Make Your Own Harry Potter Movie!

The new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie starts at theaters today! However, Harry Potter fans can make their own Harry Potter movie this summer in one of our COMPUTER EXPLORERS' moviemaking classes:

Lights, Camera, Action – Making Your Own Harry Potter™ movie
What’s the next adventure for Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione? You decide! We will create our own Harry Potter™ movie using special movie making cameras and software. As directors and producers, we will work in teams to create our own story and script, build various Harry Potter™ Lego® scenes and film our own movie. We will use graphic editing techniques and stop motion animation, add background noise and music, and show our movie at a private screening on the last day of class. All students will get a copy of their movie on a CD-ROM after class ends.

There's still time to sign up! Classes are available at the following locations:

Batavia Park District

Naperville Park District

Oswegoland Park District

Yorkville Parks and Recreation

New Technology Camps starting up July 6!

We had a break this week due to the July 4th holiday but new classes are starting up next week! There is still space in some classes so it's not too late to sign up!

Batavia Park DistrictEastside Community Center 14 N. Van Buren St Batavia, IL

Fun-gineering 10:15 am – 12:15 pm - Class is full

Fox Valley Park District
Eola Community Center 555 S. Eola Road Aurora, IL 60504

Alien Invasion Robotics – 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm - Class is full

Hinsdale Parks and Recreation
Memorial Bldg 19 E. Chicago Ave. Hinsdale, IL (2nd floor board room)
Moviemaking 101 - Making Your Own Batman™ movie 10:15 am – 12:15 pm - Class is full

Lombard Park District
Sunset Knoll Recreation Center 820 S. Finley Road Lombard, IL 60148

COMPUTERTOTS: Summer Series Times: 1:30 – 2:00 - Still have openings
Fun-Gineering With Simple Machines Times: 2:15 – Still have openings

Riverside Parks and Recreation
10 Pine Avenue Riverside, IL 60546

Video Game Animation Times: 10:15 – 12:15 - Still have openings

Woodridge Park District
Community Center 2600 Center Drive Woodridge, IL

Video Game Animation 1:45 pm – 3:45 pm - Still have openings

Yorkville Parks and Recreation
201 W. Hydraulic Yorkville IL 60560

Video Game Animation – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm - Still have openings

Transformers movie starts today - Get ideas for your own Transformers Movie in our newest COMPUTER EXPLORERS class starting in the fall!

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" starts at movie theaters today! Go see the movie and get some ideas for our newest COMPUTER EXPLORERS moviemaking class starting in the fall:

"Lights, Camera, Action – Making Your Own Transformers™ movie

Bring Bumblebee and Optimus Prime to life as they take on Megatron or Star Scream in your very own Transformers™ movie. You will create your very own Transformers™ movie using special digital movie making cameras and software. As writers, directors and producers you will work in teams to create your own story and script, design and create backgrounds and film your own movie using graphic editing techniques and stop motion animation. You can add your own voices or your favorite music to your movie and show it at a private screening on the last day of class. All students will get a copy of their movie on a CD-ROM after class is complete."

This class will be available at various Park Districts in the Fall. Check back with us in August for class locations and dates!

It's not too late to sign up for our Fun and Educational Technology Camps!

We have technology camps running weekly for 8 weeks between June 15 and August 13 at various locations throughout the western suburbs. (No classes are scheduled June 29 - July 3) Classes are filling up fast, but there are still some openings! Here are some of the classes we have scheduled:

Batavia Park District

The Community House in Hinsdale

Darien Park District

Elmhurst Park District

More class locations are listed to the right! If you don't see your location here, you can check with our other COMPUTER EXPLORERS locations

Our Summer Technology Camps start on Monday, June 15!

Our first round of classes will be starting up on Monday, June 15. Here are the classes that are running this week:

Elmhurst Park District
June 16 - 19, 2009

Computertots Session 1: 9:30 – 10:00
Session 2: 10:10 – 10:40

Video Game Animation 1:00 – 3:00 pm

**********************************************************************************

Glen Ellyn Park District
June 15 - 18, 2009

Fun-Gineering With Simple Machines 10:45 – 12:45 pm

**********************************************************************************

Naperville Park District:
June 15 - 18, 2009

Computertots 10:10 – 10:40

Basics to Building 10:45 – 11:45 am

Video Game Animation 1:00 – 3:00 pm

We still have many classes scheduled through August, so if you aren't able to join us the week of June 15, we still have openings in many locations! See our specific summer schedules to the right!

Claymation Cinema movie from the Lombard Park District

Here is a great Claymation movie about a family of ducks. This was created at the Lombard Park District.

Here are some Star Wars movies created at the St Charles Park District

The students at the St Charles Park District had a great time creating their own Star Wars movies last month:

Press Release: COMPUTER EXPLORERS Partners with Children’s Technology Review to Sponsor LittleClickers.com

United States of America (Press Release) October 7, 2008 -- CYPRESS, Texas –COMPUTER EXPLORERS (CE), the fastest growing home-based children’s franchise, continues its mission to instruct children ages 3-15 in computer technology with the sponsorship of LittleClickers.com, a collection of educational Web sites for children. LittleClickers.com was created in 2001, the brainchild of Dr. Warren Buckleitner, editor of the online magazine, Children’s Technology Review (CTR). The Web site assists educators in bringing safe, fun exploration of the Internet to elementary school-aged children.

“COMPUTER EXPLORERS and Children’s Technology Review have a common goal, to assist children in mastering technology,” says Deb Evans, CE president. “We want our students to safely navigate the Internet in order to mine its treasures. We are pleased to partner with Dr. Buckleitner and LittleClickers.com; the site is an educational gold mine.”

The partnership includes a column by Dr. Buckleitner in the monthly newsletter featuring product advice as well as recommendations of the best in children’s software. COMPUTER EXPLORERS’ endorsement of LittleClickers.com is another of the many ways the home-based franchise offers preschool and school-aged children the tools they need to gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing field of computer technology.

COMPUTER EXPLORERS, part of the International Center for Entrepreneurial Development (ICED), is the largest and fastest growing home-based provider of computer technology education for children in the U. S., offering computer enrichment to students, ages three to 15, at child care centers, schools and other community sites. CE franchise opportunities are available in all 50 of the United States, in Canada and countries throughout the world.

About ICED
COMPUTER EXPLORERS is part of the International Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Inc. ICED, located in Cypress, Texas, is the parent company for Kwik Kopy Printing, American Wholesale Thermographers, The Ink Well, Franklin’s Printing, Parcel Plus, Kwik Kopy Business Centers and COMPUTER EXPLORERS. This group represents one of the world’s largest international alliances of printing, communications and education franchises with business relationships in the United States and 10 other countries. These company names are all registered trademarks or service marks of I.C.E.D. Management, Inc.

Our Indiana Jones Moviemaking Camps are a hit!

Our first two weeks of summer camps have gone very well! All of our Indiana Jones Moviemaking classes have been a hit! Classes are filling up and many locations have waitlists of students who want to take our classes all over the western and southern suburbs of Chicago. More classes are still scheduled to run during the next 6 weeks.

Although we aren't able to post every movie that is created in our classes, here are some for you to enjoy.

These two were created at the Community House in Hinsdale:





Here are two created at the Lombard Park District:





These were created at the Hinsdale Parks and Recreation:

Have you got a talent that you want to show off?

You've all seen "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent"! Have you ever wanted to show off your talents, but didn't know where to do it? This summer, COMPUTER EXPLORERS is out to find the next great talent in the western and southern suburbs of Chicago! Do you and your friends have a special talent? Can you sing? Dance? Lip-sync? Act? Do Magic? Comedy? Impersonations?
While your group performs, another group will be recording your talents using a digital movie camera. You can then add special effects to your performance! Bring your own music or costumes! Not only will you get a copy of your show on a CD, we will post the videos to the COMPUTER EXLORERS blog. Friends and family can vote for their favorite talent (you!) during the summer, and the winner will be awarded a prize in August! No auditions necessary, but spaces are limited.

We will be conducting our "Talent Searches" in the following 13 Chicago suburbs:

Bolingbrook Park District
Channahon Park District
Elmhurst Park District
Fox Valley Park District
Hinsdale Parks and Recreation
Park District of La Grange
Lombard Park District
Naperville Park District
New Lenox Park District
Oswegoland Park District
Plainfield Park District
St Charles Park District
Yorkville Parks and Recreation

New Moviemaking class being offered this summer!

The new Indiana Jones movie is being released in theaters on May 22. However, Indiana Jones and Lego fans will be able to make their own Indiana Jones movie at Park Districts accross the western and southern suburbs of Chicago! Our moviemaking class will be offered throughout the summer from June through August at 16 different locations. Check our summer schedule after May 15 for dates and locations!

Here's the description of our newest class:

Moviemaking 101 - Making Your Own Indiana Jones™ movie Do you want to be the next Steven Spielberg? Using your own imagination, creativity, special digital movie making cameras, software and Indiana Jones™ Lego sets, you will create your very own Indiana Jones™ movie! You will become part of a team of writers, photographers, directors and producers and create your own story and script, build various Indiana Jones™ Lego® scenes and film your own movie. You will use graphic editing techniques and stop motion animation, add background noise and music, and show your movie at a private screening on the last day of class. All students will get a copy of their movie on a CD-ROM after class is complete.

Fun-gineering class in New Lenox

Using Lego Educational kits, students in Fun-gineering class learned about levers, gears, pulleys and wheels and axles and built fun and exciting moveable models. The students loved the wheels and axles unit especially since they got to build a motorized car and race them against one another!