Field Trips for G.A.T.E. Students

(Due to the Corona virus, we are unable to offer Field Trips at this time.)

Here’s a little-known fact: Research has shown that most gifted children do not fulfill their promise when they reach college and beyond.

Surprised? Gifted children succeed in elementary school because they’re good at coming up with the right answer. But in the real world, they often encounter problems for which there is no known answer, no formula they can apply to come up with the “right” solution. So they don’t know where to begin.

Fear of Failure: In our classes, we’ve observed that gifted students will often try to figure out what the solution should be before they’ll even attempt to manipulate the materials. Sometimes they’ll spend the entire class thinking about it! Meanwhile, the less academically-oriented students will jump right in and try something. If it doesn’t work, they’ll try something else. Eventually, they’ll come up with a solution — sometimes several solutions — while their more gifted classmates are still trying to figure it out in their heads.

This reluctance to try something without knowing what the outcome will be stems from a fear of failure. All their lives, gifted children have been rewarded for being right. So getting it “wrong,” even in an experimental situation, feels threatening and can leave them virtually paralyzed.

The Solution: Rock-it Science’s G.A.T.E. classes are specially designed to help your gifted child get past this fear of failure. We give them experiments that they can’t figure out in their heads. They have to use trial and error to discover what works. And with no grades or tests to worry about, they can explore freely and get comfortable with the process. They will also learn how to collaborate with and seek help from their fellow students.

Don’t let your child’s genius wither on the vine. Schedule a field trip to Rock-it Science, where they can learn to fail safely — and enjoy it!

Select lessons from the list below for your G.A.T.E. group’s visit to the amazing Rock-it Science laboratory.

G.A.T.E. Field Trip Structure & Pricing:

Email us to schedule a Field Trip.

Location:
Rock-it Science
2110 Walsh Ave., Suite F
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Map & Directions

Price: $240 per hour. Minimum 2 hours, maximum 4 hours. Maximum 36 students per group.

Duration: Lessons are 60 minutes each. Choose from our G.A.T.E. Field Trip Experiment List below.

Event Times: Mondays, anytime between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm. By appointment only.

Student Ages: A group may include students from Kindergarten through 5th Grade.

Chaperones Required: At least two adult chaperones who know the children by name and can keep them orderly so the instructor can focus on the science lesson.

Static Levitation: Work with others to create a lightweight spaceship and then use static electricity to make the spaceship hover in space.
Roller Coasters: Work with your partners to make a roller coaster with as many energy transformations as you can.
Parachute Toss: Work as a group to try to throw a water balloon high in the sky with the parachute as a human-powered launcher.
Box Towers: Work with partners to build a tower of boxes as tall as possible with only one box touching the floor.
An Electrifying Experience: Try to generate enough electricity to power motors, lights, bells, fans, and electromagnets with you as the only source of energy.
Lasers and Mirrors: Work with partners to make a laser beam hit as many mirrors as possible.
Sunken Rafts: Make a raft that will hold as many pennies as possible.
Slow Fall: Make a piece of paper fall as slowly as possible using information generated by the entire group.
Straw Tower: Work with partners to make a tower out of straws to support a plastic bear as high as possible.
Magnetism: Work with partners to find ways to pick up heavy steel objects using weak magnets.
Sampson’s Columns: See how many books you can support with one sheet of ordinary paper. The record is over 150 pounds!
Water Bottle Rockets: Experiment with ways to make your rocket go as far and high as possible.