Do you want to get into music? Have a ukelele you've always been meaning to learn how to play? In this class we'll start at the basics, and learn a bunch of ukelele techniques!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
This class is for students without prior ukelele experience. No music experience of any kind necessary!

Have you ever wondered what all the buzz about AI is about? In this course, we will learn about what artificial intelligence is and how it is being used in the world today. We will give you an opportunity to explore current research surrounding AI and how AI is used in various fields of science through a series of engaging lectures given by various teachers. No prior background in AI is needed - we hope to see you there!


Class Style
Lecture

Want to learn programming but can't choose which language to learn? Can't choose a course? Well, you're at the right place! This class will introduce you to the art of programming using an approach inspired by MIT's old course 6.001 and the companion textbook Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP). Despite its age, the book is still highly relevant and is even regarded as the best textbook on programming by some.

This class is the Purist's (somewhat opinionated) Introduction to Programming. We use a minimal yet highly expressive language called Scheme to teach you essential ideas in programming that can be transferred to any other languages. We emphasize the functional programming paradigm from the very start, and you will become fully comfortable with the oh-so-scary recursion. (Arguably, the way programming is taught nowadays makes it harder for students to grasp those so-called "advanced" concepts; they are actually quite primitive and intuitive if viewed from the correct angle.)

Given the time constraints, we expect to cover parts of the first three chapters of SICP at a relatively shallow but hopefully still insightful and applicable level. This class should prepare students for further focused study on introductry programming. We hope this class is enlightening for both students who are completely new to programming and students with prior experience. Supplementary exercises are provided for students who want to dive deeper.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Prior programming experience helpful but not required. A lot of examples are based on high school algebra. Students should be comfortable with rational numbers, polynomials, functions, and basic geometric facts (e.g. Pythagorean theorem). Laptop is not required but may be useful.

Presented to you by MIT's Rocket Team, you will learn about a different component of the rocket each class (aerodynamics, avionics, solid and liquid propulsion, structures, and recovery). You will end the course with a class competition!


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
None!

Surrealism is a cultural movement derivative of post-WWI Europe that sought to free the subconscious mind through imaginative and nonsensical expression. André Breton’s First Manifesto of Surrealism spoke of the “omnipotence of dream”, claiming that the resolution of two contradictory states; dream and reality, would open the mind to true freedom of thought. Following the philosophical publishings of Breton and others, surrealism expanded into the art world, and later into the realm of digital media. In this course we will explore the relationship between irrationality and logic within creative expression.

Day one will serve as an introduction to surrealism.
On day two we will focus on surrealism in traditional art.
On day three we will explore surrealist expression within digital media.
On day four we will dig deep into the political and social implications of surrealism–speaking about intersectionality within the movement.
On day five materials will be supplied to create your very own surrealist masterpiece. (No art background is required, expectations are low!)
On day six we will reflect seminar-style on surrealism within the art world.


Class Style
Lecture

The novel expounds, the short short story grasps you by the throat. From Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" or Hemmingway's “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn”, before we can luxuriate in complex plot or detailed character analysis, there is the need to strip every motion to its bare essence. How do we do that? By practice. For this class all of us, even the teacher, will write and rewrite a short short story, no more the 1500 words, and read it to the others. In to this space we shall pack character, plot, description, and foreshadowing to grab the reader into another world.


Class Style
Seminar

Finance is a broad field of finance that ranges from investment bankers to corporate finance to financial planning and so much more. As a high schooler, where do you begin to figure out which, if any, are right for you? In this course, we will teach you the basics of finance from as many areas as we can, including net present value analysis, corporate finance, venture financing, stocks, bonds, and options. We will also end each class with a short, in-depth discussion about one particular career in finance. Buckle up cowboys, this is gonna be a wild ride.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Strong algebra skills and motivation to learn

Science comes down to models of the super complicated world around us; and the best models, are the ones we use to this day to send rockets into space, create electrical systems, and invest in the stock market. And as we’ll find in this course, some of the most famous and applicable models don’t even need to be that complicated to be useful!
This course will give a broad outlook on modeling electrical and mechanical systems using first and second-order differential equations and coding up small simulations to visualize our mathematical predictions. On a typical class day, we will start with a system, analyze it mathematically in the first half, and program a simulation in the second half.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Calculus 1 OR knowledge of: - Basic differentiation - Exposure to (don't need to know how to solve) differential equations Physics 1 OR knowledge of: - Displacement, velocity, acceleration - Newton's second law Please bring a laptop - no prior programming experience required!

Solving integrals is hard, wouldn't it be better to get a computer to do that for you? Here we explore numerical methods, beginning at "What is a derivative? (20 min. edition)" and using that answer to solve impossible problems quickly and accurately.

Lecture schedule (tentative):
1. The derivative, fixed point iteration, Newton's, Euler & Runge-Kutta methods.
2. Gauss-Legendre quadrature, solving PDE's (e.g. heat equation). Finite difference methods & correctors.
3. Matrices: finding eigenvalues/vectors, Broyden's method, condition number & stiffness. Common bases and their condition numbers (i.e. why polynomials are bad).
4. Finite element methods w/ Chebyshev polynomials or sines/cosines. Fourier/DCT transforms, Fourier analysis (faster solvers) & Fourier analysis (determining convergence rate).
5. Optimization: golden section, simplex, gradient descent, conjugate gradient method, Adam.
6. Different ideas, maybe a combination of them: Image recognition w/ Bayes' theorem, the Lagrangian w/ the simplex method, image compression w/ principal component analysis.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Middle school algebra

Do you want to learn how reactions in our body work or how medicine is made? Bored of what you are learning in your current high school chemistry class? Then take this class to challenge yourself and have a better understanding of how electron movement and fundamental chemistry concepts explain the mechanism behind certain reactions.
In order to understand material in this class, students are expected to brush up on their chemistry background, which includes acids/bases, resonance structures, electronegativity, etc.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Completion or concurrent enrollment of AP/IB Chemistry or equivalent is recommended.

A brief tour of the various chemical dyes and stains still used in the modern day pathology lab. By perusing images of tissue sections stained by a dozen or so separate dyes (often just two), a fantastic amount of biochemical information can be gleaned. Tissue changes due to disease or death alter the staining landscape and consequently, the gallery of images obtained through histology.

This will give us an excuse to discuss the underlying chemistry of the molecules the dyes stain; proteins, carbohydrates, DNA, RNA etc.

A sneaky way of introducing the student to biochemistry though the old fashioned light microscope.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
basic biology and chemistry knowledge

In this class we will start with the basics of cancer biology and immunology and talk about recent advances at the interface of the two fields.


Class Style
Lecture

This course covers the principles and applications of environmental chemistry through a case-study centered approach. We will observe the natural world and identify underlying chemical mechanisms. By applying basic chemistry knowledge such as acids and bases and polarity, students will gain an understanding of how chemical processes govern changes in soil, water, and sediment. The chemistry of environmental pollution will be emphasized. Topics include but are not limited to: water quality, acid mine drainage, soil ion exchange, DDT/TCE transport, and organic contaminant remediation.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Completion of or enrollment in basic chemistry is highly recommended. At minimum, students should be able to read a chemical formula and reaction.

Ever wonder what's going on in your brain? How do we form memories? Why do we dream? Is mind control really possible?

In this course, we will go over cool topics in neuroscience in an easy-to-digest way. We'll talk about neurons, false memories, artificial and human intelligence, and much, much more! The classes will mainly be interactive lessons, with a number of hands-on activities and demonstrations mixed in. During the last class we will tour real neuroscience labs at MIT!

We're excited to explore the brain with you!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Some biology background is preferred, but not required

Where are they? In a universe so vast, there should be aliens around somewhere, so why haven't we seen them yet? In this class, we will take a galactic perspective of life and discuss how life might arise on other planets, how aliens (and us) might move around space, and how we can communicate with extraterrestrials.


Class Style
Lecture

Are you passionate about medicine or healthcare? Or the environment? Or maybe you just want to learn more about global health? If any of those apply to you, then you should come to MIT Global Health Alliance's class - Topics in Global Health! We'll provide you with focused examples of relevant global health topics ranging from Women's Health to Planetary Health. We hope to see you there!


Class Style
Discussion

Explore a new STEM topic every week with lectures given by various teachers!


Class Style
Lecture

In case you've become too optimistic about humanity's future after we've survived the worst of COVID, in this class we'll take a scientific approach to the end of the world and explore climate change, nuclear war, bioweapons, and AI as potential sources of our downfall.


Class Style
Lecture

Explore a new topic in the humanities, arts, or social sciences every week with lectures given by various teachers!


Class Style
Lecture

There'll be a different activity during this time each week, so stay tuned for a surprise! Activities will include a campus tour, card magic, and nail art.


Class Style
Activity