Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Does your child light up when they talk about space exploration? Do they wish they could build a base on another planet right now? In Astroneers: Astronaut Awesomeness, they basically can. Students team up to explore alien worlds, solve engineering problems, and build colonies, all inside the game Astroneers. It's collaborative problem-solving disguised as an intergalactic adventure, and your kiddo will love every minute of it.
Does your child love space and open-world building games like Minecraft? In Astroneers, they join a team of explorers chasing a mystery at the heart of the universe. Students crash-land on an alien planet and have to work together to survive and thrive as they build, explore, and learn. It is collaborative problem-solving disguised as an interstellar adventure.
Just like real astronauts and explorers, students have to work together, make plans, and divide and conquer. That takes genuine teamwork and leadership, so we pass around who serves as project manager for different builds along the way. Every learner gets a turn leading the mission.
As they build and explore, students need to share information clearly and explain their ideas to their teammates. The course gives them constant, low-pressure practice putting their thinking into words so the whole crew stays on the same page.
Surviving on an alien planet means identifying problems, prioritizing the most urgent needs, and staying flexible as the team learns new things, discovers new resources, and trades fresh ideas. Those are the executive function skills that carry straight into school and everyday life.
Base game only. Your learner will need a Steam account and the game Astroneer, plus access to a PC. Zoom can be joined on a second device if needed. You will also add the mentor on Steam as a friend for the duration of the course so your child can join the server.
Give your child a team of fellow explorers, a mentor who gets them, and a whole planet to conquer together. Their mission starts here.
In Astroneer, students cannot succeed alone. They have to plan together, divide work, and rely on each other, just like real explorers. Parents tell us their kids start showing stronger collaboration skills in other settings too, because the teamwork here feels natural and meaningful rather than forced.
Surviving on an alien planet requires planning, resource management, and creative problem-solving. Your child builds these executive function skills while doing something they genuinely love. The strategic thinking they practice here transfers directly to school projects, group work, and everyday decision-making.
Explore an alien planet as a team, solving survival challenges that require creativity and resourcefulness 
Build planning and strategic thinking skills by figuring out how to gather resources, build bases, and thrive in a hostile environment 
Practice real teamwork and leadership as they divide tasks, make group decisions, and coordinate like actual astronauts 
Develop communication and collaboration skills in a low-pressure, game-based setting where every team member matters 
Malikai Bass is a twice exceptional (profoundly gifted/ autistic adhder with dyspraxia/dysgrpahia) life-long learner who has been teaching twice-exceptional students virtually for the past four years working with over a thousand students in classrooms that center, celebrate, and affirm neurodiversity. I love helping students succeed and find the ways their brain works to thrive in all subjects and highlight the ways we can use gaming to practice and expand our executive functioning, life, and real social skills.
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
Parents don't just see happier kids. They see sharper thinking, stronger friendships, and a child who actually wants to log on.
★★★★★
"My son loves Mr. Malikai's chess courses. He's taken several, and he really enjoyed this course. Mr. Malikai is organized and punctual, but, best of all, he's positive and encouraging. While he passes on a lot of knowledge in his courses, he really emphasizes fun. Highly recommend his courses!"
Wendy P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter crash-landed on an alien planet with her team and came away talking about leadership. Mr. Malikai turns Astroneer into a real lesson in working together."
Marisol T.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son loves Mr. Malikai's chess courses. He's taken several, and he really enjoyed this course. Mr. Malikai is organized and punctual, but, best of all, he's positive and encouraging. While he passes on a lot of knowledge in his courses, he really emphasizes fun. Highly recommend his courses!"
Wendy P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter crash-landed on an alien planet with her team and came away talking about leadership. Mr. Malikai turns Astroneer into a real lesson in working together."
Marisol T.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Mr. Malikai lets the kids run the mission. My son was project manager one week, and you should have seen how proud he was of the base they engineered together."
Derek H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Astroneers is the first course where my son had to plan, prioritize, and problem-solve on the fly. Mr. Malikai coaches all of that executive function without it ever feeling like work."
Priya N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Mr. Malikai lets the kids run the mission. My son was project manager one week, and you should have seen how proud he was of the base they engineered together."
Derek H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Astroneers is the first course where my son had to plan, prioritize, and problem-solve on the fly. Mr. Malikai coaches all of that executive function without it ever feeling like work."
Priya N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My kid used to give up when a build got hard. After a semester exploring with Mr. Malikai, he sticks with the tricky engineering problems until the team solves them."
Nadia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The collaboration is real. Mr. Malikai has them divide the work, share what they find, and explain their ideas, and my daughter brought all of it home to her school group projects."
Colin R.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My kid used to give up when a build got hard. After a semester exploring with Mr. Malikai, he sticks with the tricky engineering problems until the team solves them."
Nadia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The collaboration is real. Mr. Malikai has them divide the work, share what they find, and explain their ideas, and my daughter brought all of it home to her school group projects."
Colin R.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son loves Mr. Malikai's chess courses. He's taken several, and he really enjoyed this course. Mr. Malikai is organized and punctual, but, best of all, he's positive and encouraging. While he passes on a lot of knowledge in his courses, he really emphasizes fun. Highly recommend his courses!"
Wendy P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter crash-landed on an alien planet with her team and came away talking about leadership. Mr. Malikai turns Astroneer into a real lesson in working together."
Marisol T.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Mr. Malikai lets the kids run the mission. My son was project manager one week, and you should have seen how proud he was of the base they engineered together."
Derek H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Astroneers is the first course where my son had to plan, prioritize, and problem-solve on the fly. Mr. Malikai coaches all of that executive function without it ever feeling like work."
Priya N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My kid used to give up when a build got hard. After a semester exploring with Mr. Malikai, he sticks with the tricky engineering problems until the team solves them."
Nadia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The collaboration is real. Mr. Malikai has them divide the work, share what they find, and explain their ideas, and my daughter brought all of it home to her school group projects."
Colin R.
YSA parent
If you’re not 100% in love with the course, you have options depending on how you enrolled:
You can switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit or get a credit to use toward a future course.
You can either get credit toward a future course, switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit, or stop all future payments after a 30-day processing period.
No risk. No stress. Just the learning and belonging you have been looking for.
We can offer this because we know what we do works for thousands of other families. Kids become more self-confident. They find their people. And families tell us this is the place where their student finally feels welcome. We know it will work for your family, too.
All-Access Passes have separate terms and conditions. Please see the All-Access Pass pages.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway... to qualify for the satisfaction guarantee policy, you have to actually attend the classes. This is not a cancellation policy. It’s a satisfaction guarantee. You can’t be satisfied or dissatisfied if you don’t attend.
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that offers one-of-a-kind, engaging enrichment courses and community for 5-18-year-old bright, quirky kids to empower them to develop their strengths, make like-minded friends, cultivate life skills, build confidence, and feel great about themselves under the loving care of expert mentors. description2: >- Picture a place where your child fits in, is celebrated, mentored, and loves learning the unique content their beautiful brain craves. That happens every day at YSA for over 1,200+ families, and it can happen for your family, too.
WASC Accredited · 1,200+ Families · 93% Re-Enroll · 47+ States, 17 Countries, 6 Continents
Learn more about YSAQUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COURSE
Everything you need to know before enrolling your child.
Most online classes put 20-30 kids in a room with a teacher who reads slides. At YSA, your child joins a group of 8 or fewer students who think like they do, led by a mentor who was often once just like them. Cameras are optional. The content is chosen by passion, not grade level. And 93% of families re-enroll - because kids who have never liked school before fight to log on to YSA.
Yes. YSA families join from 47+ states and 17 countries across 6 continents. All you need is an internet connection. We schedule sections across multiple time zones so families worldwide can find a time that works.
Astroneers: Astronaut Awesomeness meets once per week for 50 minutes, every week from August through December. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of up to 8 students and the same mentor all semester long. Same friends, same mentor, a new challenge every week.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. If your student should be aged up or aged down, contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. When a kid is engaged in a course they chose, with a mentor who gets them and peers who share their interests, the screen disappears. They're not on a screen. They're with their people. Parents tell us their children fight to log on to YSA.
If your child isn't loving a course by the end of the first week, swap into a different course. Same semester. No questions. Not the right fit within the first month? We'll stop payments, switch courses, or issue credit toward any future course. The credit never expires. And you keep every bonus you've received. Over 93% of YSA families don't just stay. They add more courses.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable. Our mentors engage every student equally, cameras on or off.
No. If you're here, you're in the right place. We don't require paperwork, evaluations, or labels. Whether your child has been formally identified as gifted or twice-exceptional, whether you suspect it but haven't pursued testing, or whether you just know your kid's brain works differently and nothing else has fit, they're welcome here.
Yes. YSA is an approved vendor with 10+ state ESA programs including Arizona ESA, Utah Fits All, ClassWallet, My Tech High, Florida Step Up, and others. Enroll directly to secure your child's spot, submit the invoice to your ESA, and your payment method is refunded when funds transfer. Many families pay zero out of pocket.
Click "See Available Times" on this page, pick the section that fits your schedule, and your child's spot is secured immediately. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite.
Right now, a kid who thinks like your kid is in a course they chose, with a mentor who was once just like them, surrounded by friends who don't think they're weird... they think they're interesting.
Your child is one click from finding out what that feels like.
An internet connection and a can-do attitude!