Classes are developed and taught by many of the LPI staff scientists as well as outside scientists invited to share their expertise.
Space sciences is emphasized, including instruments, observations, and measurements.
Two of the threads woven throughout the 12-week course involve discovering the basic processes that create planetary surfaces and mapping the surfaces themselves to decipher how these processes have occurred over time. Students in grades 1-6 are selected by the district to participate in Alpha. Alpha students in grades 4-6 may choose from a catalog of courses ranging from creative writing to computer programming to ecology to marine biology. Classes are three and a half hours, once a week, and are held at the Institute. Several of the classes concentrate on planetary surface processes.