase your new skills.

Form your own architectural firm and start imagining the skyscraper of your dreams. From the mathematical calculations every good architect must make to the history of how the elevator revolutionized Manhattan, you’ll learn about key elements of architectural design and engineering. Create a stunning blueprint that considers sustainability, transportation, and green spaces. Then bring your vision to life with a LEGO model. Present your architectural masterpiece to your peers and showcase why your tower will be the defining structure of the 21st century.