In the spring of 2003, Berkeley Cosmology Group, had been asked again to help conduct a summer academy in the Emeryville School District. The focus of the academy was to prepare 10th and 11th graders for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The test, as a prerequisite for graduation, was to become compulsory for the graduating class of 2004. Two days before the start of the program, California Department of Education postponed the adoption of the requirement until 2006. The change did not affect the summer school instruction much, and the program proceeded as planned.
Forces and motion were to be introduced in a variety of hands-on activities, as an illustration of physical and mathematical concepts, difficult otherwise for the students to grasp. The goal was also to lay a good foundation for the understanding of physics in the world around us.
Graduate and undergraduate students, and postdocs from Bernard Sadoulet's and Adrian Lee's groups attended the school almost every day, helping with instruction, participating in hands-on activities, tutoring small groups or individual students in class, and acting in general as instructional assistants, mentors, and content support for the teachers.

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