Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space KC

STEAM Learning for All

IDEA Space offers after school classes, summer camps and school partnerships for students in kindergarten-grade 12 throughout Kansas City.

Summer STEAM Camps

IDEA Space hosts Summer at Barstow STEAM camps for kindergarten through grade 12 all summer long. If your student wants to develop science, technology, engineering, arts and math skills through exciting hands-on activities, this is the place to be!

Summer at Barstow offers hundreds of camp adventures for every age, interest, schedule and budget. STEAM experiences include Challenge Island, 3D Printing Exploration, Comic Book Creators, PC Gaming, Modern Quilting, Drone Building, Virtual Reality and more.

AI Scholars Summer Program

Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our times. Will you be ready for it? This summer, students can prepare themselves with hands-on AI experience at an intensive program taught by instructors from Stanford and MIT. AI Scholars is a pre-college enrichment program that exposes curious students to artificial intelligence tools and technology through in-person classes. In Kansas City, it's offered exclusively at IDEA Space and open to every area student in grades 8-12.

The Inspirit AI Program

Inspirit AI was created to help students of all interests to understand and apply Artificial Intelligence to improve the world. What do self-driving cars, Alexa, ChatGPT and iPhone's face recognition technology have in common? What's next? And how can you apply AI skills in your college and career pursuits?

List of 4 items.

After School Classes

Looking for after-school activities that are enriching, active and fun for your child? IDEA Space students acquire future-proof skills and get comfortable with the technologies and tools that are shaping our future. After-school classes are offered at convenient times, Monday-Thursday. 

James Battmer, parent

"The technology and classes available at IDEA Space really knocked our socks off!"

Monday

List of 4 items.

  • Laser Etch Your Sketch

    What if you could turn your doodles into three dimensional objects? In this course, you will build your sketching and drawing skills and bring your physical artwork into the digital realm. Learn graphic design and photo editing to turn images into translucent lithophanes to be 3D printed and etch your images into objects of your own design with a laser cutter.

    Grades 4–8
    Mondays, January 13–March 10
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $210

  • Easy Bake Oven Chefs

    Baking for kids with a high-tech twist! Learn and practice 3D design skills using Tinkercad to create cookie cutters and stencils for 3D printing. Stir up your batter and bake desserts into whatever shapes you can imagine. At the end of camp, take home your new Easy Bake oven and all the custom kitchen accessories you designed.

    Grades K–3
    Mondays, January 13–March 10
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $250

  • IDEA-Saurus Dinosaur Puzzling

    This hands-on class invites students to color and assemble their own dinosaur puzzles while learning about life in the Mesozoic Era. These 3D puzzles were designed and laser-cut at IDEA Space specifically for this class and each student’s unique coloration will make every piece a one-of-a-kind work of educational artwork. At the end of the course, your collection of hand-colored dinosaur puzzles will go home with you to play with and display.

    Grades K–3
    Mondays, March 31–May 5
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $165

  • Claymation Movie Makers

    Learn how 3D animation was done the old-fashioned way, with clay and cameras! Develop a story and build your set, props and characters with modeling clay.  Shoot each frame of your motion picture to render together with a voiceover and soundtrack. By the end of the course, you’ll have a finished movie to share in a claymation film festival!

    Grades 4–8
    Mondays, March 31–May 5
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $190

Tuesday

List of 8 items.

  • The Knight School Chess Class

    The Knight School teaches students of all skill levels and ages to play chess. Beginners are welcome! This course features fast chess clocks, colorful silicone wristbands, zany movies, tournaments, tactics curriculum and a fun spirit that kids love. This semester-long class includes a chess set with first enrollment. Already taken this class? Repeat it to build your skills. 

    Grades 1–6
    Tuesdays, January 14–May 6 (full semester)
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $595

  • Cupcakes & Coding: Sprite Lab Shenanigans

    We are blazing new trails for a freestyle Cupcakes & Coding experience. This course uses the Sprite Lab on Code.org to grant young coders more freedom of expression than ever before. Learn to digitally paint or import any environment or character you can imagine to build applications that are truly your own. Nobody is too young to be a computer wizard or a cupcake connoisseur!

    Grades K–3
    Tuesdays, January 14–March 11
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $240

  • American Girl Doll Costuming

    Customize your American Girl dolls with unique outfits of your own design. Practice using a sewing machine and learn how to design miniature garments. Choose your textiles, sketch out your patterns, use a smart-cutting machine to cut fabric and sew each piece together. Your 18-inch tall friends never looked so good!

    Grades 4–8
    Tuesdays, January 14–March 11
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $250

  • Roblox Exploration

    Maybe you’ve hung out in Brookhaven or clashed with your friends in Bed Wars, but it’s likely that you’ve played at least one game in Roblox. Now you can learn how to build your own Roblox games using Roblox Studio. Set up your landscape, place and program your 3D assets and let the games begin! Work with your classmates to construct and race through a giant Roblox Obby (that’s Roblox lingo for obstacle course).

    Grades 4–8
    Tuesdays, January 14–March 11
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $225

  • Club SciKidz: Little Space Explorers

    Everything about space exploration is fascinating! Launching rockets, orbiting the moon, floating in microgravity and wearing high-tech space suits is something we all dream of as soon as we learn what an astronaut is. Learn about the celestial bodies in our solar system and how we use telescopes and robotic spacecraft to study them. In this class you will get a taste of life at NASA, and that isn’t just the astronaut ice cream we're talking about!

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Tuesdays, January 21–March 11
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $120

  • Cupcakes & Coding: Scratch Jr.

    This rendition of Cupcakes & Coding uses the free block-coding app from MIT, Scratch Jr., allowing students to program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they will learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. Everyone can code their way to success and celebrate with a cupcake toast!

    Grades K–3
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    Tuesdays, April 1–May 6
    $165

  • IDEA Launchers

    This camp takes model rocketry into the future using 3D printing to turn your ideas into rocket-powered aircraft.  Become familiar with Tinkercad and let your imagination be the guide as you take advantage of the rapid prototyping capabilities of IDEA Space to create, test-launch and reiterate until you have the rocket of your dreams. You won’t believe some of the crazy rocket designs that have made it off the launchpad!

    Grades 4–8
    Tuesdays, April 1–May 6
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $180

  • Club SciKidz: Little Paleontologist

    Build a rock-solid foundation in Earth sciences while being introduced to the history of life on our planet. Your little paleontologist will learn about a variety of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Rocks, minerals and fossils are studied while campers take on a variety of geology-themed projects. Pan for gems and minerals, build a volcano, make a cast of a sea shell fossil and excavate a dinosaur. 

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Tuesdays, April 1–May 6
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $120

Wednesday

List of 7 items.

  • Make Your Own Plushies

    Who doesn’t like to snuggle a little stuffed friend? In this class, you'll build foundational design and sewing skills and learn to create patterns and cut fabric using computer-aided manufacturing. Sew your characters together with a sewing machine and stuff them with plenty of fluff!

    Grades 4–8
    Wednesdays, January 15–March 12
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $275

  • Rube Goldberg Inventors

    This class is a must for all inventors, artists and engineers. Rube Goldberg was an inventor and cartoonist known for turning a simple task into a convoluted, multi-step mechanical process. Learn the principles of simple machines through hands-on challenges and use that knowledge to construct your own Rube Goldberg machines. Work together as a class to build an enormously clever mechanical wonder!

    Grades K–3
    Wednesdays, January 15–March 12
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $240

  • Mini IDEA Makers

    In Mini IDEA Makers you will get to know your creative side and make one-of-a-kind projects while building confidence and familiarity with crafting tools and materials. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of visual arts and study shapes and colors and how they are combined and used to represent objects and ideas. Learn how to draw and sculpt with clay, paper, fabrics and more to make expressive works of art.

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Wednesdays, January 15–March 12
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $135

  • Night Zookeeper Storytelling Workshop

    This internationally-acclaimed program gamifies language arts learning, engaging students in reading and writing as they compete to build their zoo’s collection of animals. Learners are prompted to develop their animals by answering questions that spark their creativity, and coached in ways to improve their grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. The Night Zookeeper program is a digital platform and will be accessible in and out of class so students can check their progress and practice their writing whenever inspiration strikes. 

    Grades 3–5
    Wednesdays, April 2–May 7
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $165

  • Sew Soft Circuits: Wearable Electronics

    Make your fashion function in ways you’ve never imagined!  Weave LEDs, conductive thread and power supplies into garments and accessories. Learn to design patterns and cut fabric using computer aided manufacturing. Sew your designs together and sport your shiny new bespoke look on the catwalk in a lights-out fashion show!

    Grades 4–8
    Wednesdays, April 2–May 7
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $180

  • Brick Bunch

    Building with LEGOs is always a blast, but this class takes the fun to the next level with new challenges and themes each week. Assemble and race clever vehicle designs, work separately and together as a class to create a space station, engineer and test bridges and towers learning science and engineering principles along the way. Your path to becoming a LEGO Master starts here!

    Grades K–2
    Wednesdays, April 2–May 7
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $165

  • Mad Science: Tiny Laboratory

    This tiny laboratory changes each week to study different facets of the natural sciences. Students will explore our solar system, study the life cycles of living organisms, and experiment with shapes and building techniques while building a noodle structure. Discover the joy of chemistry while experiencing chemical reaction demonstrations and study the speed of sound.

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Wednesdays, April 2–May 7
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $95

Thursday

List of 6 items.

  • Minecraft Maniacs

    Whether you are trying out the world of Minecraft for the first time or you’re well-versed in eluding Creepers and other mobs, this camp will be a fun time in the sandbox. With your team, you will face challenges and earn rewards in both creative and survival mode, all of which will lead to a grand tournament at the end of the course where teams will compete for the glory of it all.

    Grades 2–8
    4:30–5:45 p.m.

    Session I: Thursdays, January 16–March 13
    $225

    Session II: Thursdays, April 3–May 8
    $225

  • Pokémon Pokémakers

    This class will engage young Pokémon fans with exciting science demonstrations and a fun paint party each week. Participants will paint a collection of 3D printed Pokémon and study the natural phenomena associated with each character’s special abilities.  Harness Pikachu’s electricity, tame Charizard’s flames and get a taste of Vanillite’s sweet chill. 

    Grades K–3
    Thursdays, January 16–March 13
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $275

  • Weather Wonders

    Why is it hot and rainy in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter? What makes lightning crackle and wind howl and how does salt melt ice? Experience the wonders of the weather around us and the natural phenomena that shape it. Learn about the seasons of each year and why the weather changes with them with hands-on projects that build foundational science literacy.

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Thursdays, January 16–March 13
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $135

  • Laser Gliders

    Design, assemble and fly your own laser-cut aircraft. Learn to use free digital design tools to create and edit digital artwork. Watch an industrial-strength laser cutter slice and etch your plane’s parts from sheets of ultra-light hardwood. Combine raster and vector graphics to print and cut vinyl wraps for your gliders. Build your bespoke balsa wood fleet and take it for a test flight!

    Grades 4–8
    Thursdays, April 3–May 8
    4:30–5:45 p.m.
    $180

  • IDEA-Saurus: Sculpting Fossil Creatures

    How do we know what animals that lived millions of years ago looked like? This class explores how specialists in reconstructing extinct animals blend science and art to make accurate reconstructions of never before seen creatures. Learn about different fossil animals, when and where they lived, and then sculpt your own recreation of what the living animal would have looked like. At the end of the course you will have created your own fossil menagerie to take home and play with.

    Grades K–3
    Thursdays, April 3–May 8
    4:30–5:30 p.m.
    $180

  • Little Green Thumbs

    Spring is in the air and it is time to start planting! Students in this class will gain exposure to the basics of botany while sprouting and planting their own seeds and learning to care for their plants each week. Study the life cycles of our photosynthetic friends and learn to appreciate all they do for us and the planet.

    Grades Preschool–PreK
    Thursdays, April 3–May 8
    4–4:30 p.m.
    $90

Educational Partnerships

List of 2 news stories.

List of 4 items.