The final meeting of this class will be a performance. Preceding classes will be spent rehearsing. Students will work in small groups. Each group will work a with Stagecraft: Performance group to put on a complete productions of a 5-10 page scene. The Stagecraft: Technical Theater students will be organizing and executing all the tech, including costuming, make-up design, set design, lighting design, and special effects.
Prerequisites
Experience or interest in theater
Willingness to build and design at home
Willingness to attend every class
The final meeting of this class will be a performance. Preceding classes will be spent rehearsing. Students will work in small groups. Each group will work a with Stagecraft: Technical Theater group to put on a complete productions of a 5-10 page scene. The Stagecraft: Performance students will be the actors and (if interested) directors.
Prerequisites
Experience or interest in theater
Willingness to rehearse and learn lines at home
Willingness to attend every class
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! In this class you'll learn to take photos on old-fashioned black-and-white film, and to make beautiful prints in a darkroom just like the pros do. You'll learn how to manipulate light with your own hands, how to develop your own film, and create prints with stunning detail and quality.
We'll start out with the basics of how to shoot with a film camera; mastering shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control by shooting around the MIT campus, and on field trips to places like the Charles River Esplanade or the MIT museum. We'll then move on to rolling and developing our own film to make negatives that will last forever, and finally we'll learn how to use a darkroom to develop our pictures and bring them to life. We'll go over advanced and expressive techniques like burning & dodging, and how to make pictures without a camera.
Each time you make a print, you'll get a critique and guidance on how to improve. By the time the class is over you'll have a the beginnings of your own portfolio, shot in classic black-and-white, with a quality greater than any digital print. With your newfound knowledge of the darkroom, you'll be free to create your own art with no computers involved; just with your own two hands.
This class will cover basic instruction in guitar with emphasis on the physics and musical theory involved. Historical information will also be surveyed. Topics and instruction level will be driven by student interest, eagerness, and displayed skill level.
Prerequisites
Basic familiarity with the instrument is encouraged but not absolutely required. Students are also encouraged to acquire a guitar of their own, though I will also have a limited number available if this is impossible. There are many affordable used options. Ask a parent to help you with this. If the guitar has problems I can help to fix them for free. If you are unable to find a guitar, contact me at A4826-teachers@esp.mit.edu, and I can try to help you find one.
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! Go beyond the “automatic” mode and learn how to take the most abstract concepts and stunning visual subjects, and turn them into beautiful works of art. We’ll start out by learning the basics of photography; going over shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control, as well as post-production and digital editing techniques. From there we’ll learn the tricks and styles you can use to express your artistic vision, studying the examples of famous photographers from the past. We can explore the tools of framing, lighting and composition as we spend half of each day doing photo shoots around the MIT campus. Each shoot will have a theme such as landscapes, street photography, portraits, or any subject we decide to pursue. The course will culminate in a final project where each student will assemble a brief portfolio centered around any topic, subject or technique you like. On the last day of class you’ll receive a critique to leave or take with you as you go on to wield one of art’s most powerful tools: the camera.
Do you like to sing, dance, paint or write? Do you want to learn more about all of these artistic fields?
"The Arts" will feature a different teacher each week, addressing a different artistic idea. Some weeks, teachers will lecture, and teach students about things like the history of jazz or film theory. Other weeks, teachers will lead students in art projects, performing activities, or music sampling.
Exact class topics for this summer are still to be determined.
Each class will be taught by a different teacher, so it will be more like a series of seminars on the arts rather than an actual class on a specific topic.
This class will cover basic instruction in guitar with emphasis on the physics and musical theory involved. Historical information will also be surveyed. Topics and instruction level will be driven by student interest, eagerness, and displayed skill level.
Prerequisites
Basic familiarity with the instrument is encouraged but not absolutely required. Students are also encouraged to acquire a guitar of their own, though I will also have a limited number available if this is impossible. There are many affordable used options. Ask a parent to help you with this. If the guitar has problems I can help to fix them for free. If you are unable to find a guitar, contact me at A4827-teachers@esp.mit.edu, and I can try to help you find one.
This class will work all the way up from the basics of the transistor, to a full understanding of how computers and operating systems work.
This class is all about how computers work on a basic level. We will discuss the design and function of computers and the history of computing. Each class will build on the ideas of the last, so attendance is extremely important.
Highlights of this class will include implementing a basic CPU, hands-on experience with a 30-year-old Lisp Machine, and implementing a busy-beaver Turing Machine.
Don't know what all those things mean? Take this class and find out!
Prerequisites
An interest in the subject matter and a basic understanding of physics. (programming and electronics knowledge is awesome, but not required)
The fundamental concepts and approaches of aerospace engineering will be highlighted through interactive classroom sessions and hands-on activities while producing remote-controlled aircraft. We will cover background kinematics, vehicle stability, controllability rating scales, and other topics as time allows. Smaller weekly projects will include balsa plane construction, intermediate classroom exercises, and others as time allows.
Prerequisites
A basic understanding of physics is recommended.
This class will cover a breadth of topics to give students a taste of what different subjects in biophysics are like. We will cover how physical concepts can be applied to biomolecules (DNA, proteins, lipids) and cells and learn what different techniques are used to study biomolecules and cells. The content will try to give students an intuitive understanding and will incorporate a bit of history and interesting facts. Students will learn about microfluidics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and electricity applied to biological things! We will experiment with a model of AFM and microfluidics!
This course will encourage and guide the teen photographer to find the scene, see the light, and record in the digital world. Below is a list of the topics we will be covering in each class.
1 “Light as (the) fundamental particle” (S. Weinberg, 1974). We trace through Art its representation till present day.
2 ‘Scenes we love to know’. from the sunrise, through mid-day and finally sunset; populated and un-populated.
3 ‘Camera’ and its deconstruction’. Class project to ‘atomize’ digital point and shoots.
4 ‘Take MY picture!’. Class project to construct a ‘Photo Booth’ and take your picture.
5 ‘Let us stop IT (Light)!. Class project to use microprocessors to control a camera shutter.
6 ‘Common Camera Photography’. Class project to use your digital camera.
7 ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall’. Class project to use un-conventional reflectors. And/or photo field trip to points on the MIT campus to improve students skills.
Prerequisites
Some interest in the photographic process
E4770: Microbial Chemical Factories (or How to Win Friends and Influence Microbes) Closed!
Come learn about synthetic biology, an exciting field that combines engineering with molecular biology. In class, we’ll aim to answer questions like these: How do we harness the power of microbes and proteins so that we can to produce important chemicals like biofuels and pharmaceuticals from renewable resources? How can we assemble existing biological processes in new and useful ways? To get there, we'll be looking at everything from recombinant DNA technology to what laundry detergent has in common with pineapple juice (and how that knowledge can be useful). We’ll also do hands-on demos and experiments that you can use later to impress your friends and family.
Prerequisites
A high school biology course is strongly recommended.
E4813: Introduction to Engineering: Lecture Series
Do you think you might want to be an engineer, but don’t know much about what an engineer does? This class is designed to expose you to problems in various engineering fields. Past classes have included model rocket design, taught by an aerospace engineer and sorting algorithms taught by a software engineer.
The following engineering disciplines will be addressed (subject to change).
Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Software Engineering Chemical Engineering Electrical Engineering
Each class will be taught by a different teacher, so it will be more like a series of seminars on engineering than an actual class.
The French Revolution did not just bring changes in politics and the economy, but in the social sphere and fashions of the French culture as well. These changes were swift in the span of ten years before and after the Revolution, and mark the beginnings of the nineteenth-century bourgeois. Elements of the styles and trends which arose during the Revolution remain consistent today.
The course intends to follow the fashion trends from the Rococo and Neo-classical era until the Napoleonic era. It will put in context both the events of the Ancien Regime and the French Revolution era: from the reign of Marie Antoinette to the reign of Napoleon. How these fashion changes came about will be examined in the perspective of the political, economic and social changes at the time.
Students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions. Assignments will include weekly in-class diary reflections. Students will be expected to develop a final project throughout the class pertaining to a topic related to one of the eras studied. The final project may be in the form of a creative or paper-written project; however, students should expect to give a small presentation (2-3 minutes) on their topic on the last day of class.
In this course, students will be challenged to delve deep into a character's persona in order to write more effective characterizations in a work of fiction. Whether you are an avid roleplayer, short story writer, sudden fiction writer, or novelist, this course will give you the tools and inspiration you need to develop compelling characters. Topics to be discussed will include Mary Sues and Gary Stus, effective and ineffective use of archetypes, and why character-driven writing is especially poignant regardless of genre. Students should bring a notebook and pen/pencil to each class and expect to spend time between classes on assigned exercises. This course will be reading, workshop, and writing intensive.
Prerequisites
Some experience with creative writing, either formal or informal.
Quantum mechanics is mathematical physics on a very small scale, often smaller than atoms. But there are many ways to interpret what experiments in quantum mechanics are telling us about the world. Philosophical interpretations of quantum mechanics raise issues about definite properties, indeterminism, “observation”, locality, hidden variables, and more. Interest in physics and philosophy, but no previous experience, is necessary. We will go over the fundamentals of quantum mechanics in conceptual detail with a little math, and focus on its philosophical foundations and possible conclusions. Weekly homework assigned: short reading, a little math, and short-answer reflection on the material. (1-2 pages/week)
CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING about Dreams and Dreaming
The class is an inter-disciplinary mix of science, psychology, philosophy, language and the arts.
Dreams have been described as the doorway to the unconscious. But do we understand what we dream, or why? In deep sleep, we recreate our past memories; do we also dream and create the future? Are our dreams trying to tell us something?
We'll discuss what we know about the brain and the science of thinking and the mechanics of dreaming, the theories as to where dreams come from and what they mean. And then we'll discuss the contradictions and the areas where science has no answers. As we dive deeper into trying to understand the depths of the mind we'll pivot to physics, psychology and the language of the psyche. We'll compare the theories of Dumhoff, Freud, Jung, Einstein, Perls and Cayce, among others. One class will be devoted to the artwork and the visions and lucid dreams that Carl Jung recorded in his Red Book, which was withheld from publication for over 50 years. During the last two sessions students will hold a Dream Council, using what you have learned to interpret the dreams of your fellow classmates.
Each class includes examples of the creative use of dreams and dreaming in famous literature, art, music and film. Special attention will be given to oneiric film-making and the use of dream sequences. Movies will include Avatar, Inception, Shutter Island, The Matrix, Ground Hog Day, Minority Report, The Cell and Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
We discuss many topics you may never have considered or debated, it’s a lot of fun and I hope you join us. See you in class!
Prerequisites
none
H4758: Women in Islam: Islamic Feminism, the Veil, Politics, and Love
In this course, we will explore the changing and varied roles women have played in Islam from its founding to the present day. Among the topics to be discussed will be women in Muhammad (PBUH) 's time, the rise of Islamic feminism, women in Sharia law, women and music, covering (hijab, abaya, jilbab, burqa, etcetera.), women in politics, women and Islamic terrorism, women and political Islam, women and the clergy, women in Salafism, and contemporary Muslim women.
Classes will consist of lectures and discussions. Students should have a basic familiarity with the religion of Islam, an interest in learning about an under-represented topic, an open mind, and a willingness to engage in critical discussions. Students will be expected to write one brief journal entry after each class.
Prerequisites
You should know the five pillars of Islam and be able to explain each.
H4799: Fun with Political Philosophy and Economy Closed!
Ever look at current events and wonder "just what are these people thinking?!" Ever wondered if people have actually thought about politics in a serious way?
The course will be structured around highly recommended readings, in-class debate and discussion, and student interest.
It will begin with brief overview of the main schools of thought most Western philosophers use to make moral evaluations, and then focus in on the high-stakes questions of "distributive justice"—the question of how politics, ethics, and the broader society decide who gets what.
Prerequisites
Curiosity and a willingness to read some text outside class will make this course more fun and profitable.
H4798: What You DON’T know about Fairy Tales: Is It really a “Happily Ever After?” Closed!
As children, we have watched many happy-ending Disney fairy tales, but are these stories really as “happy” as they seem? In fact, there is a darker version to these stories: The Grimm Fairy Tales, written by the Grimm Brothers. In this class, we will study the different interpretations of fairy tales by rigorously analyzing selected stories (Cinderella, Snow White, the Little Mermaid, etc.) and films in class, focusing specifically on violence, and the social implications of the texts.
A crash course to the basic foundations of journalism, Journalism 101 will teach everything from writing the perfect lead to taking the clutch photo. Classes will be structured so that students will practice writing strategies and journalistic writing styles. Students will learn not only how to write news stories, feature stories, and editorials but also how to write them for an audience. Enrolled students will also learn how to take interesting photographs and how to choose which photographs are best to print. Students in Journalism 101 will understand the ethics of journalism as well as the importance of journalism in the world today. The goals of the class are two-fold: to instill a sense of journalistic competence for aspiring editors and photographers while cultivating a greater appreciation for news sources.
Course Instructor David Han has served as Editor-in-Chief of his high school newspaper Denebola in Newton, MA. The publication has won numerous awards including the General Excellence Award at Suffolk University in 2010 as well as first place in the New England Scholastic Press Association Award that same year. When asked about his Journalism 101 class, he replied, “It’s going to be fun – no doubt."
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of English writing and grammar.
H4761: How to Win Friends and Influence People Closed!
Have you ever wondered how people work? Why do people do what they do? Why is it that you think the way you think, behave the way you do ... what is it that makes you feel a certain way? These are some of the basic questions answered in this class.
How to Win Friends and Influence People [HWFIP] is a class about neuroscience and psychology applied to business, management, leadership, friends, and everyday life. It's named after the best selling book of 70 years by Dale Carnegie of the same name.
We will touch upon not only pragmatic tips for attraction, persuasion, leadership, and charisma, we will explore the science behind them and the science behind human behavior and emotions in general. We will examine how attraction works, what experiences contribute to your personality, and what happens when those mechanisms go wrong and result in mental disorders.
This class is intended to be useful and, thus interactive, each iteration of this course has run differently because the students bring their lives into it to be analyzed or understood. The more you are willing to contribute yourself, your friends, and your life, the more you will learn and the more this class can help you.
The goal of HWFIP is to provide each student, upon completion, a working model for handling people in the real world. You will be able to intelligently plan ahead for what you will say or do if you want to comfort a friend in a crisis, salvage a relationship, inspire your coworkers, or lead a team to victory.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of chemistry and biology. You should know what atoms and ions are, and what a eukaryotic cell is.
Students will simultaneously learn both how to algorithmically solve the Rubik's cube and the mathematical structures underlying the Cube. Next, they will combine the two to analyze valid configurations of the Rubik's cube and possible alternate algorithms to solving a scrambled cube.
Prerequisites
A love for math and a willingness to have fun!
Like puzzles but hate math in school? Think math has cool applications but don't know what they are? Come find out about recreational mathematics - fun topics that require no higher math knowledge (nothing more complicated than exponents. If we can get away without logarithms, we won't use them). Each class will cover a particular topic with a couple of applications from that topic. Topics taught in this class will be taken from Martin Gardner's The Colossal Book of Mathematics.
Prerequisites
Know what exponents are and how to use them.
M4767: Introduction to Proof-based Mathematics Closed!
Interested in math, but a little bored with the tedious, redundant problems presented in high school? Keep wondering why you can use the formulas and shortcuts your teachers give you? Want to learn about the major branches of math not even hinted at in a traditional high school curriculum? Or better yet, want to learn what pure math is all about: proving theorems?!? In this class we will explore the construction of elegant mathematical proofs through some exciting areas of math: abstract algebra, finite geometry, and elementary number theory. The class will include lecture-style presentation of material and mediated group work constructing your own proofs.
Prerequisites
Algebra at the level of high school algebra 2, no familiarity with proofs is necessary or desirable
This class will extend basic mathematical concepts introduced in high school to a more sophisticated level and apply them to solving problems and puzzles. We will cover probability, combinatorics, geometry, algebra, and number theory. Emphasis will be placed on conceptual understanding and connections between mathematical ideas rather than on computation. These techniques will be useful in high school mathematics competitions as well as in college. All levels of problem-solvers are encouraged to enroll!
Prerequisites
High school algebra and geometry. Precalculus highly recommended. In particular, we will assume familiarity with the quadratic formula, the Pythagorean theorem, and combinations and permutations. Familiarity with logarithms and geometric series will be helpful but is not required.
Math is not about formulas and symbols: it's about finding patterns! If three people want to all introduce themselves to each other, how many introductions will take place? Just three! But what about ten people? fifty?
Through interactive lectures, this class will introduce quirky mathematical topics not covered in regular curricula (number theory, graph theory, logic, set theory, geometry, etc.) The lectures are intended for middle school students. The class will be taught by organizers of the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament, an annual math tournament run by Harvard and MIT students.
Think matrices are boring? Think again! This course will be an all-encompassing introduction to the basics of linear algebra, starting with elementary row operations and matrix properties, eigenvectors and eigenvalues, vector spaces to linear transformations. We will be covering these topics extensively in lecture, and supplementing them with homework, which is optional, but highly recommended as a complement to class material. Along the way, students will learn some basic proofs in linear algebra, along with problem solving techniques.
You might think you know how to count. Maybe you can even solve sudokus pretty quickly, or have never lost a game of Mastermind. But, can you count the number of ways to place 16 kings on a chess board so that no two are threatening each other? Do you know how to make sure that a sudoku has a unique solution? Can you always win Mastermind in the least possible number of moves?
If not, come to this class! Each class, we'll spend about half the time developing some ideas in combinatorics, the area of math where we count things, and determine other properties of our countable things. Then, we'll spend the other half solving problems and puzzles using tricky arguments, keeping these ideas in mind. Come expecting to problem solve, learn, and have fun!
Topics to include: -Introduction to combinatorics; permutations, combinations, the principle of inclusion-exclusion, and probability -Tricky applications of simple ideas; the pigeonhole, invariance, extremal, and coloring principles -Combinatorial Identities; bijections, double-counting, and induction -Sequences and series; recurrences, calculus of polynomials, and generating functions -Introduction to graph theory; Eulerian and Hamiltonian paths, flows and cuts, and matchings -More graph theory; planarity, coloring, and Ramsey theory -Burnside's lemma and Polya counting theory. Combinatorial game theory
Prerequisites
A strong grasp of algebra, at least the equivalent of algebra 2. Basic understanding of counting and probability helpful.
Introduction to statistical reasoning. Emphasis on concepts rather than in-depth coverage of traditional statistical methods. Topics include methods of colleting data, and descriptive statistics . Many experiments are conducted throughout the course. On average there is one to two homework problems (sometimes even three) assigned a week.
Linux is a free and open-source alternative to commercial operating systems like Windows and Mac OS. It powers diverse systems including Android smartphones, parts of the International Space Station, and much of the Internet.
This class will focus on using Linux for day-to-day personal computing tasks. We'll start by exploring basic paradigms of the Linux desktop and then drill deeper to see how things actually work "under the hood".
Prerequisites
No previous experience with Linux is required. However, you should be technically proficient and comfortable working with computers.
You and a friend take turns placing dominoes on an 8 by 8 chessboard. Each domino covers two squares and no two dominoes may overlap. You place dominoes vertically and your friend places them horizontally, and whoever can’t fit a domino loses. Will you or your friend come out on top? We’ll look at the math and the theory behind certain games. How do you find a winning strategy? Can you break the game up into smaller games? Although we will play games, the focus will be on using math to figure out who will win before the first move is even made.
M4823: Cryptography and Privacy, Past and Present Closed!
Explore the foundations of cryptography and the applications to information security today.
Jump into the world of Facebook and public health records where the wealth of publicly available data has revolutionized the way we protect information and view our right to "privacy".
This class will include some math and methods, as well as coding (depending on student interest)- although no prior experience is required.
M4791: Application Coding for your Daily Needs Closed!
This isn't your average programming class. We are not going to teach you how to sort lists or code the Fibonacci sequence.
Instead, we will be showing you how to make programs that are ACTUALLY useful. By working with libraries on the internet, we will teach you how to integrate others' code into your own code. We will also teach you basic programming concepts so that by the time you finish this class, you will be able to take most libraries on the internet and make them your own!
Welcome to the world of programming!
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of Programming (even a short introduction will do)
Introduction to statistical reasoning. Emphasis on concepts rather than in-depth coverage of traditional statistical methods. Topics include sampling and experimentation, descriptive statistics normal distribution and chi squared. Many experiments are conducted throughout the course. On average there is one to two homework problems (sometimes even three) assigned a week.
The summer is a great time to try something new! In this case, we will be putting a bit of a new spin on an “old idea”—counting. We all know how to do it (hopefully), but what may be more interesting is that many “simple-sounding” counting problems have surprisingly complex solutions. For example, suppose eight students take a test and hand it in. The next day, a the teacher is out sick and the substitute teacher attempts to hand back the tests without knowing the students’ names. How many ways can she hand back the tests so that no single student gets back his or her original test? It is relatively easy to understand the question—but its solution is a bit involved, as we will see when we study derangements. That is essentially what this summer class will be about—solving problems that involve a “how many ways” circumstance with different methods and techniques which we will acquire!
Class-time will be used for mini-“lectures”, group activities, individual problem-solving, and presentations. There will be short, but meaningful assignments for this class. On average, it should take you between an hour and an hour and a half for each weekly assignment. If this is a time commitment you cannot or do not want to make, you may want to consider registering for a different class. You will not be expected to get everything correct, but you will be expected to attempt every problem.Be prepared to participate actively and be fully engaged in the discussion at hand! This is not a lecture-based class like you may be used to—so don’t be afraid to try something new!
Topics will include Derangements, the inclusion-exclusion principle, the Fibonacci Sequence, its motivation, the golden ratio, recursion relations, and elementary Ramsey theory.
Prerequisites
You should know basic geometry (area formulas, and all that) and basic algebra (i.e., solving many-step equations should not scare you.) Beyond that, it is imperative that you are willing to take part in a discussion-based class. This will help the course be accessible to all students who enroll.
The most important thing is that you are willing and ready to have fun, and come in expecting a challenge!
Logic is the formal study of reasoning and arguments, or what makes something true or false given its context. In this class, we will explore the basics of formal logic, and its applications to philosophy and computer science (like Meta Theory and the Turing Machine). Logic is a powerful subject to know: studying it will help you with computer code, expository writing, and general problem solving! Also, there will be food :-)
Have you ever wondered what makes popcorn pop or how caffeine perks you up? Are you just interested in learning about food, and eating some too? In this course we’ll cover a range of topics designed to show the scientific processes behind what you do in the kitchen and will cook and eat foods to illustrate these principles. We will examine topics including the biochemical basis of smell and taste, the use of leavening agents, differences among various dairy products, and the creation of various desserts. The biological and chemical concepts necessary to understand these processes will be taught alongside this material. At the end of the class, students should have a firm grasp of science in the kitchen.
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how many stars are there? Does it go on forever? Where do we fit in? And how did it all begin? Join us on an exciting tour of the universe as we journey from Earth to the farthest reaches of space. To infinity and beyond!
Think water comes from the tap? Think again! This interactive course will take you on an exploration of the water processes that surround us, from rainstorms to groundwater recharge. Impress your friends with a deep understanding of the water cycle, informed opinions on issues threatening our water supply today, and experience in conducting experiments that test the physics of water.
With a hands-on demonstration or experiment every class – from flowing dye through a giant ant farm* to trying sampling methods on the Charles River – be prepared to get your feet (well, at least your hands) wet!
In this class, we will cover the basics of genetics, from Mendel's famous pea experiments to fruit fly genetics. We will talk about DNA, cross-linking, and genetic sequencing; we will also explore modern developments in this quickly evolving field by summarizing recent publications.
What was the first computer ever constructed, and who built it? Hint: it wasn't made by Microsoft or Apple.
Want to know who first proposed the idea of the atom, or how astronomers realized that Earth was not the center of the universe, or how bacteria and DNA were discovered?
If so, come join us on a 3,000-year journey through the history of science! This class is designed to expose you to many of the technological and scientific developments that allowed our society to advance to where it is today. Each of the seven classes will consist of a unique topic, taught by a different guest teacher. Individual lessons may consist of lectures, video clips, demonstrations, and discussions, though the exact topics and content are still to be determined.
This class will cover some of the important basic principals of Classical Mechanics. We will study motion and Newton's laws and we will try to solve as many as possible problems in these topics. There is no calculus required for this class.
In this class we will learn how different power plants work and how they make energy that we then use in our homes. In class we'll survey several types of energy sources: solar, geothermal, wind, nuclear energy, and energy from fossil fuels. We'll learn the importance of saving energy and why we hear so much about it.
This course aims to teach introductory mechanics through physics’ amazing applications. Expect unicycling, diablo spinning, rolla bolla balancing, parachuting, and (painless) pillow fighting. Learn why physics matters in your life. Math included, but we eat the “dessert” first.
Have you ever wondered why the year has twelve months? Why a circle has 360 degrees? Why we count to ten? Why is a meter a meter, and a yard a yard? A lot of the conventions that we use in science and other areas of our lives don't come from well reasoned decisions, but instead come from the arbitrary and sometimes hilarious minds of people. Come listen to the stories of why we do many of the things that we do, and the people and science that influenced them.
S4794: Painting with Atoms: The Art of Organic Chemistry Closed!
Organic chemistry is aesthetically unique among the physical sciences because it demands an artist's creativity and a scientist's logic to create vast arrays of complex and beautiful molecular structures from a set of simple chemical building blocks. Like math with pictures, organic chem challenges us to combine knowledge of physical laws with spatial reasoning to solve complex problems like designing drugs, plastics, explosives, and other surprising molecules we come in contact with every day. This class will cover the basics of organic chem from drawing Lewis structures to sketching perfect benzene hexagons and chair conformations, stereochemistry, arrow-pushing mechanisms, nucleophilic substitution/addition syntheses, cool stuff with electrophilic aromatic substitution, and more! By the end of the class, students will be able to use forward and retrosynthetic techniques to plan the synthesis of cool molecules like TNT, caffeine, and common drugs from a toolbox of standard organic molecules. Additionally, we will look at how creative syntheses can make targets more efficiently and compare some of the most beautiful organic molecules to famous works of art.
Students should be familiar with general chemistry and enjoy puzzle solving and art. We may have craft sessions with painting and do some in-class molecule building with toothpicks and gumdrops, plus other games and activities to improve our spatial reasoning and chemical intuition!
Prerequisites
This will be a fast course and will require students who are comfortable with general chemistry. Additionally, to really understand the material, students should be willing to spend some time on optional practice problem sets.
Genetics is a discipline of biology that deals with the molecular structure and functions of genes. Given that genes are prevalent in all living organisms, genetics has applications to many biological fields, including molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and paleontology. In this course, we will discuss the principles of genetics and how to apply them at the molecular, cellular, and organismal level. The topics include: structure and function of genes, complementation test, probability and pedigree analysis, mitosis and meiosis, recombination and genetic linkage, tetrad analysis, human genetics, gene structure and DNA analysis, mutagenesis, suppressor mutations, and genetic regulation.
Prerequisites
One year (or equivalent) of general biology is required.
S4796: Introduction to Electricity and Magnetism Closed!
What is electricity? How do magnets work? And why are the two related? This class will provide an introduction to Electricity and Magnetism, an important branch of Physics.
Prerequisites
Familiarity with Algebra and Trigonometry
Microscopic creatures are all around us! Come learn about their physiology and molecular biology, their evolutionary histories and the vast diversity of microbial species that exists today. We will learn both the ways in which microorganisms function and about the classic experiments that led to this knowledge. At the end of the class we will discuss how microorganisms affect humans, from destructive diseases to beneficial applications in industry.
This course aims to teach introductory mechanics through physics’ amazing applications. Expect unicycling, diablo spinning, rolla bolla balancing, parachuting, and (painless) pillow fighting. Learn why physics matters in your life. Math included, but we eat the “dessert” first.
Prerequisites
Decent algebra background. But mostly excitement!
S4763: Social Psychology: Why people do what they do, and how to outsmart them Full!
In this course you’ll learn about the root of prejudice, and where bad decisions come from. You’ll figure out how to be a better leader, and why your lab partner is so lazy. You’ll learn whether or not you can trust a jury, and how otherwise good people can be driven to commit acts of evil. For better or for worse, people do things which we sometimes can’t explain, yet we go on interacting with them because we have to; but wouldn’t things be easier if we knew the reasons why?
This course is about people, how they think about other people, and why. As we study experiments and theories which reveal surprising truths about our own thoughts, this course will teach you how to recognize where social thinking goes wrong, and how to outsmart it.
We will be exploring the weird world of relativity, where moving rulers shrink, moving clocks run slow, mass "is" energy, particles can have momentum but no mass, and space and time are inextricably linked. We will survey various relativistic phenomena and develop some of the math needed to describe the structure of our relativistic world.
Prerequisites
Mechanics, some exposure to calculus (know what a derivative is). Exposure to matrices recommended.
Look beyond premed into the rapidly expanding world of biotechnology. If you are considering studying science in college, but aren’t sure what area interests you, this is the class for you. If you think you know what you like, but want to be sure before you eliminate all other possibilities, this also is the class for you.
Every week we will look at a different field in biotechnology. Each lesson will provide an overview the basic science needed for a general grasp of the that week's field. The second part will cover the most recent biotechnological advances in that field, with an emphasis on applications. Depending on student interest, the class may also explore the ethical dilemmas presented by certain advances. There will also be occasional in-class group projects. The topics covered will include but not be limited to virology, stem cells, genetic engineering, cancer, aging, memory and the brain, bioinformatics, and synthetic biology.
Prerequisites
Some high school biology is recommended, but the class will not assume that you have prior experience with any of the subjects.
How does our brain and mind work? This course aims to expand your current knowledge of the brain to understand how the brain affects us in every facet of our lives. To name a few topics, we will be discussing the brain's structure and function, learning, memory, emotion, intelligence, personality, and psychological disorders (Alzhiemer's, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, etc)! Lastly, we will discuss current research in brain and cognitive sciences and tour related MIT laboratories.
Most of us have heard about anime, but have you recieved the full experience? At MIT Anime Academy, you'll learn what sets anime and manga apart from other cartoons and comic books, how to use chopsticks, what honorifics are, watch a new anime at the end of every class, and on top of all that, get the best homework in the world!
X4755: Leadership Training Institute (LTI) Closed!
Welcome to the Leadership Training Institute (LTI). The goal of the Leadership Training Institute is to teach motivated high school students the philosophy behind leadership, the importance of teamwork, and to promote self-reflection and the comprehension of self-identity.
In a world of advancements in technology, globalization, partnerships and interactions amongst nations, severe environmental problems and humanitarian crises, there must be leaders who will build the future. We plan to start with students in the Cambridge and Boston area. Currently, we feel students are engaging in leadership activities for the wrong reasons or do not know how to apply their innate leadership ability because they do not know the foundations of leadership. LTI seeks to enlighten students with the basics of leadership concepts while also engaging them in a supportive mentorship with successful, experienced MIT leaders. Ultimately, our goal is to fulfill and optimally apply their leadership potential.
LTI is proud of our interactive curriculum. Instead of a lecture format, we encourage our students to scream, run around, think, reflect and learn in their own way.
You're spending 6 hours at HSSP. Come make 1.5 of those be a little more peaceful. Enjoy a different type of good tea every week, and learn and discuss a little bit about its origins, history, and the politics of its region of production. This is your chance to try 7 different types of really good tea from across the world without having to buy it yourself! As a bonus, the last class is going to involve us making our own chai tea --- we'll have a lot of fun.
You should be aware that this class is discussion-based, and you will be expected to do 30 minutes of research every week to talk for 2-3 minutes during class about some tea-and-politics topic assigned the week before. You should also be willing to make new friends.
Prerequisites
If you're very allergic to anything that some people might want to put in their tea (e.g. milk, cinnamon), or might be allergic to some ingredient possibly used, please email summer-hssp@mit.edu to check if it will be an issue.
X4822: Activism and Community Organizing: How to be Rad! Closed!
Are you the next Dorothy Day? The minute you find something you don't like about society is often the same minute you want to change it. Find yourself seeing something you don't like, but don't know how to fix it? Organizing a protest, getting together a community, and working towards social justice makes up a skill set. In this class, we will learn about the history of different movements, and learn all of the skills it takes to lead your own. The class also includes a small, long term project (time given in class to work on it) that will end in presentations.
Prerequisites
Caring about something, is your only requirement. Also, a willingness to learn a new way of thinking and speaking-this will be a safe space, where only non-hurtful opinions will be accepted.
Modern Western Square Dancing is a form of group cooperative dance. The dancers have been taught a vocabulary of movements (calls) and a leader (the caller) puts these movements together in an unpredictable, ever-changing pattern in real time. The dancers don't know which call comes next and yet are able to respond to create a smooth, ever changing pattern of movement.
This class will start with no assumed knowledge of dancing (square or otherwise) and teach a vocabulary of 68 calls. In square dancing, the basic step and rhythm are simple making it a good first dance form. The challenge comes in remembering the calls from the previous sessions, and learning more each week. The fun is working with the other 7 dancers in your square, moving with the music, responding to the calls, and having everything "click".
During the third block, middle school students are given the opportunity to participate in ESPrinkler, a mini-program that consists of about five one-shot (Splash-style) classes and activities each week. This summer's offerings are still largely undetermined, though some confirmed classes are "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Bacteria?," "Your classical intuition is wrong," and "Storytime with Josh."
While you don’t have to individually register for each activity, you must register for this course (ESPrinkler) to partake in the different activities offered every week!
