鈥淎 house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.鈥� -Benjamin Franklin

In August of 2017, 优蜜视频鈥檚 long search to find a permanent physical space to offer our classes, workshops and meetings came to an end. By September, we opened the doors to 540 S. Marengo Avenue in Pasadena, welcoming excited students, parents and teachers into the new 优蜜视频 facility.

A gorgeous craftsman structure on the historic registry, the house saw its public debut as a learning environment with an 优蜜视频 Academy teacher training and a few days later, students in our Fall Academy session arrived for classes. We hosted our Gifted Support Group for the first time at the house in November and in December, nearly 50 children and parents joined us for an Open House and Tree Trimming event to celebrate the season.

优蜜视频 Academy teachers gathered for training at 540 S. Marengo.

With help from 优蜜视频 team members, kids enjoy holiday craft-making at December鈥檚 Tree Trimming and Open House.

As with 优蜜视频鈥檚 programs and services, our recently acquired home is intended to provide an exploratory space to feed the minds of young intellects and nurture their personal growth as individuals. Based on the enthusiastic reception from children and parents alike, 540 S. Marengo is indeed providing that 鈥渇ood and fire鈥� Benjamin Franklin said a home requires.

This enthusiasm has manifested in an outpouring of not just support but also in-kind donations of books for the library, children鈥檚 furniture, plants and flowers, office furniture and more. Students are eagerly displaying their class and personal projects to share with others and one student is even hosting his podcast series at the house.

In addition to outfitting 优蜜视频 with three classroom spaces and a conference room/library, 540 S. Marengo provides office space for our program team. With high ceilings and plenty of windows offering a lot of light, the house is comfortable and airy. Parents often congregate in the library or on the porch while their children are in class, sharing resources and ideas on how best to support their gifted child.

Eager young scientists in Academy鈥檚 Brain Anatomy class are prepared for learning with their safety gear.

A student in Academy鈥檚 STEM Building class observes the results of their design, using the open space of the house to carry out her experiment.

As wonderful as 540 S. Marengo is as a learning space for our community, 优蜜视频 envisions an even greater space. With the support of local foundation funders, we are planning to turn the kitchen into a science lab, complete with equipment and safety features that would allow for deep scientific and exploratory learning. Anticipated technology upgrades will enable rich, interactive discovery and allow our teachers and program team to add even more rigor to our courses.

The doors of 540 S. Marengo are always open to our gifted community. If you鈥檙e interested in a tour or looking for summer enrichment opportunities for your gifted child, we invite you to join us for our upcoming Open House on April 13^th. Swing聽by for class demonstrations, to meet Academy teachers and for your kids to enjoy craft-making.

Have ideas for 优蜜视频鈥檚 new home? Tell us in the comments section below or email us at 优蜜视频gifted@educationaladvancement.org.

]]> /blog-giftedness-finds-home/feed/ 0 /blog-explore-2016-recap/ /blog-explore-2016-recap/#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2016 04:30:38 +0000 https://ieadev.wpengine.com/blog-explore-2016-recap/ 产测听狈颈帽补听Abonal, Program Coordinator

鈥淭ell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.鈥�

Benjamin Franklin鈥檚 quote embodies the sort of impact a mentor can have in a young person鈥檚 life. Mentors are truly extraordinary individuals who are willing to share and dedicate their time, expertise, knowledge and skills to positively influence the lives of young people. They get them involved in relevant work and activities that extend beyond the confines of their classroom and nurtures their interests and passions.

This summer, 优蜜视频 introduced its reimagined mentorship program for high school students, EXPLORE, which is short for Externships Providing Leadership Opportunities for Research and Education. In its inaugural year, 22 highly motivated and exceptional high school students were selected to extern at 12 mentor sites throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, including Art Center College of Design, Caltech, Children鈥檚 Hospital Los Angeles, CoachArt, Kadenze, and various departments within UCLA and USC. While most students were Los Angeles natives, others traveled from out-of-state, including Rhode Island, Illinois, and Washington, to spend a summer immersed in research work. They represented a diverse population of learners from different cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. They also brought with them unique talents and an impressive list of academic and personal accolades.

To kick off the program, all externs participated in a day-long Professional Development Orientation hosted at the Art Center College of Design, one of 优蜜视频鈥檚 long-standing mentor sites. During orientation, students met their fellow externs, participated in team building activities, listened to a talk from Caltech Mentor Dr. Lynne Hillenbrand, and learned about professional skills to prepare them for their externship.

For most high school students, there are few opportunities in a traditional classroom to delve into an area of study for an extended period of time. Their daily schedule and academic grind often forces them to spread their focus on a laundry list of classes, assignments, exams and extra-curricular activities. EXPLORE externs, however, had the unique opportunity to apply their learning beyond the classroom and pursue their passions and interests in a specific field of study. Each extern engaged in two to six weeks of summer research work and projects with mentors who were preeminent professionals in their field. Externs worked in a variety of professional settings, from research laboratories and university classrooms to business offices and creative tech spaces. Externs based in academic lab settings were exposed to the often arduous, but intellectually stimulating, task of reading research papers on their topic, running lab tests, learning new computer programming language, compiling and analyzing data, and contributing their findings in a final research paper. Conversely, externs based at creative sites participated in hands-on workshops to strengthen their artistic skills, collaborated on projects with college-level students and professionals, gained exposure to new technologies for producing artistic works, and learned about the important roles and operations within a successful organization. Externs not only conducted real-world, college-level research, and were exposed to a variety of professional environments, but they also learned valuable life skills like taking public transportation to work and navigating their way around large college campuses.

Upon completion of the program, externs presented their final research or project during EXPLORE鈥檚 Culmination Celebrations, held at the Barder House on July 8^th and July 22^nd. During these events, we celebrated the accomplishments of our externs and learned about the impressive work they completed at their respective sites. Students presented on such research topics as: statistical trends in the use of the word 鈥渆volve鈥� and its variants, liposome synthesis, drawbridge message authentication, analytical technologies to measure human performance, and necrotizing enterocolitis. The hard work and level of sophistication of each research project was evident as each extern spoke eloquently and proudly about their work. There is no doubt that these talented young people will be paving the way for innovative research in the future.

In addition to having a brilliant cohort of EXPLORE externs, the program would not be possible without the support of our Mentors who cultivated their skills, talents, and interests. 优蜜视频 would like to extend our gratitude to EXPLORE 2016 Mentors:

If you are a high school student who would like to gain real-world experience and study a specific field of interest, consider applying to EXPLORE next summer! Check out the for updates about deadlines and future mentor sites.

Like this post? to receive more stories, information, and resources about gifted youth straight to your inbox.

Ni帽a Abonal graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Elementary Education. She later returned to LMU to earn聽her Master of Arts in Educational Studies. With a decade of experience working聽in educational non-profits, she has taken on various roles including tutoring K-8 students in all subject areas, providing SAT prep, serving as a college advisor for a virtual college access program, and coordinating internships for high school students. During her free time, she enjoys volunteering, hiking, exploring new places to eat, and spending time with her family. She is eager to continue her passion working with youth at 优蜜视频 and hopes to continually seek innovative ways to improve the quality of and access to educational resources for all students.