AI & Computer Science for ages 10–17.
In-person. Allotment compatible. School-agnostic.
Ember & Oak Institute is a local educational institute serving the Mat-Su Valley homeschool families. We blend timeless wisdom with modern, hands-on, Socratic learning. All programs satisfy both State and Federal requirements.
Founded by Richard Garrick and Aimee Loomis. In-person gatherings in the Wasilla area for ages 10–17.
Our flagship branch. In-person AI and computer science courses that treat this powerful new tool the way earlier generations treated fire: with respect, curiosity, and a clear sense of its proper place in a human life.
The core 6-week course. Students build small, useful things with code while learning what AI actually is, how it works under the hood, and — most importantly — the human questions that must come first. Who benefits? What does this cost the world? Summer cohort launching first. ~$695.
We practice rigorous, curious dialogue with models the same way we practice it across the fire with elders and peers. The goal is sharper thinking, not faster answers.
Making things with these tools while staying rooted in responsibility, place, and the dignity of original work. Who owns a story generated with a model? What does it mean to be a good neighbor online?
Learning to think like a builder. We use AI as a powerful drafting partner while developing the judgment to know when the machine is helping and when it is flattening something important.
A project-driven studio where students choose a real (small) problem in their own life or community and build something that actually helps. The tool serves the person, not the other way around.
Small groups. Real conversation. Real tools. We protect time for the questions that matter more than the code.
Typically 8–14 students. In the Wasilla area. We meet around tables and sometimes around real fires. The technology is a guest at the table, never the host.
We still work with wood, metal, soil, and voice. Code is one more craft among many. A child who can sharpen a tool and articulate why a model gave a strange answer is better prepared for whatever comes next.
Most of the real learning happens while listening to someone else. We deliberately slow down so every voice can be heard — including the ones that take longer to form.
The other branches — Oak Ventures, Steady Flame, and Industrial Pathways — now have their own dedicated pages (linked from the main hearth).