Sonoma State's Excel for Youth Program Now Enrolling

Enrollment is now open for Sonoma State's Excel for Youth Program — a summer learning experience for 4th through 9th graders at the university, taught mostly by college professors. Accelerated classes focus on science, technology and the arts. Dates for this summers classes are:

• Session One (one week) June 25-29

• Session Two (two weeks) July 9-20

• Session Three (one week) July 23-27

According to organizers, students get experience in science labs, get access to great guest speakers, and there's plenty of field trips!

"An exciting variety of curriculums are designed to stimulate, challenge and provide young participants with resources that enhance their learning experience," officials siad. "EXCEL also makes learning fun."

Students will participate in a range of educational opportunities — from performing Shakespeare, to solving crimes, exploring chemistry, designing 3D animation, studying live animals and even building a large recycling sculpture!

The program offers one-week and two-week sessions from late June to late July. Classes are either offered in the morning or the afternoon. For students staying all day, there is a supervised one hour "lunch bunch" at no additional charge; students are supervised at all times.

Cost is about $150-$178 for one-week classes and $300-$345 for two-week classes. For more information, including background on the instructors, admissions and specifics on classes, visit the EXCEL program online.