Earths Under Glass
An innovative program that invites students to design, construct, and conduct research on self-sustaining closed ecosystems, scaling up from test tube to larger microcosms.

4 weeks, Certificate of Attendance
Summer 2: July 21–August 15, 2003
Approx. $4,000—click for fees chart
Application deadline: March 30; early decision, February 1

How do you build a functioning closed ecosystem? How do ecosystems persist and evolve? What are the factors critical to maintaining an ecosystem? What community- and team-building skills are essential for human life within small closed systems? These are some of the questions students explore firsthand this summer, as they investigate closed systems, including Biosphere 2, space stations, and submarines. Students also design, construct, and study their own closed ecosystems, scaling up from test tube to larger microcosms.

Exploring Earth, Life, and the Summer Sky
A unique program combining astronomy with life and Earth sciences to look at how life establishes and sustains itself. Field trips include the Grand Canyon and other Colorado Plateau sites.Exploring Earth, Life, and the Summer Sky

4 weeks, Certificate of Attendance
Summer 1: June 9–July 4, 2003
Summer 2: July 21–August 15, 2003
Approx. $4,000—click for fees chart
Application deadline: March 30; early decision, February 1

Born from elements created in stellar explosions, life on planet Earth is fueled by the Sun and sustained in a dynamic dance between material cycles and the energy transformations of living things. Join us this summer in tracing through stellar time and Earth history the processes that make possible a habitable planet, the origins of life, the diversity of life on Earth, the possibility of life on other worlds, and the responsibility of each of us for planet Earth’s future.

Worlds into Words: Nature-Inspired Writing
Nature writing for high school students, taking inspiration from the wondrous natural environment of Arizona, including the Grand Canyon, and the large community of writers in Tucson.

4 weeks, Certificate of Attendance
Summer 1: June 9–July 4, 2003
Approx. $4,000—click for fees chart
Application deadline: March 30; early decision, February 1

Do you love nature and hiking through wilderness? Does a rainbow, a dark sky full of stars, or an iridescent beetle excite you to prose or poetry? If so, Words into Worlds is for you. Using the natural beauty of Arizona for inspiration, aspiring young writers work with a writing instructor on self-selected writing projects and keep a diary of their experiences. Local authors and storytellers share their experiences in the craft of writing, and you explore other responses to the Southwest through reading nature-inspired authors such as Edward Abbey and John Steinbeck.