Away With Words: Lexical Play for Logophiles

Presenter: Melody Hsu

Word-lovers unite! We live in a wonderful world of words. For these three days, they will be our playground. In this program, we will ponder, mull, and chew over words and their nuances, and consider how we can use them thoughtfully, creatively, and precisely, to reflect and impact the world around us. In this program, the word is our oyster.

Away With Words is a journey of enriching guided discovery and inquiry experiences. Catering to a diversity of student strengths, needs, interests, and learning preferences, activities include:

• Investigating terminology of word study through games and discussion
• Experimenting with language patterns to manipulate style and tone in creative writing
• Applying visual communication techniques to convey meaning without words
• Inventing new vocabulary based on how words and meanings originate

Purposefully crafted to engage, challenge, and inspire advanced young learners in deep, complex, and innovative thinking, this program intentionally builds cross-curricular connections, and extends beyond the school curriculum. 

Away With Words invites the gifted word enthusiast to immerse themselves in playful rigour as they discern the true significance of the words we choose and use.

The Games People Play: Critical and Creative Thinking, Including AI, for Toys and Games Design

Presenter: Timothy Huang and Dr Vladimir Tosic

Why do people play games, and how do toys reflect the culture of their time? In this hands-on workshop, gifted and twice-exceptional students in Years 3–4 will investigate the world of toys and games before becoming designers themselves.

Students will begin by exploring classic toys and games, pulling them apart to see how they work and what makes them appealing. They will also learn about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on playing diverse games, from Tic-Tac-Toe Chess to complex multi-player video games. From there, they’ll design and build their own games (with reference to AI image/pose recognition), test them with peers, and refine their creations based on feedback. Along the way, students will consider how toys, games and AI can influence the way people play and participate. Through age-appropriate examples, they will explore inclusive design, safe and responsible play, fairness in AI systems, and the influence of popular culture

What your child will do:

• Deconstruct existing toys and games to see how they are designed.
• Create original board games, toys or digital prototypes.
• Train child-safe machine learning AI to recognise images or poses, which can be used as a part of a game.
• Work collaboratively to develop a toy/game and its game company, complete with a logo, slogan and products.
• Pitch and showcase their creations at a “mini convention” with classmates.

What your child will gain:

• Critical and creative thinking through playful design.
• Skills in collaboration, problem-solving and innovation.
• A deeper appreciation of how culture, psychology and technology shape the games we play.

The Games People Play gives advanced learners an opportunity to explore, design and reimagine the toys and games of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Role-Playing Games: Adventures and Decisions

Presenter: Victor Jauregui

Step into a world of imagination where every choice matters! In this workshop, gifted and twice-exceptional students in Years 5–6 will explore the world of role-playing games (RPGs), both as players and as designers.

As players, students will create their own characters and embark on fantasy adventures with friends. Their problem-solving, creativity and decision-making will be tested at every turn: choose wisely and find glory, or misstep and face doom!

As designers, students will invent adventures, creatures, rules and challenges. They’ll build new worlds and game mechanics, then see how others play through them. Working in groups and individually, they’ll experience both sides of RPGs: storytelling and strategy, creation and play.

What your child will gain:

• Creative writing and world-building skills.

• Confidence in decision-making, problem-solving and collaboration.

• Opportunities to design characters, rules and adventures.

• A chance to showcase their talents in storytelling, art, strategy or performance.

More than just games, Adventures and Decisions is a workshop about imagination, teamwork and exploring the impact of choices.

Cosmology: Life, the Universe and Everything
Presenter: Carl Gibbs

From the Big Bang to black holes, cosmology asks some of the biggest questions in science. In this workshop, gifted and twice-exceptional students in Years 7–8 will explore the origin, structure, and future of the universe.

Guided by Mr Carl Gibbs — longtime Scientia Challenge presenter, software engineer, and former Scientia student — students will journey through astronomy, relativity, quantum mechanics, and the history of cosmological thought.

Note: This is primarily a lecture-based course, reflecting the theoretical nature of cosmology.

Children will:

• Explore how the universe began and evolved.

• Investigate stars, galaxies, space, and time.

• Examine the theories and people that shaped cosmology.

• Discuss the latest developments in astronomy.

Students will engage with cosmology through lectures and discussion, deepening their scientific understanding and reasoning skills. The emphasis is on explanation and critical thinking, rather than practical activities.