A0500: Welcome to the Future — Exploring the Technologies That Will Change the World
Target Audience:
Ages 15 – College (No prior technical knowledge required)
Duration:
5 Days, 5–6 hours per day (can be adapted for summer camps or school workshops)
🗓️ Day 1: The Universe & Us — Big Ideas, Big Tech
🌌 Themes:
What is “future technology”?
Megatrends shaping our world
The Big Bang, black holes & gravitational waves
Telescopes, satellites, and space data
LIGO, spacetime ripples, and the dawn of gravitational astronomy
🧠 Activities:
Visualizing gravitational waves with fabric & marbles
Build a "Future Timeline" together
Video: NASA LISA or black hole collision simulation
Group brainstorm: What technology would you bring to space?
🗓️ Day 2: Building Beyond Earth — Space, Energy & Transportation
🚀 Themes:
SpaceX, Moon bases, Mars colonization
Space tourism, asteroid mining
The Hyperloop, eVTOLs, & future cars
Clean tech: Nuclear fusion, solar, hydrogen, and beyond
🧠 Activities:
Team Challenge: Design a Mars Colony
VR/AR space station experience (optional tech demo)
Energy Match-Up Game (match tech to its energy source)
Create your own fusion energy ad (group creativity activity)
🗓️ Day 3: Rewriting Life — DNA, Biotech & Human Enhancement
🧬 Themes:
DNA & the power of CRISPR gene editing
Synthetic biology, mRNA tech, designer organisms
Organ printing, anti-aging tech, brain-computer interfaces
Human-AI merging: Neuralink & the BCI revolution
🧠 Activities:
Extract DNA from fruit (hands-on lab)
“Gene Editor for a Day” simulation
Ethics Debate: Should we edit embryos?
Sketch your upgraded future human self (fun, imaginative)
🗓️ Day 4: Smart Everything — AI, Quantum, Robotics & Chips
🤖 Themes:
AI, machine learning, ChatGPT, robotics
Humanoid robots & swarm robotics
Quantum computing: Superposition, entanglement, potential uses
Chips & Moore’s Law, edge computing, smart cities
Cybersecurity & quantum-safe encryption
🧠 Activities:
Use AI tools to generate art or write stories
Hands-on with a chatbot or robot toy (if available)
Play the “Quantum Card Game” (superposition explained with cards)
Team Project: Design your dream AI robot assistant
🗓️ Day 5: Creating the Future — Nanotech, Careers, & Startups
💡 Themes:
Nanotechnology: Smart materials, nanobots in medicine
Future of education: AI tutors, holograms, digital humans
Global tech competition (US, China, EU)
Future careers & how to prepare
Design thinking + entrepreneurship
🧠 Activities:
Build a nano-solution pitch (e.g. invisible sunscreen, cancer-fighting nanobots)
“My Future Tech Startup” — team pitch competition
Roadmap planning: Build your personal path to a future tech career
Course reflection & certificate ceremony 🎓