What is T.E.S.L.A.?

T.E.S.L.A. (Totally Educational Science Learning Activities) is our science club for kids ages 7-11. Its objective is to let kids explore what Galileo called "the book of the world". Therefore it has an informal, hands-on style, with an emphasis on experimentation and encouraging kids to question and make up their own experiments. It is meant as a counterweight to typical school science courses, with their heavy emphasis on book-learning, or as a sort of lab supplement to homeschool science curricula.

Each T.E.S.L.A. meeting lasts about an hour and consists of very brief (5 minute) lessons followed by reinforcing experiments, and ending with 10-15 minutes of "free experiment time". Thus most of the time is taken up by experiments and science play. Most months the lessons are structured around a theme, such as Properties of Matter Month or Sun Month; but since we're just in it for the fun experiments, they don't have to be structured at all.