City Lab
City Lab includes a range of experiential, exploratory courses. These courses will be primarily 1-2 week explorations. Topics include art, cooking, languages, digital storytelling, 3D modeling and printing, and more.
Interior Masthead
Teacher: Sarah Kelly & Ian Lockey
Dates: June 28 - July 9, (1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.)
Cost: $120; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students in grades nine through twelfth grade.
This course will focus on antiracist education for students who identify as white. During this two-week course, we will discuss our own white racial identities, internal biases, racism in America, and strategies we can employ to help to resist oppressive power systems and work towards becoming antiracist individuals. We will also read, over the course of the six sessions, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's book How To Be An Antiracist and discuss the implications of its contents for our daily lives as white people. This course is open to students at all stages of racial identity development, whether you are new to the work or have been doing the work for a while, and is intended to be one step on a lifelong journey of becoming antiracist.
Teacher: Dan Deslaurier
Prerequisite: Students will be rising third, fourth, or fifth graders during the coming 2021-22 school year.
Choose your favorite from six different weekly sessions, or try all six!
Session 1: My Summer Sketchbook
Date: June 21 - 25, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $245
Student artists will learn a variety of decorating techniques and create painted papers with which they can mix, match, and trade with each other to design their own hand-stitched sketchbook. We’ll take our books out onto the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to enjoy our own sketching adventures!
Session 2: Parkway Pillows
Date: June 28 - July 2, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $195
Student artists work from sketches and photographs of scenes from the Ben Franklin Parkway to create images which can be drawn on or transferred to fabric and hand-sewn onto their own personally designed stuffed pillow!
Session 3: Mixed-Media Monuments
Date: July 5 - 9, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $245
Student artists learn about the role of monuments as historic memorials or beautiful places of inspiration. Inspired by walking field trips on the Parkway and around our Center City campus, student artists design, draw and build mini-monuments and statues of their own.
Session 4: My Mosaic - Week One
Date: July 12 - 16, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $245
During the first week of our My Mosaic offering, student artists learn about the art of mosaic. We will design and create mosaic-inspired printing plates and prints, and also have the opportunity to create our own hand-built, glazed, and fired ceramic art, which can than then used as part of a mosaic panel created in our Week Two offering.
(COVID protocols permitting, this Week One class will feature a field trip to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.)
Session 5: My Mosaic - Week Two
Date: July 19 - 23, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $245
During the second week of our My Mosaic class, student artists will be introduced to and experiment with traditional mirror, glass and ceramic materials while designing and creating one-of-a-kind mosaic panels. Those student artists who participated in our Week One sessions will be able to use their ceramic art in the creation of these panels.
Session 6: Savasana Stuffies
Date: July 26 - 30, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $245
Students learn about and practice the yoga position of Savasana (the relaxation pose) and how it helps one to clear their minds and relax their bodies. We’ll design and sew small stuffed friends, inspired by Parkway Icons, to hold on our bellies during the pose, a tool to help us focus on breathing deeply and remaining still.
Teacher: Wayne Pennington
Dates: July 12- July 16 (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.)
Cost: $180; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students in middle school
Ever wondered how a city works? Students will learn about our local city government and government operations, as well as the components of a city. Using that research and field trips around Center City for inspiration, students will then construct their own city in a large group project.
Teacher: Steph Demko
Dates: One week sessions from July 12 - August 2, with class on Monday, Wednesday, Friday (9:30 - 11:00 a.m.)
Cost: $180 for all four weeks, $45 per week; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students in fourth grade and up
In Summer Cooking Class, students will have the opportunity to develop their own cooking skills. The recipes chosen will be ones that students can independently create. We will make an assortment of foods including breakfast, lunch, and dinner options as well as some quick snacks and of course, a few desserts! We will also talk about the importance of a balanced diet and fueling our bodies. A survey will be sent to students prior to the course to allow for student input into the recipe choices. A grocery list for the week will also be supplied prior to the week's classes.
Teacher:
Mary Beth Hertz & Colleen Law
Dates: July 13 - July 16; 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $
120; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students in kindergarten to 2nd grade
Participants will explore creating animations and games using MIT's drag and drop coding tool, Scratch. The first day will consist of a basic overview of Scratch and learning how to use the tool. On days two & three, participants will plan build their projects and on day four they will present their projects. Class size set to 16 students.
Teacher: Bryan Skelly
Dates: July 12 - July 16; 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Cost: $180; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For middle school students
Using smart phones or other devices, I would like to explore the various settings in Philadelphia. I'd like to work with students to create a visual narrative of the city. Students should pack a lunch for this course. We will discuss photography, editing, and filtering images to tell a story.
Teacher: Kellie Bowker and Amy Danford
Dates: July 5- July 9 (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
Cost: $120; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students entering ninth grade and up
If you've ever had cheese, pickles or kombucha you have some knowledge of fermentation. Making some of these things at home is cheaper, more sustainable and easy. This class will be very hands-on, as we will be exploring different methods of fermentation. At the end of the week, you will have the knowledge to create your own fermentation station.