Welcome to the spring Immersive Exhibition. During this culminating event for the term, our students will showcase their learning from the past three weeks. Schedules for grade-level presentations are below. Thank you for joining us!
9th Grade Immersive Courses
Humanities 1: Secrets of the City | 36 Lincoln, Room 152 | 10:30-11:15 | 1:50-2:35
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Humanities 1: Sights, Sounds & Flavors of the Bay Area | 36 Lincoln, Room 150 | 11:20-12:05 | 1:50-2:35
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Humanities 1: Summer of Love | 36 Lincoln, Room 250 | 10:30-11:15 | 1-1:45
"If you're going to San Francisco / Be sure to wear flowers in your hair..." Scott McKenzie's iconic song, San Francisco, called young people, hippies, artists, activists, and people from other counter-cultural groups to converge in San Francisco in what became known as The Summer of Love. Students will develop research skills to examine subtopics of their choosing, such as women's rights, fashion, youth activism, and spirituality, that will help the class understand the many diverse elements of this movement.
Exhibition: This research will culminate in a digital magazine showcasing all of the artifacts, knowledge, and experiences students have gained over the course. Students will showcase their research and publications during Exhibition.
10th and 11th Grade Immersive Courses
Atmospheric Science and Engineering: Launching Near-Space Weather Balloons | Room 300 | 10:30-11:15 | 1-1:45
This Immersive studies the atmosphere through launching high altitude weather balloons to the edge of space. Students make predictions about measurable characteristics of the atmosphere, then put together the hardware and software that will test their hypotheses when the weather balloons are launched into the stratosphere. Before the launch, students work on managing group dynamics, launch checklists, and deal with unforeseen complications in the field.
Exhibition: Students in this course are excited to share the balloons’ flight data, as well as offer reflections from their experience at the launch.
Bay Area Culture: The Evolution of Food | Room 311 | 11:20-12:05 | 1-1:45
In this course, students considered the essential questions, “Why do we eat what we eat?” and “What should we eat?” in the Bay Area. We explored the many influences on our food system and diets, including politics, culture, nutrition, and more, as they track our meals from farm to table. Students have engaged with local farmers, restaurants, market owners, and others to form a new perspective on where food comes from and to become conscious consumers.
Exhibition: Students have completed research and become experts on a food issue of their choice. Topics include plant-based meats, Red Dye #40, cultural appropriation by restaurant chains, sustainable seafood, and more. In response to their research, they have created a food truck concept that addresses their chosen issue and seeks to make a positive change in our food landscape. Come visit our exhibition, where students will present their research findings and attempt to convince you, our Bay community members, to invest in their food truck!
California Geology: A Field Experience | Library | 11:20-12:05 | 1-1:45
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Civil RIghts in the American South | Room 227 | 10:30-11:15 | 1:50-2:35
This course offers a historical and socio-cultural exploration of the Civil Rights Movement by learning in the American South. Students visit key sites—places where history happened—to understand the power of place in shaping the movement. Through immersion, primary source analysis, visual and written reflections, and critical discussion, students connect past struggles to present-day movements for justice, building a broader understanding of civil rights and community-building.
Exhibition: Students will present site-based reflections, visual analysis projects, and thematic essays that trace key moments in the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition will include narrative reflections from the field, inviting attendees to consider how place, memory, and movement intersect in the ongoing pursuit of justice.
Filmmaking | Room 325 | 10:30-11:15 | 1:50-2:35
This course introduces students to the art of filmmaking by guiding them through the full production process—from concept to final cut. Students explore the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production while collaborating on a narrative short film. They gain hands-on experience writing and shooting from a script on location, acting on set and in front of the camera, or serving as crew members in key production roles.
Exhibition: The course culminates with a viewing of the class’s completed film. Join us to watch the film, followed by a Q&A with the writers, actors, and producers.
Fire Ecology | Room 335 | 11:20-12:05 | 1-1:45
This Immersive covered the role of fire in fire-adapted western U.S. forests at the scales of individual trees, communities, and ecosystems. Students learned the essentials of different fire regimes and associated fire behavior across California through field trips, lab exercises, and student-led projects. The class also critically examined current management practices to reduce the negative effects of fires on communities and ecosystems. Students will discuss climate feedback loops that are changing fire patterns and the implications of these on forests and communities across the West. Overnight field trips included visiting both historic and recent burn areas, learning field methods to reconstruct fire history and visualize succession patterns in forests.
Exhibition: Exhibition will feature a collaborative website designed by the class about the recent LA fires and individual course concept maps that answer our essential question: what is California’s fire future? Guests will be invited to browse the web page and concept maps while engaging in conversations with students about their experience in the course. We will also have a slideshow with pictures from our adventures!
History of the California Gold Rush | Room 245 | 10:30-11:15 | 1-1:45
The purpose of this interdisciplinary course is to explore the multifaceted history and impact of this major economic and physical development of the western United States, blending elements of geology, environmental science, history, and social studies. Students engaged in thoughtful study of the geologic processes that led to the formation of gold deposits, examined environmental consequences of resource extraction, and analyzed the profound societal changes that occured due to this transformative period in California’s history. Students were provided with scientific and historical texts, had access to podcasts and videos, and were required to take notes during museum tours and field trips in order to create strong foundations for the final project; the final assessment consisted of both a research paper that addressed the historical and scientific impacts of the Gold Rush as well as a visual representation (poster) of the topics discussed for Exhibition. Through this holistic understanding of California's Gold Rush, we hope to encourage critical thinking, interdisciplinary connections, and a deeper appreciation for the complexities of historical events and their enduring impacts on society and the environment.
Exhibition: Students will present their posters in two different poster sessions and explain to audience members the details of their research project.
Mythology | Drama Room | 11:20-12:05 | 1:50-2:35
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Exhibition: ###
Novels in Nature | Project Center | 10:30-11:15 | 1-1:45
In today’s fast-paced, data-driven, screen-dominated world, how do we read? In what ways might reading and writing about the natural world help us deepen our relationship to nature? Without technology, students to engage deeply with The Overstory, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and spend significant time hiking and camping. Students learn to pace their own reading and build more sophisticated understandings of texts while developing their own personal relationships to nature.
Exhibition: Exhibition will feature student-authored works of fiction inspired by The Overstory. Guests will be invited to browse these stories while engaging in conversations with students about their work and experience in the course.
Water in the American West | Room 103 (Breakers) | 11:20-12:05 | 1:50-2:35
Whose water is it? This essential question drives this project-based, interdisciplinary course. Students used the tools of the humanities and science to investigate the myriad ways humans rely on water; the political, economic, and ethical issues stemming from our need for water; and how our quest for this critical resource has led us to re-engineer natural ecosystems. Spending two weeks in the Eastern Sierra meeting and interviewing stakeholders is a cornerstone of this course, as students grappled with the responsible conservation of this precious resource.
Exhibition: For the Exhibition, students prepare an in-depth poster presentation of an Eastern Sierra stakeholder group’s perspective on our essential question for the course: Whose water is it? Students will simultaneously present their findings -- while reflecting on their research and broader learning -- and converse with audience members as attendees visit each stakeholder group to learn more about this vitally important question facing our state and the region.