The Synapse Science & Technology Learning Center is coming to Eagle Creek in the late fall. Synapse aims to provide a unique after-school program where children will innovate, invent and be inspired in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

It has been said time and again that children are the future. While this is undoubtedly true, it is up to us as parents and to our community to provide them with the opportunities to learn and develop the skills that will serve them well in that future. We are already in the middle of the 4th Industrial Revolution that will fundamentally change the way we live, work and relate to each other. For context, the 1st revolution was the steam, water, and mechanical production revolution in 1784. The 2nd was division of labor, electricity and mass production around 1870, while the 3rd was electronics, IT, automated production around 1969 and some say the Internet in 2001. However, the world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, have identified the 4th Revolution as the Digital Revolution.

Klaus Schwab states, “Now, a 4th Industrial Revolution is building on the 3rd, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the 20th century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited. And these possibilities will be multiplied by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing. Already, artificial intelligence is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest.”

In addition, President Obama has identified three overarching priorities for STEM education: increasing STEM literacy so all students can think critically in science, math, engineering, and technology; improving the quality of math and science teaching so American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nations; and expanding STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and minorities.

Why Do We Raise This in an Article About a New After-School Program? 

Well, Synapse Science & Technology Learning Center is built upon a curriculum of STEM enrichment programs in Robotics, Programming, Internet of Things or IoT, 3-D design+printing, and due to the strong correlation between math and music, a music enrichment offering. This curriculum represents the areas that are called out as part of the Digital Revolution and the future our children will face.

Maria and Vernon Lee recognized the need for students to learn about STEM-related fields and to be able to practice and develop their skills through hands-on, experiential classes through their two boys, ages 13 and 11. The boys wanted to do more than just learn about STEM; they wanted to program and build their own robots. As a result, the Lees put their sons into programs such as Digital Media Academy and IDTech, and they loved it. Maria and Vernon wanted to offer a similar setting in our community for summer camps, with all the same qualities at a more affordable cost to parents, and to expand beyond summer to a full-year, after-school program. Synapse Science and Technology Learning Center was formed, aimed at providing these opportunities for STEM learning to your children.

Syn-apse (noun) is the point at which a nervous impulse passes from one neuron to another.

This past summer, Synapse Science & Technology Learning Center offered summer workshops in Robotics, and Programming for children ages 5-15 with St. John Vianney School in Orlando; it was a huge success with 300% projected enrollment. The feedback has been nothing short of phenomenal and led them to Moss Park Elementary, where they are negotiating to offer a bridge program until their facility is completed.

They are in process of building a permanent facility at Eagle Creek Village and once opened will offer robotics enrichment with Lego Mindstorms EV3, VEX Robotics IQ, Ozobot, and they are always looking for the latest robotics education to constantly keep the program interesting and fresh.  They also will have programming-enrichment programs that will leverage Scratch (developed by MIT Media labs), Microsoft Visual Studio, Unity, Arduino, Python and more.  They will offer 3D Design and Printing, with curriculum from MakerBot, AutoDesk, Ultimaker and others.  They will have IoT enrichment classes with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, LittleBits and more for the future engineers and inventors.  They are designated as a Microsoft DreamSpark school, Unity Education school, a LittleBits Orlando Chapter, plus much more, which means that your children will have access to the latest technology, including HTC Vive and Microsoft Hololens for Unity 3D programming and play.

The instructors are students of Robotics, Engineering, Math and Science at UCF and Rollins, but most of all they love working with children and helping them see how exciting these fields can be.  They look forward to an exciting year ahead and anxiously await the opening of their facility for a fun year of learning.

If you are interested, you can contact them at info@s2tlc.org or 407.574.8904.  More information on the many programs and technology partners can be found at http://www.s2tlc.org.

Biographies:

Maria Lee has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s in Finance. She holds a National Child Development Associates and a Directors Credential.  Maria has nine years of experience in Early Childhood Development. She has been a Substitute Teacher, Preschool and Prekindergarten Teacher, Assistant Director, Director and Curriculum Director. She brings an enormous amount of childcare experience to this learning center. She has developed an excellent reputation with parents and students.

Vernon Lee has a Master’s and a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science. In addition, he has an Executive MBA from MIT Sloan School and is a Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP). Mr. Lee is the Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Services, Federal.