Complete Fall Innovation Academy

15 Weeks of Animation, Minecraft STEM, Physics, Engineering, Coding & Robotics

Give your student a complete semester of creativity, technology and hands-on innovation.

The Complete Fall Innovation Academy includes all four Edison Kids academies: Animation & Digital Media, Minecraft STEM, Physics & Engineering, and Robotics & Physical Computing. Across 120 hours of instruction, students will create animated productions, solve engineering challenges in Minecraft, investigate forces and machines, build electronic circuits, program microcontrollers and develop original working inventions.

This is more than a collection of weekly classes. The four academies work together to develop the skills young innovators need: creativity, communication, critical thinking, coding, engineering, problem-solving and the confidence to transform an idea into something real.

Academy Details

• Ages: 9–14
• Dates: Beginning Wednesday, August 26, 2026
• Schedule: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
• Length: 15 weeks
• Instruction: Four two-hour academies each week
• Total: 120 instructional hours
• Location: Baldwin, Florida
• Class size: Limited to only 5 students
• Tuition: $3,250 paid in full or five monthly payments of $700
• Equipment: More than $250 in robotics and electronics equipment students keep
• Step Up for Students scholarships accepted

Weekly Schedule

Minecraft STEM Academy

Wednesdays · 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

Students transform Minecraft into a laboratory for science, engineering and architecture as they design structures, transportation systems, sustainable communities and solutions to real-world STEM challenges.

Animation & Digital Media Academy

Wednesdays · 1:00–3:00 PM

Students become animators, directors and digital storytellers as they learn to develop characters, plan stories, build sets and bring original ideas to life through stop-motion and digital 2D animation.

Robotics & Physical Computing Academy

Thursdays · 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

Students use the BBC micro and Arduino to build circuits, program sensors, control motors and create intelligent devices that can sense, respond and perform useful tasks.

Physics & Engineering Academy

Thursdays · 1:00–3:00 PM

Students investigate Newton’s laws, forces, motion, energy and simple machines through experiments and hands-on engineering projects, including vehicles, structures, roller coasters and chain-reaction systems.

What Students Will Explore

Throughout the semester, students will investigate:

• Visual storytelling and character development
• Storyboarding, scripts and production planning
• Stop-motion and digital 2D animation
• Set, scenery and prop construction
• Camera angles, lighting, sound and video editing
• Architecture, scale and spatial reasoning
• Structural engineering and strong building design
• Transportation and urban-planning systems
• Renewable energy and sustainable communities
• Environmental science and ecosystem design
• Newton’s three laws of motion
• Gravity, friction, acceleration and momentum
• Potential and kinetic energy
• Simple machines and mechanical advantage
• Roller-coaster physics and chain reactions
• Coding, algorithms and logical thinking
• Electronic circuits and electrical components
• BBC micro and Arduino programming
• Sensors, motors, servos and automated systems
• Robotics, physical computing and intelligent devices
• The complete engineering design process
• Testing, debugging, revision and improvement

How Each Academy Session Works

Every two-hour session includes:

1. Concept Investigation
   Students explore an artistic, scientific, technological or engineering principle through demonstrations, guided lessons and hands-on experiments.
2. Creative or Engineering Brief
   Students receive a purposeful challenge with specific goals, requirements and design constraints.
3. Planning and Development
   Students sketch, storyboard, design, build, wire or program their ideas.
4. Testing and Improvement
   Students review their work, identify problems and improve their solutions through revision, iteration or debugging.
5. Showcase and Reflection
   Students present their progress, explain their decisions and receive constructive feedback.

Students Will Learn To

• Transform original ideas into complete projects
• Plan stories, systems and engineering solutions before beginning
• Communicate ideas through visual and digital media
• Apply science and mathematics to practical challenges
• Understand the forces that affect moving objects and structures
• Use simple machines to solve mechanical problems
• Build and understand basic electronic circuits
• Create algorithms and translate them into working programs
• Program sensors, lights, displays, motors and servos
• Use Minecraft to model purposeful STEM solutions
• Work within requirements, limitations and deadlines
• Identify whether a problem comes from a design, circuit or program
• Test, debug, revise and improve their work
• Explain and defend creative and engineering decisions
• Manage larger projects from concept to completion
• Collaborate, communicate and give constructive feedback
• Approach mistakes as an important part of learning and innovation

Sample Projects

Students may be challenged to:

• Design an original animated character
• Produce a LEGO or clay stop-motion scene
• Build a miniature animation set
• Add dialogue, music and sound effects to a production
• Create a digital 2D animation
• Design a bridge or transportation system in Minecraft
• Build a sustainable farm or renewable-energy community
• Plan a disaster-resistant structure
• Create a future city or extraterrestrial research base
• Build a balloon-powered vehicle
• Design a crash-protection system
• Construct working levers and pulley systems
• Build and test a marble roller coaster
• Create a Rube Goldberg chain-reaction machine
• Program an interactive micro game
• Build a working traffic-light system
• Create an alarm using environmental sensors
• Program a motor or servo-controlled mechanism
• Develop an assistive or automated device
• Complete original final projects for a student showcase

Four Disciplines—One Complete Learning Experience

The strongest innovators do not rely on only one skill.

They combine creativity with technical knowledge. They tell compelling stories, understand how physical systems work, use digital tools purposefully and continue improving their ideas when something does not work the first time.

Throughout the Complete Fall Innovation Academy, students repeatedly return to one essential question:

What can we imagine, design and build—and how can we make it work even better?

A student might explore storytelling through animation on Wednesday, design an engineered system in Minecraft on Thursday morning, investigate the forces that make it work Thursday afternoon and then use coding and electronics to create a physical version on Friday.

These connections help students understand that art, science, engineering and technology are not isolated subjects. Together, they become powerful tools for creating solutions and communicating ideas.

What’s Included

• Admission to all four 15-week academies
• 120 hours of expert, hands-on instruction
• Animation, video-editing and digital-media instruction
• Stop-motion materials and production equipment
• Minecraft STEM lessons and guided design challenges
• Physics investigations and engineering projects
• All construction materials and consumable supplies used during class
• A BBC micro and supporting equipment
• An Arduino microcontroller and electronics components
• Breadboards, wires, LEDs, sensors, motors and servos
• More than $250 in robotics and electronics equipment students keep
• Access to computers and specialized tools during class
• Planning sheets, storyboards and engineering design briefs
• Individual guidance in a five-student learning environment
• Original final projects in all four academy areas
• A final student showcase

Who Is the Complete Academy For?

The Complete Fall Innovation Academy is designed for students who:

• Are curious about many different STEM and creative subjects
• Love building, inventing, coding or figuring out how things work
• Enjoy Minecraft and want to use it for purposeful learning
• Are interested in animation, storytelling or digital media
• Want to explore robotics, electronics and programming
• Learn best through hands-on projects
• Need more challenge than a traditional weekly class provides
• Want time to develop deeper skills and complete meaningful projects
• Are willing to experiment, solve problems and keep improving
• Would thrive in a small, supportive learning environment

Students do not need previous animation, Minecraft engineering, physics, robotics or programming experience. They simply need curiosity, creativity and a willingness to learn.

Tuition

$3,250 paid in full for the complete 15-week academy

Purchasing the four academies individually would cost $3,550. Complete Academy enrollment saves families $300.

A monthly payment option of five payments of $700 is also available, for a total tuition of $3,500.

The monthly plans for all four individual academies would total $4,125. The Complete Academy monthly plan saves families $625.

Tuition includes more than $250 in robotics and electronics equipment that students will keep, allowing them to continue building and programming at home after the academy ends.

Enrollment is limited to five spaces, allowing every student to receive personal instruction, support and feedback throughout all four academies.

Step Up for Students scholarship funds are accepted.

To use scholarship funds, select Scholarship Payment in the checkout cart. You can then process the payment through the EMA website using your student’s available scholarship funds.