“Aim High is not a summer school. It’s a summer experience,” says Maya Nieto, Aim High Class of 2005. She’s right. Though our 2,200 students spend their mornings engaged in rigorous academic coursework, afternoons are devoted to fun enrichment activities, most of which are not offered in your average school day. These afternoon activities are a huge part of what makes Aim High, Aim High. What makes these activities so special is that the staff members who teach them are truly passionate about what they are teaching. By sharing some of their favorite hobbies, teachers are inspiring the same passion in their students. With at least a dozen different activities offered at each site, students spend every afternoon in Aim High participating in all kinds of sports, arts, and clubs. To give you a taste of the incredible opportunities our students have during afternoons in Aim High, we’d like to highlight several classic activities that Aim High students have loved for decades (and will for decades to come).   City Exploration Always a favorite, City Exploration has been a popular activity at Aim High for decades. Fourteen of our 17 campuses offer some version of this beloved class. Names range from “Hike SF,” to “Urban Hiking,” to “BMW” (an abbreviation for BART, Muni, Walk). Although the core concept is the same (outdoor exploration!), the focus of each activity can also vary. This summer alone, there are different “BMW” sections dedicated to Photography, Poetry, Nature, Film, and Creative Writing. The activity also differs by region. Popular city exploration destinations in San Francisco include the Golden Gate Bridge, the Academy of Sciences, the Legion of Honor, and Alcatraz. Popular city exploration destinations in Oakland include the Oakland Museum of California, Chinatown, and boating on Lake Merritt. City Exploration, in all of its incarnations, remains one of Aim High’s most popular activities. It takes students to neighborhoods they’ve never been, and allows students to get out and discover the history of their own city. City Exploration, in all of its incarnations, remains one of Aim High’s most popular activities. It takes students to neighborhoods they’ve never been, and allows students to get out and discover the history of their own city.   CS First Although it’s only been a part of Aim High for a couple of summers, Computer Science First (CS First) has quickly become an instant Aim High classic. CS First is a Google-sponsored program with the goal of increasing students access to Computer Science Education. Students learn programming basics by using a middle school-friendly programming language called Scratch. Using Scratch, students program their own interactive stories, games, and animations. The program helps them think creatively and systematically, both individually and collaboratively. By participating in CS First, students learn that coding can be exciting, engaging, and a lot of fun! Many students decide to participate many summers in a row in order to build on their knowledge and create increasingly intricate projects. August Masonheimer, a 10-year veteran of Aim High, teaches the CS First activity at our Urban-Wallenberg campus. “Even though it’s a set curriculum, the students have a lot of freedom to explore and add their own personality to it,” said Masonheimer. “Seeing their final projects that started, quite literally, as a blank screen is pretty incredible to watch.”   Cooking Cooking has always been a popular activity. This summer, 15 of our 17 sites have cooking classes (some sites even boast two *different* cooking activities). From “Snacks & Adventures,” to “Oven Lovin’,” to “Baking Cakes & Making Steak,” cooking activities at Aim High come in all different flavors and incorporate numerous skills and topics. In “The Cookbook Project,” students try a variety of different recipes over five weeks and chose their favorites. These tried and true recipes are put into a cookbook, which each students gets to take home at the end of the program. In “Cooking Around the World,” students get to prepare and sample over a dozen different dishes from all over the world. Not only do students get to be adventurous and try new foods, but they also get to bring in and share foods traditionally enjoyed in their families. In “Fitness & Nutrition,” students not only learn how to work up a sweat, but also how to best fuel their bodies for maximum energy. Students learn about the different food groups and the “New Food Pyramid.”   Other Notable Activities: Build & Destroy – Students use all kinds of materials to build structures, learning physics along the way, all with the lone purpose of tearing them back down.   Boys Club / Girls Club – Taking a page out of our Issues & Choices curriculum, Boys Club / Girls Club provides a safe space for students to discuss growing up and what it means to be a boy or girl in middle school. Wacky Science – Students learn about and do crazy science experiments, minus the lab reports! Film Appreciation – From Pixar, to Studio Ghibli, students watch, discuss, and critique their favorite movies. Bicycle Repair – Students learn everything there is to learn about bicycles. The activity covers assembling, disassembling, cleaning, and repairing bikes (which have been generously donated to the program).