Arlington Community Education

Join in entertaining and educational science experiments to gain an understanding of physics including Newton’s first, second, and third laws of motion, Newton’s law of gravity, and more. We'll make boats and rockets, make and play with marble runs and catapults, and experiment with many other fun physics projects.

Come join in on some coding fun. In this self-driven and self-paced course we will use Scratch Jr., Ozobots and code.org to explore coding and programming concepts that will bring computer screens to life. All junior coders are welcome.

Learn about the engineering and design process to build a sail car that rides the wind. Take the survivor engineering challenge and design a system to protect a passenger from flying out of a car when it crashes. Build basic circuits and experiment with insulators and conductors as we shift our focus to electricity. Make a light circuit and experiment with LED mini lights.

Build simple video games step-by-step, experimenting with specific tasks and movements, and sharing gameplay, while learning introductory coding concepts. Use the game design program Flowlab, a platform used by professional game designers, to prototype your creations using accessible drag-and-drop coding. Once the class is complete, students can gain access to their projects online.

Design and build sport-themed projects such as LEGO stadiums, pinball machines, and more. By applying basic physics concepts, you will learn and understand how to bring your inventions to life.

Combine LEGO elements with a programmable brick, motors, and sensors, to make creations that walk, talk, grab, and think. Build things like a humanoid robot, a slithering snake, a fork lift, an electric guitar, and a walking dinosaur.

Let your imagination run wild with tens of thousands of LEGO. Recreate the princesses, villains, and sidekicks you love, and then use them to tell animated stories in an enchanted world powered by LEGO resources.

Let your imagination run wild with tens of thousands of LEGO. Master The Way of the Mandalorian in this Star Wars inspired LEGO engineering experience. Venture through the galaxy, build grappling hooks, and rescue an ally from the treacherous Sarlacc Pit.

Get an introduction to programming as you create your own mods for Minecraft using the power of code. Build and customize fantastic worlds using Code Kingdoms, an intuitive coding interface that allows you to program on various levels, ranging from simple block coding to more complex Java. Run your codes and see your projects come to life in Minecraft. No prior experience required.

Use Roblox Studio to create your own Obby (short for obstacle course) video game. You’ll experiment with specific tasks and movements and share gaming with classmates while learning important STEM concepts of design, problem solving, and trial/error. All games will be stored online, so you can access them from home.

What makes a superhero super? Physics! Conduct gravity experiments to learn what it would take for Superman to leap over tall buildings in a single bound. Create optical illusions to understand how Wonder Woman’s jet can disappear. Investigate how Spiderman (and real spiders) can walk up walls. Examine Batman’s super gadgets and morph into the world of superheroes using the science that could make superheroes a reality.

We’ll explore the basic principles of 3D design by learning how to place, adjust, and combine shapes using Tinkercad. We’ll practice merging blocks and cylinders together, and learn to look at an object from all sides. As we design a solid object such as a small piece of furniture or a chess piece, we’ll explore how 3D modeling works. We’ll get to see the results in a 3D-printed finished product.

Learn programming for robotics through weekly challenges and trial and error with Dash, an intelligent Wonder robot. As you gain an understanding of the computer software, and increase your drag-and-drop coding skills, you will be able to direct your robot to move faster, slower, spin, avoid objects in its path, play music and other sounds, light up, and even play with you.