For the majority of students, the first time they spend an extended amount of time away from home in a scholarly setting is their freshman year of college. However, some younger students, grades two through seven, will have the opportunity to take explorative summer courses at Wheaton.
Along with Wellesley College (which is open for students from eighth and ninth grades) and Yale University (which is open for students from tenth to twelfth grade), Wheaton College is hosting a three-week summer program for youths in search of an intellectual experience and opportunity to meet other bright individuals.
This academic program, entitled EXPLO, began in 1977 and has produced 66,000 alumni (including Instagram founder, Kevin Systrom) over the past 36 years.
The selection of courses encompasses a wide variety of topics, delving into subject matters that few, if any, grade school curricula would begin to broach. On a first come, first serve basis, students in fourth and fifth grades (known as Pioneers) can enroll in classes such as “We’re Live in 5…: Broadcast Journalism,” “Lions, Tigers, & Bills, Oh My!: The Business of Running a Zoo,” and “Two-Horned Unicorns: Theatrical Makeup.”
Likewise, students in sixth and seventh grades (nicknamed Voyagers by EXPLO) can partake in courses including “(Ad)Ventures: Marketing & Advertising,” “Café Italiano: Italian Language & Culture,” and “Blood Will Hath Blood: Shakespearean Fight Scenes.”