The Innovation Institute — the leading STEM-focused academic enrichment program for grades K-12 in Greater Boston — will hold an open house Sunday, September 7, 2:30-5PM in its classroom laboratories at 288 Walnut Street, Suite 300, in Newtonville. Learn about courses for after school, for home school students, on weekends and during school vacations. Fall programs begin Wednesday, September 10 and will explore computer programming (Python), the science of renewable energies, neuroscience, and engineering immersion. A special high-school seminar, At the Biomedical Frontiers, will address the latest research in areas ranging from 3D printing applications to cancer therapeutics. For information, see theinnovationinstitute.org, call 617-340-9907, or email welcome@theinnovationinstitute.org.

Courses range widely, but here’s one example:  This summer, in a one-week mini-course on 3D Printing, middle-school students analyzed additive versus subtractive fabrication while creating Potatohenge. They worked on collaborative challenges that built teamwork skills, made individual Blue Sky presentations about the possibilities of 3D printing, and learned a bit of introductory CAD. They also visited labs at Harvard University, engaging with researchers and viewing demonstrations of amazing 3D printing applications.