There’s nothing quite like gathering up the family and spending a rainy Saturday wandering the halls of a favorite museum. You may not recall your very first visit to a museum, but most adults can still remember a distinct impression made by a visit during their childhood, whether it was the excitement of a scientific […]
THE BRAIN CHASE BLOG
Adventure Learning in the Natural World
A few years ago I read Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv, and it gave me a good and solid scare. I already knew about ADD, ADHD, a host of speech and language disorders, and even PDD (Personality-Deficit Disorder, a condition my college roommates and I made […]
The Ugly Sapling and Other Inspirations for Earth Day
In 1912, the people of Japan sent 3,020 cherry trees to the United States as a gift of friendship. First Lady Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., and the rest were planted around that inlet, along […]
How Does Brain Chase Track Students’ Work?
Brain Chase offers summer adventurers “personalized learning” opportunities through some of the best online learning curriculum providers on the web. But what exactly does that mean? First of all, it’s important to understand that Brain Chase is not a curriculum creator. We have not written curricula for various grades or age groups. We’ve simply partnered […]
The Deal with Pluto
So, what’s the deal with Pluto? You probably know it’s not a planet anymore. This I learned from my oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten a few years ago. And that was as much as I could tell you about it…until we took a field trip to the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and […]
Can You Dig It? #Funfindfriday
Until Max and Mae Merriweather hit the scene, Harrison Ford’s depiction of heart-throb archaeologist Indiana Jones was pretty much the coolest (or only) archaeologist in pop culture. I think it’s worth mentioning, though, that Archaeology is so much more than a costumed celebrity. Yes, the inquisitive heroes of history may wear a khaki top now […]
An Hour (or More) of Code
When I arrived as a freshman at my college dorm in 1993, I brought with me a thrift store shower caddy, an assortment of mismatched towels and sheets from home, and a computer, a hand-me-down monstrosity from my Dad, who had upgraded. It took me three trips to lug all the components up to my […]
Where Do Buried Treasures Come From?
“I think we can come up with something better than that.” That was the first thing my friend Russ Aldridge said to me when I told him I was meeting with jewelry designers to commission a golden globe for the Brain Chase treasure. “Why don’t you come by our office tomorrow and we’ll sketch some […]
But What About Family Trips and Sleepaway Camps?
We often get asked about how Brain Chase can fit into existing summer plans. Whether you’re traveling overseas, visiting areas without wifi, or sending your kids to an ever-memorable sleepaway camp, Brain Chase is custom-built to fit your sense of adventure. It’s all based on the model of the program; we incorporate flexibility into every step […]
Five Mindsets to Change About How Schooling Must Be
History is full of examples of people who thought that how things were was how they always must be. Consider these fixed mindsets from the past: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977 “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” […]