MIT ESP - Spark 2020

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A13746: Introduction to West Coast Swing

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Rose Miller, Rohit Venugopal

Have you wanted to try dance, but not sure where to start? Try West Coast Swing! West Coast can be danced just about anywhere to a range of music from blues to the Top 40. We will be covering basic moves (right side pass, left side pass, sugar push, and whips) as well as social dancing. You don't need a partner to take the class, just come ready to dance! Make sure to either bring shoes you can dance in or a pair of socks. Join us for a day of fun and music!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 17 (max 32)

A13789: Building and Performing the Tiny House Illusion Full!

Difficulty: ****

Teachers: Sebastian Bilash, Paul McDermott

In this class students will learn how to construct and perform a very effective illusion that was designed by the famous magical inventor, Gen. Grant (an actual descendant of the Union general and president). For this illusion the magician will present a stack of cardboard sheets to the audience. The sheets are assembled into a tiny house, and the magician lifts the roof revealing the magical appearance of an assistant!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
none

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

A13939: Intro to Lighting Production and Design Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Julian Espada, Montse Garza, Mariia Smyk

Learn about the fundamentals of proper lighting design and production with a brief discussion of history, equipment, and the technical aspect of lighting, followed by a practical hands-on demonstration of how to create an awesome lighting show!

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

A13900: Introduction to Animation Drawing Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Grace Cai, Laura Cui

Ever wondered how your favorite cartoons are created? Come learn about "cels", or celluloid sheets, and the process and techniques used in traditional hand-drawn animations. You'll also get the chance to make and keep your own cels.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

A13808: Origami design Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Crystal Owens

Origami is the ancient art of paper folding. In fact, any origami structure is made up of a combination of basic folds. In this hands-on class, we start with an introduction to folding common structures, and introduce the basic "axioms of origami" to add rigor to art. We will perform mathematical proofs and solve cubic equations by folding paper, and finally attempt to design your own simple craft.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)

A13907: Visualizing Music: from Scores through Animations Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Samuel Tenka

Who creates music? The composer? The musician? The audience? It used to be composers and musicians who crafted most of our musical experiences. In order for composers to communicate with musicians, they invented sheet music notation. Now, as creators draw music in more and more complicated and interesting was, the notation itself --- visually engaging and synchronized with sound --- is itself becoming a major part of musical creativity. I like to say that an animation is a score for listeners and an animator is a conductor for the audience.

We will look at and listen to several musical animations in this class, and even create our own animation of a music clip!

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Would you like to experience classical music in a new way? Do you enjoy the music that Bach wrote? Or Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, or Shostakovitch? Then this might be a class for you! You don't need to read music or know how to program computers. The course will heavily integrate music and potentially flashing video; please be aware if you have epilepsy or if your senses do not include sight or sound. There will be much to enjoy if you are color-blind and not blind.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

A13945: Sing a capella with the Toons! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shardul Chiplunkar, Joonho Ko

Come sing with the MIT-Wellesley Toons! We'll start with some warmups and fun exercises and learn an entire song by the end of the class. We're an a capella group, which means there are no instruments or accompaniments, just all of our voices (beatboxers welcome!).

(The Toons are MIT and Wellesley's only cross-campus a capella group. We're a group of friends that enjoy singing a wide variety of music together.)

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Interest in singing. Prior experience could be helpful, but not required at all.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

A13798: Make and Play a Didgeridoo Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Kevin Ellis, James Koppel

awuwuwuwuuuuweeorweeorwadelewadelewu! The didgeridoo is an Australian instrument that adds a tribal flair to any situation. In this class, we'll build our own didgeridoos out of PVC pipe, and then learn to play them. With the didgeridoo, you can create a variety of rhythms, produce animal noises, and make yourself sound like there's two people playing! For people with little to no experience.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 8)

A13806: Introduction to Rendering & Collaging Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Jackie Lin, Michelle Menkiti

Have you ever wondered how people make such nice graphics and pictures of buildings and their interiors? Collaging is key. Collaging takes elements and assembles them into a cohesive composition that conveys more than just the form of the structure, but also the feeling of the space. In the course we'll be exploring this expressive medium. Students will be able to capture scenes in Rhino and edit them in Photoshop to bring them alive through textures, shadows, colors, objects, and people.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Proficiency with mouse.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

A13966: The Music of Celeste Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Andrew Lin, Jeffery Yu

Celeste is an indie game that first drew us in with its story and gaming and kept us thrilled with its amazing soundtrack. To us, its musical ideas are basically as innovative as our favorite classical music works, and that's something we'd like to share with you! In this class, we'll talk about why Celeste's music is so effective, as well as how a great soundtrack can make a (seemingly simple) platformer game unforgettable.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
None- just a willingness to see music in a new way!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

A13822: Candle Making 101 Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Joseph Berleant, Krista Pullen

Learn to make your own candles by experimenting with colors, scents & other fun decorations!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--9:55am
Section 2: Sun 10:05am--10:55am
Section 3: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)
Section 2: Full! (max 10)
Section 3: Full! (max 10)

A13713: Music of Frozen 1 vs. 2 Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Emma Liu, Julia Wang

Does Frozen or Frozen 2 have better songs? We will be listening to and singing songs from both movies, including "Let It Go," "For the First Time in Forever," "Into the Unknown," and "Show Yourself." If you are a Frozen fan or karaoke star, this is the class for you!

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

A13714: Asymptones A Cappella Workshop Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Andrea Lo, Alexandra Stewart, Julia Wang

Like to sing? Want to sing fun a cappella music? Featuring "Reflection" from Mulan, we'll be teaching you how to sight-read music and blend your voices in a chorus to make up for the lack of instruments! No musical experience necessary. All are welcome!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

A13765: Modular Origami Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sophie Mori, Sarah Weidman

In modular origami, we fold many sheets of paper into modules (units) that have flaps and pockets. Then we can assemble them to create beautiful, colorful, complex three-dimensional structures!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Paper folding skills, patience

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

C13722: Sharing Secrets: An Introduction to Cryptography Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Katherine Huang, CJ Quines

Here's three puzzles:

1. I want to find the average age of everyone in a room. But no one wants to tell anyone else their age. Can we still find the average?

2. There's a magic door that opens when you say the password. I want to show you that I know the password, but I don't want to tell you what the password is. Can I still prove to you that I know the password?

3. We're talking over the phone and want to flip a coin. But if I flip the coin and tell you the result, you might not believe me. And if you flip the coin, I might not believe you. Can we still do a fair coin flip?

Come learn about cryptography, the amazing science that helps us do seemingly impossible tasks.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 57)
Section 2: Full! (max 57)

C13898: How to Be a Turing Machine Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Grace Cai, Matthew Cox, Jerry Mao, Wayne Zhao

Ever wanted to be a Turing machine?

First, you’ll learn about the theory behind Turing machines. Then, you can take part in a live demo where you can be a part of a Turing machine!

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

C13941: Introduction to Python Programming Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Haijia Wang, Sirena Yu

Are you tired of playing around with block programming languages like scratch? Want a taste of what ~real programming~ is like? Come to our Introduction to Python Programming class, and we will give you a crash course on how to code using the most popular programming language!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
No programming experience required!

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 23)
Section 2: Full! (max 23)

C13886: Information Psychology and Surveillance in the Modern Era Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Christo Keller, Weiming Qin

Topics include massive-scale emotional contagion, GAN-based dopamine pathway manipulation, browser fingerprinting and ISP-level supercookies, and other fascinating explorations in the cyber realm.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Know what a computer is, familiarity with Internet backbone technologies helpful but not assumed.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

C13936: Scratch! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Katarina Bulovic, Matthew Ellison, Patrick Wang

Want to be able to quickly program a simple game or animated story, or maybe just feel at one with the machine? Then Scratch is the programming language for you. It's a visual programming language (drag and drop commands) that is fun and easy to pick up! We'll quickly cover the basics and then move on to a series of challenges for you to solve!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 17)
Section 2: Full! (max 17)

C13969: Hello GitHub Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shinjini Ghosh, Aparna Ajit Gupte

GitHub is a popular platform that allows you to collaborate with others on projects. It is also a great tool for efficient version control. This course teaches the basics of getting started with GitHub.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 23)
Section 2: Full! (max 23)

C13910: Artificially Not-Very-Intelligent Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Jenna Himawan

Everybody's talking about AI, ML, Deep Learning, etc. these days. However, most AIs aren't really that smart. Let's learn about AI that try to name paint colors, describe pokemon, create D&D spells, imitate Shakespeare, and write code! Let's learn about robots which "commit suicide" by driving into fountains!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sun 11:05am--11:55am
Section 3: Sun 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 134)
Section 2: Full! (max 134)
Section 3: Full! (max 134)

C13888: Acting Out Algorithms: Fancy Math but with Strings, Coloring, and Ice Cream Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sage Simhon, Sarah Wertheimer

Learn super cool, famous algorithms in computer science--but learn them by acting them out yourselves! For example, how can we make ice cream and topping combos without anyone secretly trading for something better? Come find out!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)
Section 2: Full! (max 16)

C13918: Minecraft SUPERComputer Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Christopher Evagora, Ahmed Katary, Nicolas Suter

Do you want to harness the unlimited powers of computers?!? Do you love Minecraft? Do you want to learn how computers work... while playing Minecraft?

Come learn about logic gates, the building blocks of all computers, created using Minecraft.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 200)

C13921: Intro to Python Programming Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sonia Moreno

Come learn the basics of Python programming!

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

C13783: Let's Chance: Learn and Play with Probabilistic Coding in Scratch

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Shruti Dhariwal, Manuj Dhariwal

Come and explore the new Let’s Chance extension in Scratch, and tinker with ideas of probability and randomness by creating projects with an element of unpredictability! Using the extension’s new code blocks, you can now create a virtual dice in Scratch with any number of sides—each side can be a sound, costume, text, number, or even some real world data. You can dynamically change the chance and likelihood of different outcomes, and make your projects react differently each time you roll one or more dice. Hook the extension with other Scratch extensions such as, Video Sensing, Music, or Text-to-Speech for lots of playful possibilities. Create projects like— generative music, art, or text; chance-based games/stories/animations; interactive visualizations; teaching a computer how to draw, and many others!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Some experience with Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) is preferred, although not necessary.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 17 (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)

C13913: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Brian Chen, Sophie Mori

We'll make fancy, stylish, delightfully clickable buttons with HTML and CSS for no reason except that we can. We'll learn about all sorts of CSS properties you can apply to buttons (and other things), old and new, mundane and bizarre, and see how major websites and CSS frameworks style their buttons.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

E13865: Designing Power Grids of the Future Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Anthony Cheng, Jack Cook

Have you ever wondered what goes into our electricity grid? We’re used to just being able to plug in our phones and computers into the wall and expecting electricity to instantly charge our devices, but delivering power instantaneously is no small feat of science, technology, engineering, and policy. In this class, we’ll show you how the grid works at a basic level, explain how policy affects energy generation, distribution, and consumption, and give examples of how our grid is changing into the “Power Grid of the Future”.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

E13820: how 2 rocket

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Maddie Garcia, Ethan Sit

how 2 become e l o n in one hour

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
algae bra basic phsyics

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 127 (max 200)
Section 2: 104 (max 200)

E13906: Everything you want to know about nuclear power Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Isaac Meyer, Patrick White

Have you wondered how a nuclear power plant differs from other energy sources? Do you want to find out if nuclear fuel actually glow green like it does in TV shows and movies? How do we even split atoms in first place if they’re too small to see?

In this class, we'll talk about how we can make electricity by splitting atoms (fission) and how we’re trying to make electricity from forcing them together (fusion). We will cover how current nuclear power plants work and what future nuclear power plants that use fission or fusion energy may look like. We’ll also discuss how nuclear power could help fight climate change and how we continue to address the risks associated with fission power plants.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: Full! (max 32)

E13927: Product Design Workshop: Natural Disaster Relief Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Megan Ochalek, Abby Stein

Want to learn more about product design and real-world problem solving? In this workshop, you will push your creative limits and think of ideas on the spot through the process of engineering design. Over the course of the workshop, students will develop real ideas for alleviating problems caused by natural disasters, and then will pitch their final ideas to the class at the end for a chance to win a prize!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)

E13772: Robots: Past, Present, & Future Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Matthew Chignoli

What is a robot? What are the applications for modern-day robots? What applications will there be for the robots of the future? This class will provide an introduction to the field of robotics, with an emphasis on how robots interact with our society and what that interaction might look like in the near and distant futures. We will devote a significant portion of the class to discussing legged robots (robots that can walk, run, jump, etc). We will overview a collection of past and present legged robots, highlight the challenges faced by the field, and talk about the role we think robots should play in our society. The class will include a live demonstration of the MIT Mini Cheetah robot, which will show off the robot’s acrobatic abilities.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)

E13784: Intro to Computer Aided Design (CAD) with TinkerCAD Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Michelle Lee, Janice Tjan

Build anything you can dream in in a virtual environment! This class will introduce complete beginners to 3D-Modeling on TinkerCAD and provide you tips on how to bring your models to the next level.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
No Prereq. This is for the complete beginner.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

E13710: Intro to Soldering Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Matthew Cox, CJ Quines, Pranali Vani

Ever wanted to learn how to assemble circuits? Come to this class and learn basic through-hole soldering! Circuit boards and electronic components will be provided.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm
Section 2: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 12)
Section 2: Full! (max 12)

E13848: Energy Technology Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Emily Kerr

Are you curious about where the electricity and heat that powers your home comes from? Are you concerned about the climate impact of fossil fuels? In this course, we will talk about how we make energy today, how renewable sources work, and what the drivers and challenges are for making the transition to more renewable forms of electricity.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 22)

E13850: BRIDGE DESIGN! Help Chickens Finally Cross the Road! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Stephanie Baez, Viban Gonzales, Chiharu Watanabe

The real question is: HOW will the chicken cross the road? Design and build an overpass bridge to help a brood of chickens (weighing ~10lbs) reach their final destination! Come learn about different types of bridges, the mechanics of trusses, and how to avoid structural failure.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

E13715: Introduction to CMOS Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Maitreyi Ashok

Ever wondered how all those electronic devices you have work? This class will start with explaining the basic building block of most of these - the MOS transistor. After understanding these, we will zoom out and look at how we can use these building blocks to represent digital logic and use them for practical applications.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Basic understanding of what an atom is. A basic knowledge of voltage and current would be helpful, but will also be explained.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 27)

E13951: How to Spot Planes! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jay Hilton

Ever wondered what that plane is? Or how to spot a 737 from an A320, or vice versa? Stop by and take a look!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

E13964: Living on Mars Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Bruce Mackenzie

How would you build a house on Mars?

I’ll show lots of pictures of possible Mars structures.

We will review the conditions on Mars which affect how you would live, work, grow food, and build houses.Differences from Earth include: low temperature, very low pressure, carbon-dioxide atmosphere, almost 25 hour days, long seasons, dust, and radiation.

One advantage is lots of cheap land. The Mars soil and air have every chemical element we need to live and build structures, but not in convenient building forms such as wooden 2x4’s. We might have to make fiberglass, brick, or aluminum structures. They must be cylindrical to hold the internal air pressure, with air-locks for
doors.

Most of my examples are by teams of the Mars Foundation, or my own work; and do not reflect plans of NASA nor the large aerospace contractors.

Oh, incidentally, how to pay for the rocket to get you there is not included. I will also suggest ways you can personally be involved and help the settlement of space.

Disclaimer: Although I prefer small groups, due to the overwhelming interest in Mars this must be a large, somewhat boring, lecture style presentation. Sorry.

And I have not been an MIT student for many decades. So, if you want to meet current MIT students with free discussion in a small group; take other classes instead.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 2: Full! (max 20)

H13958: The Explosion of the Poem

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shuli Jones, Avery Nguyen

How did we go from the strict structure of sonnets to the wild world of free verse? From a dreamy movement in love with the natural world to modernist poems that find meaning in nothing at all? From lengthy epics to Anne Carson's "novel in verse"? In short - how did poetry become what it is today? Let's read some poems, talk about it, and maybe find out.

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 14 (max 22)

H13718: Japanese for Beginners: Spoken and Written Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sarah Davis, Steve Nelson

Steve and Sarah will walk you through reading and writing several key Japanese characters (kanji) as well as a few Japanese conversations and key Japanese conversational words. Youkoso (welcome)!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
N/A

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)
Section 2: Full! (max 20)

H13758: Consonant Phonology: Strange Sounds of the World's Languages

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Roan LaPlante

In this course we will go over the theory, anatomy, and orthography (International Phonetic Alphabet) of different consonant sounds, including sounds in English and lots of amazingly fun sounds that are not at all like sounds in English.

This is a very interactive course, with an emphasis on speech production.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 20 (max 30)

H13893: Introduction to Old Icelandic

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Christo Keller, Weiming Qin

A brief introduction to Old West Norse, the literary and practical language of Iceland around the turn of the millennium: onwards from the island's Norse settlement in 874. We'll quickly run over the history of the people of Iceland and their language's grammar, and spend some time trying to parse some easy texts from authentic Icelandic.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 17 (max 30)

H13759: Vowel Phonology: Sounds of the World's Englishes

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Roan LaPlante

In this course we will go over the theory, anatomy, and orthography (International Phonetic Alphabet) of different vowel sounds.

Because English has one of the most complex vowel phonologies in the world, we will primarily compare dialects of English, but we will also discuss some vowel systems in the other languages of the world.

This is a very interactive course, with an emphasis on speech production.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
It is suggested for students to take the companion course on consonant sounds, but not required.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 12 (max 26)

H13877: "Superman/woman" and Science Fiction/Fantasy

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sherene Raisbeck, Josh Shaine

Science Fiction and Fantasy have many characters who stick out compared to others because they have more magic, different powers, unique abilities.

We will look at how these characters are treated by the worlds in which they are set and reflect on what, if anything, this says about the society in which we live.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Must read, listen to, or watch science fiction and/or fantasy.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 24 (max 25)

H13894: Readings in Old Icelandic

Difficulty: ****

Teachers: Christo Keller, Weiming Qin

Can't get enough Old Norse at Spark? Come read through the first few paragraphs of an actual Icelandic saga in the original!

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Register for the Spark course "Introduction to Old Icelandic", or be familiar with the language. We'll gloss pretty much every word beforehand so that you won't have to know much.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 12 (max 16)

H13741: Uncovering Ireland and the American Irish

Difficulty: *

Teachers: H. Alex Chen

This lecture will address the influence of the Irish diaspora in America. The lecture begins with the mass immigration caused by the Great Famine in Ireland and examines the impacts and contributions of those Irish immigrants in America. It will assess how Irish Americans build their Irish identity in America following the mass migration and the ways which identity structures are affected by migration and exile. Briefly, the lecture will discuss Irish Americans' political influence, towards the U.S. and Ireland.

Together, we will discuss the history and symbolic significance of St. Patrick's Day celebration in America and the future of Ireland.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None. However, students who have taken "Irish Presence in America" in previous programs should not register this course.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 30 (max 134)

H13879: Introduction to ASL Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Nancy Hidalgo

Learn the basics of sign language! Take a crash course in American Sign Language. Learn the most common signs, the syntax, and basic grammar of sign language.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 24)

H13792: Making deep friendships - Circling Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Rajashree Agrawal, Jason Gross

Most of your Spark classes will be about objects and things. Some of your conversations will involve personal history, where you grew up, what you like and dislike. This class will be a third kind of conversation, about what our present experience is, as we're having it.

Access to this level of conversation has a way of facilitating deep connections where you can feel deeply seen and welcomed. Circling is a practice about getting others' worlds, sharing what it's really like to be you, and having that be seen and reflected. Come experience the magic.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Openness to talking about your emotions and present in-the-moment experience.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)
Section 2: Full! (max 10)

H13828: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: A Lesson in Solidarity and Organization

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Leif Clark, Rafael Olivera-Cintron

We will be explaining the concept, threats to, and necessity of solidarity through the lens of class struggle and labor history. We will be concluding with small-group discussions about how to apply the lessons learned to organize effective student unions.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
an interest in the promoting the common good

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 8 (max 30)
Section 2: 15 (max 30)

H13872: Space Opera: Space Craft, Colonies, and Aliens! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sherene Raisbeck, Josh Shaine

Lots of adventures happen in space, some with battles and some with aliens.

What goes into these settings? How can you build your own? We will cover a bunch of the basics and do some work individually and in groups on designs, as well as looking at some brilliant examples and some... less brilliant ones.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Must love Space Stories!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

H13885: Understanding Your Past, Present, and Future: A Philosophical Approach Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Anupa Dhungel, Christiana Kalfas

Are you ready for a mix of Philosophy and Neuropsychology? An experience of thought experiments, research analysis, and discussion?

This class, with philosophy as its basis, aims to help students understand what the "mind" is, what "motivations" are, and how we can use our past experiences to shape the best future for ourselves.

Students will learn concepts derived from various schools of thought; philosophical and psychological.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

H13844: Writing Mystery Stories Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Julian Hernandez

Mystery stories have been around for a long time, and no other storytelling genre is quite like it. Mysteries challenge the audience to try to solve a case for themselves while creating a compelling yet confusing tale, but in the end everything makes sense and we're left wondering how we didn't see it earlier.

But what makes a good mystery story? How do you write a mystery that is challenging yet solvable? How do you navigate the various subgenres from film noir to campy murder mysteries to teen detectives? And how do you keep an audience engaged while you lay down your machinations?

Join us as we crack the case of how to craft a compelling mystery!

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 48)

H13889: How to Negotiate Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shreya Pandit, Lily Zhang

Unlock the secrets to negotiation theory and learn how to negotiate your way through any deal. You'll be participating in an original negotiation exercise with your fellow classmates and have the chance to win in your own deal-making experience.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)
Section 2: Full! (max 40)

H13791: Circling - Intersubjective Mindfulness Meditation Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Rajashree Agrawal, Jason Gross

Most of your Spark classes will be about objects and things. Some of your conversations will involve personal history, where you grew up, what you like and dislike. This class will be a third kind of conversation, about what our present experience is, as we're having it.

There's a kind of magic to being deeply seen, and to being welcomed as you are. Circling is a practice about getting others' worlds, and sharing what it's really like to be you, and having that be seen and reflected. Come experience the magic

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Openness to talking about your emotions and present in-the-moment experience.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

H13874: Magic Systems in Fantasy Stories Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sherene Raisbeck, Josh Shaine

We'll spend a good chunk of this class exploring how magic is presented in a variety of books and movies, after which we will see about constructung our own, either individually or collectively, as the class prefers.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Must love fantasy stories!

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)

H13811: Evolution of Writing Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Yale Zussman

We will begin with the earliest plain tokens and continue through the evolution of full-blown cuneiform. Students will take their "notes" using a clay tablet and stylus. The final step will be to write their names in Old Assyrian cuneiform, and then read what they have just attached their name to. The tablets will be fired, giving them a half-life of a million years.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 24)

H13860: The First Age of Middle-Earth Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jack Eastman, Eric Wooten

The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels of the twentieth century, but it takes place in the dwindling evening of Middle-Earth. Join us for a sprint through the morning of Tolkien's world and discover what he considered the great tales of Middle-Earth. If absolutely nothing else, discover a lot of fun names!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 20)

H13963: Women Writing Poems: A (Very) Abridged History Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Shuli Jones, Avery Nguyen

Tired of only ever reading male authors? Me too! Let's read some female poets instead. Some authors we might cover: Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Anne Carson, Elizabeth Bishop, Mary Oliver, and many more. We'll learn about some of the technical elements of poems, but we'll also take time to just enjoy the beauty of some well-written words.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
No poetry background/experience required! Class may discuss sensitive topics and graphic language. Be respectful of one another's thoughts and feelings.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

L13878: Perceptions and Illusions through the 5 Senses Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Joachim Kennedy, Cindy Si

Come and learn more about how the brain perceives our environments through the five senses. You'll be exposed to a variety of sensory illusions, from visual to auditory, taste to feel to better understand how our brains and senses allow us to experience the world around us. Come and try Miracle Berries with us and see how even the sourest things can taste sweet!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

L13899: Intro to Neuroscience: Understanding Human Vision Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Emma Qin, Christina Wang

Human vision is an amazingly complex system--even the best computer algorithms today come nowhere close to what humans can do. Come learn about the basics of how the human visual system works and some cool findings about the brain!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

L13807: CRISPR: Hacking the Genome

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Pranam Chatterjee

Human-animal hybrids? Superhumans? Designer babies? While these futuristic visions may be considered unethical (but surprisingly not undoable), genome editing already holds the keys to transforming humanity as we know it. The repurposing of the CRISPR system for genome editing has enabled the rapid development and refinement of tools to further basic research, develop therapies for human diseases, and promise numerous breakthroughs in agriculture, bioenergy, food security, nanotechnology, and a host of other applications. Come to this class to learn more about how CRISPR works and what improvements we are making to the system to enable its broad applicability all from a CRISPR engineer!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 121 (max 200)

L13859: Food Chemistry Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Benjamin Gutierrez, Clair Travis

Ever wonder what exactly all those things on the ingredient list on food labels are? Are they bad? Are they good? Does organic mean healthy? Do pesticides cause cancer?

This is a crash course on some of the chemistry behind what we eat. We'll go into food additives, pesticides/herbicides, vitamins, natural products, and do some quick experiments with common items found in the kitchen. By the end of this course my goal is to make you more aware of some interesting chemistry and be able to evaluate if what people say about food is actually true or not!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)

L13970: How to deliver drugs Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Michelle Lee

You can make all the fancy drugs (Acetaminophen? Ibuprofen? Oxycodone?)
that *can* do amazing stuff ... but how do you get them to the right place?
We'll cover the history of drug delivery and laugh at scientists / engineers who failed to deliver the drug to the right place AND admire those who were able to come up with cool, innovative solutions using chemistry / chemical engineering :o

At the end of the class, we will also come up with our own drug delivery system!

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Interest in the intersection of chemistry and biology. Interest in chemical engineering

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)

L13931: Microbiome 101: What's in your poop? Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Prachi Sinha, Tzu-Chieh Tang

Come learn about the microbiome and where you can find it! We will discuss current methods to study the microbiome, correlations with diseases and the environment, and how you (and your poop!) can help somebody through microbiome science. Who doesn't love talking about poop!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)

L13825: Diving Deeper: An Opulent Ocean Odyssey Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Michael Dotzel, Alexandra Jones, Arianna Krinos

Imagine the wildest, most flam-buoyant ocean ecosystem you can. Trust us: it’s way wilder! We’ll explore just how over-whale-mingly strange and beautiful its inhabitants are, and their outrageous adaptations to thrive in the direst of Straits. We’ll learn just how delicately intricate the ecosystem is, and how the fates of the surface-most dwellers are tied to those over 7 miles down. How exactly do we impact this otter-ly fin-tastic – and fragile – complexity, and how does it in turn impact us? In this course, we’ll show you just how alien the world actually is, and how learning to understand it is of the most fundamental importance.

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

L13882: ANT Farm: Acronym Not Tenable Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Carol Pan, Rachel Shen

We're all cogs in a living machine, but some are smaller than others. Come join us in our close observation of the life and times of the young ant, from her conception to her death, and find out what we can take away from her experiences.
* permission was not asked from the ants, we're doing reconnaisance
** might turn philosophical

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--9:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

L13935: Save the Turtles ??? Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sebastian Bilash, Kevin Bilash

Humans are unarguably having a negative effect on our planet. The air pollution and temperature change have become the primary concern on the media, but our oceans are also at risk. Coral reefs, in mass bleaching events, are dying, with their ecosystems following suit not soon after. We will discuss these effects, and how they relate back to us as a society, ecologically, economically and even how our drinking water could be at risk. At the end I will dress several direct and indirect ways you can get involved and help.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 9:05am--9:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 50)
Section 2: Full! (max 50)

L13967: Evolutionary Psychology: Why we act in the way we do Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Michelle Lee

Why do we perceive something as beautiful?
How do we choose our marriage partner?
Why does heart start beating faster whenever we're nervous?

In this discussions-based class, we will together explore fascinating evolutionary rationalizations behind human behavior.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--9:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 22)

L13800: Fundamentals of the CRISPR-Cas9 World Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Stuti Khandwala, Parul Singh

Want to learn about gene-editing?
Wondering why you should care?
Well, if you’ve been hearing all the buzz about cutting-edge research efforts for cancer and disease treatment, or the controversial possibilities of creating designer babies and are curious about the technology that is making it all a reality—you’ve come to the right place!

CRISPR gets down to the very element encoding us, the DNA we carry in our cells, in order to change it and modify the organism, allowing for a host of applications researchers are keen to create. We’ll take you through the entire process and relevance of modifying DNA and then do deep dives into how the CRISPR system operates. You will learn about how we discovered CRISPR and even where we’re heading with the technology.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None, we will cover the basics. It is, however, beneficial to have introductory biology knowledge.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 60)

L13849: Colors in nature Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Tetiana Husak

How hameleons, cuttlefish and autumn leaves change their color? How green fruit and vegetables get their diverce coloration when ripen? Why flowers and birds of paradise are so bright and colorful? Why some insects and bird feathers seem to change color if you look from different angle? Why some animals are so conspiciously colored while others are camouflaged and very hard to notice? What world of color looks like to horses, birds, insects, mantis shrimp and other animals?

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 20)

L13911: Tasteful Genetics Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jiayi Dong, Seung-Hyun Ko, Alexis Schneider

Ever wondered if and why cilantro tastes like soap to you? Want to sweeten your world? From miracle berries to bitterness genes, come experience hands(*tongue*)-on activities to learn about the underlying science behind taste, all while indulging in some tastefully-selected treats.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

L13861: Marine Toxins Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Maggie Libby

Why is meat tenderizer a good treatment for jellyfish sting? Why does hot water relieve stringray injuries? Are you really supposed to pee on a sea urchin sting? Learn the answers to these questions and more in Marine Toxins.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 36)

L13891: Psychiatric and Neurological Disorder Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Nicholas Jean, Lauren MacLachlan

"Multiple personalities," hearing color, surviving a rod being blasted through your brain, and more - welcome to an exploration of neuroscience and abnormal psychology through the things that go wrong.

Please be sure to bring any questions you may have relating to psychiatric and neurological disorder - this will be a larger lecture but I'll try to answer questions via email after!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
A number of our topics can get fairly serious - but for the most part we'll have a fun, lighthearted tour of the brain! :)

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)

L13892: This is Your Brain on Drugs Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Nicholas Jean, Lauren MacLachlan

AKA: Neuropsychopharmacology

We're going to learn the basics of neuropsychopharmacology and cover a variety of topics relating to both illicit and prescription drugs, such as: Their effects on behavior, their action in the brain, and even the societal implications of drug use.

Come prepared to learn about a topic you may have only been taught in DARE from a neuroscientist's perspective!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Ability to take the topics seriously, but I'll explain all the biology and chemistry you'll need!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 57)

L13814: Biology and Ecology in the Amazon

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jonathan Sandlin, Swochchhanda Shrestha

Have you ever dreamed about swinging through the jungle? Ever wanted to learn how the jungle even came to be? Come join us as we dive into the world's largest rainforest and take a closer look at life!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm
Section 3: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 21 (max 36)
Section 2: 35 (max 36)
Section 3: 38 (max 40)

L13975: Lunch Period

Difficulty: None

Teachers:

Enjoy a break for lunch with your friends! Please register for at least one lunch period on each day of the program.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm
Section 2: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 12
Enrollment
Section 1: 620 (max 1000000)
Section 2: 640 (max 1000000)

L13976: Lunch Period

Difficulty: None

Teachers:

Enjoy a break for lunch with your friends! Please register for at least one lunch period on each day of the program.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 12:05pm--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 12
Enrollment
Section 1: 696 (max 1000000)
Section 2: 564 (max 1000000)

M13943: Quick Mafs Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Paolo Adajar, Andrew Lin

Imagine wowing your friends with how quickly you can square 175 in your head (30625), or figure out what day of the week January 12, 1999 (Paolo's birthday!) was (Tuesday). This class is focused on showing you all sorts of really cool math tricks!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Introductory knowledge of algebra very helpful! This means generally knowing what a variable is, what the distributive property is, and knowing what FOIL is. If you don't know these, no worries!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 80)

M13866: Sperner's Lemma

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Mark Jabbour, Arvid Lunnemark

Learn about Sperner's Lemma, a combinatorial result with surprising applications! The result combines graph theory and geometry, and we will prove it together as a class.

Despite not requiring any advanced mathematical knowledge, Sperner's Lemma is surprisingly useful! We will show how it can be used to split desserts in the fairest way possible (which is very cool!!).

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 15 (max 16)

M13887: Category Theory: An Introduction to Category Theory, a Theory of Categories

Difficulty: ****

Teachers: Christo Keller, Weiming Qin

``I can illustrate the ... approach with the ... image of a nut to be opened. The first analogy that came to my mind is of immersing the nut in some softening liquid, and why not simply water? From time to time you rub so the liquid penetrates better, and otherwise you let time pass. The shell becomes more flexible through weeks and months — when the time is ripe, hand pressure is enough, the shell opens like a perfectly ripened avocado! A different image came to me a few weeks ago. The unknown thing to be known appeared to me as some stretch of earth or hard marl, resisting penetration ... the sea advances insensibly in silence, nothing seems to happen, nothing moves, the water is so far off you hardly hear it ... yet finally it surrounds the resistant substance.''

—Alexander Grothendieck on simplicity and generality

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Division Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 7 (max 12)

M13881: A Taste of Topology Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Dominick Joo, Albert Liu, Tom Panenko

You may have heard of topology as the branch of math where "a donut is the same as a coffee cup" -- we'll be learning precisely what this means, and more. One of the biggest hurdles will be understanding exactly what we mean by "same". Grappling with this question will lead us to explore the idea of an "invariant", one of the main themes of topology. There will be lots of pictures.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
If you're not sure whether the class would interest you, think about some of the questions below. Knowing the answers to these is NOT a prerequisite; I just want to provide some food for thought that hopefully communicates the "flavor" of the class. If you take a square and glue opposite sides together, what kind of shape do you get? What if you twist them before gluing? Imagine a circle drawn inside a square, and then "shrinking" the circle down to nothing. Can you always do this? What if the square had a hole in it? What if the circle were instead drawn on a sphere, or a cylinder? Can you cover a square with an (infinitely thin) line? You are allowed to bend and twist the line however you want. Look up and watch someone perform the "plate trick" (also known as the belt trick or cup trick).

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

M13915: How to turn $100k into $100 in a day Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Milo Cress, Robert Cunningham

Learn about options, the financial tools that help you lose money more efficiently on the stonk market. We are not responsible for any money that you lose or accidentally gain with the knowledge from this class.

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 3: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm
Section 4: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)
Section 2: Full! (max 20)
Section 3: Full! (max 20)
Section 4: Full! (max 20)

M13934: Dissections and Tessellations Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Vincent Huang, Rachana Madhukara

Come for fun puzzle-like problems about cutting and pasting shapes to make other shapes in interesting ways! We will spend most of the time thinking about puzzles together and talk about some of the mathematical theory behind dissections and tessellations towards the end.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 18)

M13855: Clock arithmetic Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Dylan Pentland, Brandon Yue

This class is not actually about clocks, but actually about exploring a different number system that you might have seen under a different name.

At some point, you've probably had to compute a remainder after dividing two numbers. This is what we will call clock arithmetic (and for a good reason!). You'll learn about the structure of this number system and some of its many amazing properties!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
You should be comfortable with doing algebra.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

M13870: List of Paradoxes Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sujay Kazi

The Monty Hall paradox is old news--there are many more exciting brain-benders to ponder! Come join this tour of just a small sample of the many fascinating paradoxes from math, logic, decision theory, and much more!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

M13902: The Math Behind How Our Economy Works Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: George Tang, Daniel Wisdom

Learn the math behind trade, currency rates, the role of government in the economy, and the economic relationship between countries.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Algebra

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

M13933: The Wonders of Math Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shenal Kotuwewatta

Discover mind-blowing facts about math!

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 35)

M13959: Crash Course in Game Theory Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Avichal Goel, Mihir Singhal

In the prisoner's dilemma, two prisoners face a critical decision: to defect or to cooperate. While it would be best if both prisoners cooperated, each one has something to gain by defecting, and both end up getting a worse overall outcome than if they had both cooperated.

Come learn about interesting problems like this in our crash course in game theory, which explores the science of optimal decision-making.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 3: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)
Section 3: Full! (max 25)

M13736: Introduction to Cryptology Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Clara Bakker, Matthew Benet

This course is designed to give a brief introduction to the the study of codes, and the art of writing and solving them. This class will move chronologically through the history of cryptology: we will start around 500 BCE with the simple Atbash cipher and other monoalphabetic substitution. We will touch upon the beginnings of steganography (the art of hidden messages), and work our way through the Renaissance, ending with the Le Chifre Indéchiffrable.

The focus will be on learning the functionality of each cipher, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. There will be code-breaking in this class.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

M13880: Probability puzzles: Linearity of Expectation Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Kristian Georgiev, Rene Reyes, Ileana Rugina

The theory of probability is full of fun puzzles, a lot of which have amazingly short and intuitive proofs.

One essential tool for solving many such problems is using the linearity of expectation. We're going to explore puzzles where this fact plays a central point in the solutions.

More importantly, we're going to have fun and we're going to eat candy!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 27)

M13845: Vectors! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Norman Cao

Physics, artificial intelligence, calculus, statistics, engineering, what do they all have in common? Vectors! Come learn about a big collection of topics from throughout science, engineering, and mathematics, and how vectors can be used to understand and find connections between different fields.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 50)

M13946: Induction: "The last guy said it, so it must be true!" Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Evan Caragay, Shuli Jones

For those of you who have never heard of induction, this is the class for you! Learn about a math technique used in all sorts of proofs, from proving that the last domino will fall if you push over the first one to proving (incorrectly) that all horses are the same color.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

M13914: How to Win Games Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Cory Romanov, Josh Talbot

We'll start off talking about simple games like Tic-Tac-Toe and discuss how to think about games and optimal strategies. Maybe later we'll talk about more complicated games like Nim and some non-deterministic games. The class will be a mixture of us talking about theory and students splitting into groups and playing games.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
No prerequisites. Just be enthusiastic about games and how to win them!

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sun 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)
Section 2: Full! (max 40)

M13920: Finite Automata Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: James Koppel

Would you like to find patterns in text? Prove your program doesn't have an infinite loop? Monitor a nuclear reactor? Find structure in DNA?

In this class, you'll learn about finite automata. Finite automata, or "state machines" can be thought of as just moving a marker between some states according to some simple rules, but their simplicity hides deep mathematics and allows you to manipulate them in interesting ways. We'll start with the basic definition and take you through the math and into some powerful applications.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

M13948: Ramsey Theory Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Della Hendrickson, Helen Read

How many people do you need to put in a room to make sure four of them are either all friends or all strangers?

Why does anyone care about numbers like Graham's Number, which way are too big to have any physical relevance?

Ramsey theory is the study of how particular structures always emerge in sufficiently large clusters of randomness. Learn the answers to these questions and more!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Be ready to think about math with little practical relevance. Having seen induction before will help, but isn't necessary.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm
Section 2: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: Full! (max 32)

P13824: Sound, Waves, and Electricity Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: John Gregg

What is sound made of? How do things work that make sound? We will explore this, as well as a lot of related questions in this fun, hands-on course. Fifth graders could understand everything here, but I guarantee high school seniors will learn something they didn't already know!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)
Section 2: Full! (max 25)

P13938: Light and Radiation: The Invisible World Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Samuel Alipour-fard, David Rower

Did you know that WiFi is actually light?

What the heck is light? Where does it come from? How do we use it?

In this class, we will shed some light on these questions through fun conversations and demos.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

P13817: Molecular Gastronomy and Cooking Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Vinicius Armelin, Duha Syar

Have you ever had bursting boba? What about vegetarian caviar? Apple caviar? Get ready to go on a delicious and scientific discovery through hands-on activities. We will look at chemistry principles and innovations that stem from molecular gastronomy with an emphasis on specification!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

P13864: Materials Science and Engineering: What it's all about! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sophia Mittman, Duha Syar

If you've never heard of Material Science and Engineering, then come learn about one of the happiest majors on MIT's campus! Through hands-on activities and engaging demonstrations, students will be able to visually and actively learn about and understand the fundamentals of material science and engineering, covering four basic materials: metals, ceramics, polymers, and glass. In this workshop, students will investigate how a material’s microstructure and processing directly determine and characterize its macroscopic properties and performance. In other words, students will discover how materials actually shape the world around us! Students will be given the opportunity to practice creative thinking and communication skills when it comes to forming hypotheses about what properties will form when a material is processed in a certain way. Everything is made of something...so come and learn about it!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 3: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)
Section 3: Full! (max 30)

P13858: That's Rad: The (mostly) invisible world of radiation Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Isaac Meyer, Alexander O'Brien

Why are some things radioactive? How do x-rays work? What's a Geiger counter? Come learn all about it in our class! We'll be going over the basic types of radiation and some of it's many uses with demos along the way.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Some physics knowledge

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: Full! (max 32)

P13862: Problem Solving with Mechanical Engineering and Physics Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Noelle Kramer, Charlotte Wickert

Do you like solving problems and competing in fun challenges? Then this class is for you! You will form teams with other students and complete a series of design challenges together. You will have to utilize techniques of physics and mechanical engineering in order to complete the tasks. After each challenge, we will explore the underlying concepts and discuss ways to improve your solutions and how to approach solving problems in general.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 22)
Section 2: Full! (max 22)

P13965: History of Modern Physics!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Evan Tey, Nicholas Wu

Physics is all about understanding the universe we live in. Over the past 150 years, we've gone from understanding the mechanical world around us to understanding electromagnetism, the spacetime continuum, and particles smaller than atoms. We've started to ask questions about the universe and randomness/uncertainty through wars and the growth of technology and shifts of power. Come learn about how all these things are intertwined as we walk through the last century of physics!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 115 (max 200)

P13896: Chemistry Magic Show! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Anton Morgunov, Siam Muquit

Missed out on a letter to Hogwarts? Ever wanted to WOW your friends? Do you like chemistry and/or magic? Come learn how to use the chemical sciences to become a real wizard!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

P13797: Black Holes! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Emma Batson, Anjali Nambrath

Black holes live in the middle of galaxies, spew out hot plasma, and gulp up stars. We'll talk about the history of black holes, what happens when you get too close to a black hole, what black holes do to space and time, and some cool black hole thought experiments. If you want to learn more about all sorts of astrophysical weirdness, this class is for you!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
We recommend experience with a little basic physics, but it's not necessary.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

P13793: Your classical intuition is wrong! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Rajashree Agrawal, Jason Gross

Do you think you have a good grasp of physics? A good intuition for the physical world? Come learn about the predictions of quantum mechanics (and the experiments that validate these predictions) which violate your fundamental beliefs about the universe!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 134)

P13829: Cookie Chemistry Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Max Jahns, Shawnee Traylor

Some people like them thin and crispy, while others like them thick and chewy. Leave behind your labcoats and grab an apron for cooking with chemists! Come learn (and taste) the fundamentals of chemistry in our everyday lives. In this course, we will explain the chemical principles underlying the perfect chocolate chip cookie. We’ll uncover the essentials to troubleshoot common baking mishaps and finetune your recipes for your perfect treat. Equipped with this knowledge, we will put what we’ve learned to the test, and students will experiment with crafting their own recipes. Vegan options will be available, though common allergens (milk, wheat, egg) will be present.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

P13883: Fun Facts about the Elements of the Periodic Table Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Dhyey Gandhi, Stuti Khandwala

How many of you know that there is more to science than just memorizing facts and formulas to write down in an exam? Join me as I take you through an exciting journey into one of my favorite areas of science which deals with molecules and compounds; Yes you're right, It's CHEMISTRY. Each element of the periodic table carries along with it a whole backpack of mind-blowing history and applications which I'll try to present to you in an entertaining manner.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

P13926: Gravity Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Josh Talbot, Raymond Wynne

Why does the apple fall from the tree? How do planets move among the stars? There is perhaps no more important phenomenon to the history of science than the study of gravity. During the class, we will retrace the footsteps of the great physicists of the past, looking at theory and experiment, all leading toward a more fundamental understanding of gravity.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
We will mostly stay away from the math, but knowing some algebra and how to work with variables will be helpful.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 3: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 4: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)
Section 2: Full! (max 15)
Section 3: Full! (max 15)
Section 4: Full! (max 15)

P13836: From the Depths of Wikipedia

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language. This class will explore some of the most interesting hidden gems, from "Lawsuits against God" to the "World's littlest skyscraper."

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 98 (max 200)

P13837: Depths of Wikipedia 2: Electric Boogaloo

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language, and as such, just one class isn't enough to cover all the cool stuff it has to offer. This class will explore even more interesting hidden gems, from the "Indiana Pi Bill" to the "Oak Island mystery."

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 77 (max 200)

P13787: Why Shrek is an actual masterpiece Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Hahn Lheem

and why Frozen was so immensely popular. You'll never see Disney the same way after this class.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
basic familiarity with famous Disney movies, like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Frozen (and Shrek, although it's not a Disney movie)

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

P13839: Depths of Wikipedia 3: Return of the Wiki

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language, and as such, even two classes aren't enough to cover all the cool stuff it has to offer. This class will explore yet more interesting hidden gems, from the "Corrupted Blood incident" to the "Boston Molasses Disaster."

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 89 (max 200)

P13785: Violence and Videogames Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Alyssa Spencer, Janice Tjan

What effect do video games have on our minds if at all? Do they make us more violent?

There's is a lot of conflicting information out there, but we will be breaking down the facts for you.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 40)

P13707: The Music of Star Wars Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Brendan Vaughan, Sarah Weidman

John Williams is one of the most brilliant composers of all time. His music for Star Wars is critically acclaimed, and has been considered one of the best film scores of all time. Let's explore some of the brilliance of the music of Star Wars! From analyzing character themes, finding Easter eggs in the tracks, and discussing the musical process of creating these scores, we will discover a greater appreciation for the music of the films we love so much.

We will focus on Episodes IV - VI (the Original Trilogy), so there will be no spoilers for the newest films or shows.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Have seen and be familiar with the Star Wars Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI). We will be discussing how the music interacts with characters and plot, so you should have some knowledge of the films.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 100)

P13840: Depths of Wikipedia 4: Ever After

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language, and as such, even three classes aren't enough to cover all the cool stuff it has to offer. This class will explore- you guessed it- a variety of interesting topics, from the "Ytterby" to the "Great Stork Derby."

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 113 (max 200)

P13838: Depths of Wikipedia 5: A Trilogy in Five Parts

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language... yada yada yada, you already read the other descriptions. Come learn even more interesting tidbits, from the "Salton Sea" to the "Stargate Project."

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 23 (max 200)

P13801: Intro to Lightsaber Dueling and Spinning Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shayna Ahteck, Claire McLellan-Cassivi

“I’ll try spinning, that’s a good trick!”

In this class we will dive into some basic stage combat with learning a simple 4+6 beat lightsaber duel routine and some types of basic spins for flair. Please wear comfortable clothing!

Prequel and OG Trilogy memes highly encouraged.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm
Section 2: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm
Section 3: Sun 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 12)
Section 2: Full! (max 12)
Section 3: Full! (max 12)

P13857: How to Create a Religion Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jensen Curtiss, Harley Ride

Ever wanted to create a religion? Or are you curious about how religions are typically structured? In this class, you'll learn about many of the components that religions all tend to have so that you can gain a deeper understanding of what makes a religion a religion! And of course, you'll also get the chance to create a religion based around whatever your heart desires.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)

P13930: Kpop Dance!!!! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Emily Han, Viktoriya Tabunshchyk

We will be teaching 1 or 2 kpop dances (depending on how fast things go)!! The start of the class will be a vote on which dance(s) people want to learn and it will be a very fun time, come dance with us!
└|ﾟεﾟ|┐

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
a passion for fun <3

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

W13912: Scale Mail

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Brian Chen

Make cool things with scales and rings!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13971: Science Bowl

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Hahn Lheem

Come play high school Science Bowl and try to win for bragging rights and learn some awesome things about science! Know lots of science trivia, love hitting buzzers, or just want to try to answer questions ridiculously fast? This is the walk-in for you! You do not need to have familiarity/experience with this game to participate!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13980: Mao

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Julian Espada, Wayne Zhao

Come play Mao. What's Mao? Whatever you want it to be!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13809: Smart Bubbles

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Tanya Huffman

What is the shortest road linking 3, 4 or even 5 towns together? Find out how nature has solved this problem.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)

W13802: Sail the High Seas

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Clio Macrakis

Calling all sailors to join us on our transit around the world! To where? In what boat? You decide! We'll have an ongoing boat-building competition, learn how to tie knots, create our own sailor superstitions, explore sailing vessels from around the world, and talk about how sailboats work.
Stop in for however long you want

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13928: Hot Salt Frying

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jenny Gao, Byron Xu

Hot salt frying is a traditional Asian street food cooking technique. Come learn how it's done and enjoy some sunflower seeds, chestnuts, and other snacks!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13979: Pi Day!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: CJ Quines, Wayne Zhao

Come learn about pi while eating pi(e).

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13909: Learn the Chinese Yo-Yo!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Mikayla Murphy

The Chinese Yo-Yo, also known as Diabolo, has been a popular circus prop for many years. Come learn how to play with this fun toy that also is an important part of Chinese heritage!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13978: Jotto!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Hahn Lheem

Come play Mastermind, but with words!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13867: Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Vincent Bian, Zawad Chowdhury

One day, a person was fired because they didn't flush a toilet enough. What happened?

Mr. Smith lies dead in a puddle of water and broken glass. How did he die?

One year, the price of beef dropped drastically in a particular region. Why?

Find out the answer to these mysteries, and many more, by asking only yes/no questions!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am
Section 2: Sat 12:05pm--1:55pm
Section 3: Sun 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)
Section 3: 0 (max 50)

W13922: Non-Newtonian Fluids

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jenny Gao, Mayukha Vadari

will fill out later

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13949: Plank Countdown

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Jeffery Li

Are you participating in MathCounts and/or interested in solving math problems in your head quickly? Are you proud of your athleticism but feel like you never get a chance to show it off? If you believe that you can solve math problems in your head faster than your peers or that your abs are stronger than theirs, come join us in Plank Countdown, an activity also run at the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament! Rules will be elaborated on before the start. Feel free to drop by anytime to watch or participate; rounds start about every 15 minutes!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13917: Not Ruby Red Appreciation

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Grace Cai

Come marvel at all juice that is not ruby red.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13919: Ruby Red Appreciation

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Andrew Lin, Rachana Madhukara

ESP loves to drink juice. Come learn to appreciate the best juice: Ocean Spray Ruby Red!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13923: Prototyping Circuits

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Matthew Cox, Byron Xu

Come learn how to build circuits!

We'll show you how to make circuits with blinking lights. You can take home the circuits you make!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13952: Estimation Markets

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Rajashree Agrawal, Jeffery Li, Wayne Zhao

Learn about financial markets while practicing your Fermi estimation skills in this classic game! Open to anyone with interest in math, science, or finance. Quick thinking and awareness of other players are of utmost importance.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 12:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)

W13767: Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) Ice Cream

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Grace Cai, Matthew Cox, Jenny Gao, Jeffery Yu, Wayne Zhao

Want to watch some cool chemistry and eat some cool liquid? Come join us for a delicious treat!!!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13826: Origami Charms

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Laura Cui

Come learn to make your own keychains and jewelry charms out of paper! No origami experience required.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 3: Sun 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)
Section 3: 0 (max 50)

W13944: Face masks

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Tara Liu

Make your face super soft by putting on a face mask! get smooth glowing skin

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13830: Learning the Light Up Puzzle

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Mohan Richter-Addo

Light Up is a logic puzzle game with three main rules. 1) Every square must be lit up. 2) No light source can be seen by another light source. 3) The number on a black square indicates how many light sources are adjacent to it. All numbers must be satisfied. Without any one of these rules, the game would be much simpler than it is. However, the way it is now, it forces there to be a single, unique solution. Join us in learning the tactics for solving this kind of puzzle and then tackling these puzzles yourself!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)

W13908: Make Your Own Butter

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Matthew Cox, Byron Xu

Learn how butter is made and take home your very own piece of fresh, all-natural butter! While supplies last.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)

W13977: Card Throwing

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Simon Alford, Matt Schofield

Learn to throw ordinary playing cards! This class will allow you how to impress your friends and family by showing you how to throw a card with deadly accuracy.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 3: Sun 10:05am--11:55am
Section 4: Sun 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 0 (max 50)
Section 2: 0 (max 50)
Section 3: 0 (max 50)
Section 4: 0 (max 50)

X13788: This statement is a lie. Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Hahn Lheem, CJ Quines

A brief guide to some famous paradoxes, and why they might actually become relevant in our real world soon.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
patience and a willingness to be confused from time to time

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

X13833: Dungeons and Dragons 101: Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Charlie DeLorey

Come learn about Dungeons and Dragons, one of the best tabletop role playing games out there! This course is designed for complete beginners, no previous D&D experience necessary!
In this class you will have an introduction to the RPG world, explanation of some of the important elements of D&D, as well as going over the basic rules of the game.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
An interest to learn about D&D! No previous experience with the game of tabletop role playing games required!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 60)

X13868: The Theory of Counterattacking: Strategies in Starcraft Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Karthik Nair, Thomas Xiong

Counterattacking is a concept that shows up in virtually any subject of interest: chess, karate, stock trading, sports, and our favorite, games. In this class, we will show you how to execute powerful counterattacks by analyzing the unrivaled king of fast paced strategy games, Starcraft II. First we'll show you how to play, and then we'll delve right into replays of the world's best players executing sharp counterattacks to demonstrate the beauty of this concept. By the end of the class, you'll be able to make higher level strategic calls that will devastate your opponent.

Whether you're looking to become a better Starcraft player, improve your chess game, or challenge your problem-solving skills, this class is perfect for all backgrounds and skill levels.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 26)

X13810: Planning Like a Pro: Learning to Bullet Journal Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Emily Levenson, Lily Zhang

Do you want to be more organized? Do traditional planners box you in? Bullet journaling is a do-it-yourself planning system that is customizable and has lots of room for creativity.

We'll provide the bullet journals, art supplies, and simple instructions. You bring a life to organize!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)
Section 2: Full! (max 15)

X13901: Make Your Own Soap Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Grace Cai, Laura Cui

Do you feel dissatisfied by those bland white bars you have at home? Ever wonder what the stuff is even made of? Come learn about soap and make your own, featuring bright colors and cool mix-ins!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

X13940: Fundamentals of Poker Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Omkar Ghenand, Edward Jin

This course introduces the basic of how to play poker. The class introduces the ranking of different poker hands, and basic strategy used to win hands.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
This course is best suited for students with no or limited experience with playing poker.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: Full! (max 32)

X13823: Code Busters Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Amira Malik, Pamela Stark

Have you ever wanted to pass secret messages? Ever wanted to intercept them? Come find out how to encode and decode messages for a chance to win prizes!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

X13805: Stargazing, Telescopes and more! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Evan Tey, Nicholas Wu

Come learn the basics of observational astronomy, from identifying constellations to using a telescope. We'll go through some of the cool things you can see in the sky, and hopefully end with how you can continue to stargaze.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

X13818: Dutch Babies?!?!! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Maria Chiang, Sophia Friedman

Just kidding, it's only pancakes.
Ever wanted to learn how to make the scrumptiously perfect full meal that is Dutch Babies? Well, we're here to help! Learn the skills you need in the kitchen to whip up this perfect lazy Sunday recipe and blow everyone away!! We will, of course, get to feast on our creations at the end of the session.
(This recipe does contain dairy, eggs and flour, so please be cautious when embarking on this journey with us if you have any dietary restrictions.)

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
- Clothes you don't mind getting dirty (probably won't, but still) - A positive attitude?? - A relatively empty stomach :)

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 7)

X13827: The Future of Transportation Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Enrique Casillas, Thanh Nguyen

Ever heard of $$\bf Maglevs$$ or $$\bf Hyperloops$$ ? What about a little company called $$\bf Uber$$? Take a ride with us as we dive into the exciting new transportation technology that exist in today's modern cities. Join us in this interactive session that explores the history and future of mobility.

Create your own unique transportation system and play Kahoot! with us for a chance to win MIT $$\bf swag!$$

Open to all levels and backgrounds.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 24)

X13856: Bullet Journaling 101 Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Elaine Wen

Ever wanted to learn how to bullet journal or just generally organize your life? With this fun class, we will be doing just that with the bullet journaling system and use lots of washi tape and stickers along the way! We will also explore other fun productivity tools too. Time to Marie Kondo your life.... bujo style!

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)
Section 2: Full! (max 15)

X13916: How to Run a Spark!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Evan Caragay, Julian Espada, Rujul Gandhi, Jenna Himawan

Ever thought about what happens behind-the-scenes when you sign up for Spark classes? Or how all of our teachers and classes fit into MIT's classrooms? Spark takes months to plan, and for good reason. Come learn how we make Spark happen every year!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 17 (max 40)

X13762: Chocolate Truffles Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sophie Mori, Sarah Weidman

Come learn how to make your very own chocolate truffles! We will learn some basic food science about chocolate and cream and then use our newfound knowledge to make some ganache truffles.

Note that this class has TWO sessions. Please make sure you can attend both. Otherwise, you will not end up with truffles to take home. Also, bring a tupperware for your finished truffles.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None!

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--11:55am, Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

X13884: Introduction to Linguistics

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Dominick Joo, Albert Liu, Tom Panenko

How do scientists analyze language? How do babies learn languages? Do you want to become more aware of your tongue? Come learn about all the things about language you already technically know but don't even know you know!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 12 (max 40)

X13897: Use Chopsticks, Roll your R's, Snap! Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Oomi Pammit

You're at a restaurant with your friends. There's a huge plate of noodles in front of you. Ask for a fork? Or try your luck with that daunting pair of chopsticks?
Learn how to snap loudly at (mock) slam poetry, trill that foreign word like you should, and eat **free Pepper Sky Pad Thai food!!** with a bunch of other people who'd like to pick up any of these skills.
(other chopsticks foods available; for Level 7 Vegans we can get tofu or ice cubes-- lmk :)

Here is a warning for students with any wheat or gluten allergies.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 11:05am--11:55am
Section 3: Sat 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 4: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 5: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)
Section 2: Full! (max 16)
Section 3: Full! (max 16)
Section 4: Full! (max 16)
Section 5: Full! (max 16)

X13924: Hair Dyeing: Theory and Practice Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Carolyn Mei, Leslie Yan

Have you every been curious about dyeing hair? In this class, we'll be delving into the chemistry, history, and art behind hair dyeing. We'll also be doing live hands-on demos (!!), and giving you the chance to color your own hair! (parental consent required). Wear clothing you would not mind getting stained.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)
Section 2: Full! (max 16)

X13961: Dungeons and Dragons for the beginner Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Zawad Chowdhury, Kaitlyn Pryzdzial

Have you always wanted to leave your ordinary life to delve into dungeons and kill dragons? Then this is the class for you!

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
A healthy appreciation for fantasy

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

X13786: Developing Your Resilience and Inner Strength Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Patricia Craig

Tough Times; every person has times in their life when it is really tough and becoming more resilient helps us get through those tough times. Whether a grandparent just died, or parents are getting divorced, or not fitting in at school - - - coping and trying to stay upbeat seems nearly impossible. This course will provide some helpful hints on managing those rough patches. The hints are drawn from the following books, “The Adversity Quotient”, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”, and “The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook.” Additionally, some hints from Stanford Professor Michael Ray’s course, “Creativity in Business” will be discussed.

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 35)
Section 2: Full! (max 40)

X13794: Dungeons & Dragons Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sebastian Bilash, Kevin Bilash

You find yourself shaken awake by the rocking of a wagon, the wagon jolts to a halt and you shake off your weariness. The unfamiliar clash of steel, you throw yourself outside and find your party is surrounded, but now the decision is up to you, do you fight and risk life or surrender to the centaurs towering above you. Dungeons and Dragons is a whole new world to be explored, and one where you can be whoever you like, perhaps you are a high-elf wizard who's spells do both terrible things to your foes and helpful things to your friends, or maybe you are a dwarf paladin who's heavy armor and healing spells are a welcome addition to any group, or even a half-orc rouge, whose sly thievery and stealth in combat make you an adversary to all. During this class you will take control of an adventurer and you and your peers will have to complete a quest while not only slaying monsters but also making decisions that can greatly affect the outcome of your adventure.

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 7)
Section 2: Full! (max 7)

X13904: How to win at board games Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Quincy Johnson, Amber Williams

You will be taught how to win at any and all board games against your friends. You will be taught how to manipulate and read others, as well stack odds in your favor. You will also be taught how losers think as compared to winners. From Catan to Monopoly, the likelihood of winning board games will increase after taking this class.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Don't be a brick.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

X13947: This course has no content? Full!

Difficulty: ***

Teachers: Mulan Jiang, Colin Tang

Have you really looked at your hand?

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 8)
Section 2: Full! (max 8)

X13962: How to teach a Hogwarts class Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Zawad Chowdhury, Rujul Gandhi

Have you always dreamed of being a professor at Hogwarts? Want to teach people about Transfiguration or Arithmancy? Then this is the class for you!

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
You should know what Hogwarts is. Bonus points if you've dreamed about going there since birth.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

X13841: Let's talk about the NFL! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Ravi Raghavan, Ahaan Rungta

The Chiefs are your Super Bowl Champions. The Patriots and the Brady decision are stalling the NFL offseason.
Come talk about your favorite team, your favorite fantasy football player from 2019, the XFL, or anything else you want to talk about.

(We will not be entertaining strong political views, it'll just be football talk!)

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
A decent knowledge of the NFL.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--9:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

X13842: Let's Talk about Baseball! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Ravi Raghavan, Ahaan Rungta

Come interact with other enthusiastic baseball nerds about the MLB 2019 season, a weird offseason, and sabermetrics! Don't know what the last word means? We can talk about that too!

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
A little knowledge about what transpired in the most recent MLB season.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

X13937: How to Play Chess Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Richard Barone, Kyle Liu

Learn the basics of chess! This class is intended for people who either have no idea how to play or know how the pieces move but no strategies. You'll get to play games against the other students and learn some basic strategies/tactics.

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Please do not take this class if you are already above average at chess.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)

X13751: Basics of Knitting Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Amena Khatun, Karissa Wenger

Learn the basics of knitting: how to cast on, the basic stitch, and how to cast off. Then, use your newly discovered talent to create a beautiful and usable purse.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 9:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 10)
Section 2: Full! (max 10)

X13799: Science Like a Girl Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Lyssa Freese, Emilie Skoog

Ever wonder who the women were and are behind some of the world’s most important scientific discoveries? Want to learn more about being a girl in the field of science and all of the opportunities available? Join us as we discuss the super women and hidden figures of our scientific past, and the key influencers of science today—from climate science, to engineering, to computer science, to medicine, to geology and beyond: we’ll dive into the diverse array of sciences out there and the amazing contributions women make in their fields.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

X13843: Let's Talk About the NBA! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Ravi Raghavan, Ahaan Rungta

The Miami Heat. Giannis for MVP again.

Come discuss storylines from this year's NBA season, predictions, statistics, referees, or maybe all-time greats. You'll get to shape the discussion based on what topics interest you most. #RIPKobe

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Passion for Basketball and the NBA

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

X13972: Game Show! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sophie Mori, Evan Tey

Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Here's your chance! Come prepared to collaborate and answer general knowledge questions.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 11:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

X13815: Intro to Puzzle Hunts

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Walker Anderson, Wayne Zhao

Puzzle hunts are a fun way to solve puzzles together with friends! The goal is to solve several puzzles that culminate in a final challenge, called a 'metapuzzle'. After a presentation teaching common solving strategies, you'll have the opportunity to work on a small puzzle hunt with others. You don't need any specialized puzzle-solving knowledge to participate.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 50)
Section 2: 25 (max 50)

X13795: THE GAUNTLET- Speed Teaching

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Winston Fee, Tyler Higgs, Max Reese

Welcome to the ULTIMATE miscellaneous class. Teachers will compete to out-teach the others in dozens of micro-classes, with students scoring their performance. You'll learn something, you'll see MIT students flounder for your points, you'll become way cooler than you currently are (you're pretty cool though), you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll cheer! Watch out for bonus rounds. Enter: the Gauntlet

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Must be willing and able to count up to 3

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 2:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 124 (max 200)
Section 2: 48 (max 134)

X13950: Things You Should Know About Life Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Evan Caragay, Mayukha Vadari

There are things you should know about life. They won't teach you this stuff in school. Things like how to make your friends' parents like you. Featuring a Q&A at the end.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
None

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)

X13804: Tactical Combinations that Swap a 0-1

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Daniel Acosta

Tactics! Chess 99% is tactics and 1% perspiration. We'll be solving some really difficult tactics puzzles. At some point when solving tactics puzzles, you wonder "Hmmm, will I ever see those puzzles in my games? When should I look for tactics too?" WELL, this class will answer those questions.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Intermediate or advanced beginner at chess. Patience and Bobby Fischer hands for moments of deep introspection. Make sure they're secure.

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 1:05pm--2:55pm
Section 2: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 17 (max 22)
Section 2: Full! (max 22)

X13890: Want to Play in a Game Show? Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Nicholas Jean, Lauren MacLachlan

My absolute guilty pleasure is watching game shows of all kind. But lately, I've become sick of just *watching* them.

I've devised my own game show for you all to play. There'll be teams, there'll be challenges, and there may even be prizes. Whatever your thing is - solving puzzles, thinking outside the box, competitive drive, come on down and put your skills to the test!

Featuring challenges from Only Connect, Chain Reaction, and more!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Be prepared to have some fun!

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--1:55pm
Section 2: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 24)
Section 2: Full! (max 24)

X13895: Macaron Madness Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Karen Gao, Maggie Zheng

Whether you're a pro baker or you've never touched a whisk in your life, you'll be able to make beautiful and delicious macarons in this class!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
no allergies to almond flour, eggs, dairy

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 8)

X13960: Icebreaking 101 Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Vincent Bian, Zawad Chowdhury

Let's learn how to break ice without those giant ships! Get to know each other better with fun games!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 1:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

X13816: slackline vibes Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Peter Crocker, Raymond Wynne

Have you ever wanted to walk on a 1-dimensional trampoline? Do you have the balance of a ballerina and the pants of a yogi? Even if you aren't any of these things, come join us for slackline vibes in "the spot."

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
a fun-loving spirit

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm
Section 2: Sun 9:05am--10:55am
Section 3: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm
Section 4: Sun 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)
Section 2: Full! (max 15)
Section 3: Full! (max 15)
Section 4: Full! (max 15)

X13831: 7.4 Seconds for Every Pokémon

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Jeffery Li, CJ Quines

Come learn a few things about every Pokémon up to Generation 8! You may learn about some that you never knew before, or about some funny descriptions of the more well-known ones.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 77 (max 200)

X13925: Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sonia Moreno

Does money really buy happiness? What makes some people happier than others? Come learn about some of the scientific findings in happiness research and to help improve your overall well-being!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 12)

X13929: The Art of Riddling Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shardul Chiplunkar, Rujul Gandhi

You're in the palace of an Ancient and Powerful King, and the Master of Knowledge has just asked you an artful riddle to test your worth. You're smart: you deliver an impeccable answer in seconds. Of course, it is but courteous to return the exchange by posing a riddle of your own... oh. You don't know any. Now what?

It has to be challenging, but solvable. It has to be majestically poetic, but not cringy. Its lines should resound in the halls and minds of the palace and thrust an irresistibly fascinating mystery upon them.

Come learn the Art of Riddling.

Class Style
Seminar

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)

X13821: Intro to Stained Glass Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Alex Bookbinder, Leah Pettit, Sonia Reilly, Aquila Simmons

I know, it sounds like it would take a bunch of super expensive specialized equipment, but what if I told you, it can be done completely with hand-tools? Join me to handcraft your own stained glass sun catcher using the Tiffany Copper Foil Technique and learn the skills necessary to make larger stained glass works of art like boxes or windows.

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--12:55pm
Section 2: Sat 2:05pm--4:55pm
Section 3: Sun 9:05am--11:55am
Section 4: Sun 2:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 12)
Section 2: Full! (max 12)
Section 3: Full! (max 12)
Section 4: Full! (max 12)

X13905: Mastering Your Memory: How to remember anything you want Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Martin Schneider

Do you want to be able to more effectively remember what you learn? This class will give you tools for remembering *whatever* you want: class material, people's names, a deck of playing cards... you name it! We'll talk about mind palaces, spaced repetition, desirable difficulties, and more. Improving your memory will make you a more effective learner and problem solver; get ready to learn about learning!

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Just don't *forget* to show up!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 24)

X13957: Interesting Conversations?!?! Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Nika Silkin, Meghana Vemulapalli

Do you think tech companies have an obligation to do something about fake news, and if so, how?? If you were the CEO of a dating app, what would you design for? Should younger people have their votes weighted more heavily?? What is the purpose of American education?? Come with an interesting open-ended question and we can explore together!!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sun 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 6)
Section 2: Full! (max 6)

X13863: Sustainable Cooking Workshop Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Liliana Edmonds, Diani Jones, Melissa Stok

Come learn about how to have a more sustainable diet and participate in a sustainable and healthy cooking workshop. You will get an opportunity to eat your creations!

Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
none!

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)

Z13812: American History

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Shreyas Balaji, Sai Sameer Pusapaty, Rahul Yesantharao

A riveting account of the nation, starting from its inception in 1836.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--10:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: 47 (max 50)

Z13846: Global Health Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Bhuvna Murthy, Reed Robinson, Melody Wu

Want to learn about public health and participate in a mini global health hackathon? Well this is the course for you! You will learn about various aspects of global and public health and gather the tools to begin solving real world healthcare issues. This course will be taught by the amazing members of MIT's GlobeMed chapter (https://www.globemed.org) and we're really looking forward to having amazing discussions with you!

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

Z13903: How to solve the climate crisis Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Sam Allon, Jesse Gordon

We know that climate change is a big problem that seems to only get worse - so how can we actually solve it? In this class, we will discuss personal, technological, and political actions that can be taken.

Class Style
Lecture

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

Z13968: Learning about North Korea through films (including KDrama!!) Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Michelle Lee, Janice Tjan

Let's learn about perhaps the most famous (or rather infamous) country in the world... people's republic of korea!

I mean, what else is there about this country other than Kim Jung Un and his consistent blackmailing? How do regular people live? What kind of language do they use? (Is it different from Korean they use in South Korea?) The education system? How is social hierarchy determined? How do people escape? Why? What do they do once they are outta there?

We will explore these questions through films, such as documentaries, escapee youtubers, and ... the *hot* KDrama Crash Landing On You!

Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Genuine interest in anthropology / examining the ways in which how people live. This is NOT a meme class, and we do not tolerate any inappropriate remarks that demonstrate your insincerity / lack of seriousness.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 22)

Z13757: How to do adult-related money things Full!

Difficulty: *

Teachers: Roan LaPlante

This is a class about how to handle money.

There are a lot of experiential skills around handling money that students are usually not taught in school, including some very basic things. In this course we will focus on basic life skills around how to make, spend, and move money. This includes how to invest money and what you should invest it in, how to do your taxes (and what is necessary to do taxes well), how to write and deposit checks, how banks work, which banks you should use, and how to apply for jobs.

This class will have extensive student-focused question and answer time. Students are encouraged to prepare questions that they have about how to handle money. There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--3:55pm
Section 2: Sat 4:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 30)
Section 2: Full! (max 30)

Z13819: Explore Model United Nations Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Claire Hsu, Karunya Sethuraman

As part of MIT Model United Nations, we want to introduce students to international relations and how a Model United Nations committee session works. We'll give a brief introduction to international relations and Model UN and then jump into a mock MUN session led by experienced MIT conference chairs and discussing topics familiar to students.

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
None! Some debate experience may be useful, but not required at all.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sat 3:05pm--4:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 15)

Z13932: Language Interactions Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Shardul Chiplunkar, Rujul Gandhi, Jenna Himawan

How do languages evolve? How do we know whether languages are related? What differentiates a language from a dialect? This is a class where we discuss these questions, learn about language study and classification, and see how history, language, and culture work together with each other.

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--9:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

Z13875: Non-linear Thinking in a Linear World Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Sherene Raisbeck, Josh Shaine

Does doing one thing at a time drive you batty? Do people frequently tell you to pay attention or to 'stay on topic?' Do you think in pictures instead of words? Does the whole "You have to do it in the right order" concept bother you? Join us for an exploration of the How's and Why's of non-linear thinking. We'll talk about how to recognize and develop strengths, not just how to 'fit in.'

Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Open-mindedness.

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 10:05am--11:55am

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 25)

Z13719: President Madison on the Founding of the United States

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Bil Lewis

With the assistance of audience members participating in skits, reading the parts of Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Dolly Madison, etc., we will lead investigations into events from the House of Burgesses, the Constitutional Convention, the “Dinner Party,” etc., that marked the coming of age of the United States.

In recognition of the extensive amount writing that made this country possible, each student shall receive their very own, personal, finely carved quill pen with which they shall practice proper writing skills. (Primary flight feathers from the Left wing of the goose available for the Bar-Dexter, Right wing quills for the Bar-Sinister.)

More than a mere recitation of dates and facts, this will be an exploration into the underlying reasons that prompted them to act as they did. Many of the issues they confronted then continue to be relevant today.

Should we be one Country?
What debts should be paid?
Who gets the power of Taxation?
Should a Private Bank issue money?
Should we be agrarian? Or a center of manufacturing?
How do we limit the influence of Great Corporations on our public life?
How can we protect the Common Man from the rapaciousness of the Rich and Powerful?
How do we eliminate Slavery?
How do we make real the “Spirit of ’76?” So we can truly say that “All Men are Created Equal.”

Class Style
Activity

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sun 9:05am--10:55am
Section 2: Sun 11:05am--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 32)
Section 2: 18 (max 32)

Z13776: Good and Evil in Superhero Comics Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Clio Macrakis, Mikayla Murphy

Are you Team Iron Man or Team Captain America when it comes to the Sokovia Accords? Should the police work with vigilante heroes, or follow the law at all costs? We will discuss your answers to these questions and have a friendly debate about what makes someone a hero or a villain - or an antihero.
\textbf{This course is not based on movies, so no prior knowledge of superhero stories is necessary}. We will read comics provided by the instructor in class to lead our discussion.

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Some knowledge of the DC and Marvel universes is helpful, but not required

Meeting Times
Section 1: Sat 12:05pm--12:55pm
Section 2: Sun 12:05pm--12:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 16)
Section 2: Full! (max 20)

Z13847: How to make a language Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Theodor Cucu, Rujul Gandhi, Shinjini Ghosh

Are you fascinated by languages? Do you want to deconstruct the concept of a language, and see how it's built?

Come learn how languages work and the cool stuff they do with sounds, words, structure, and much more- while gaining the tools to construct your own language.

We'll provide: something to write on, something to write with
Bring: something to think with!

Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Knowing at least one language (note that English is a language)

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 2:05pm--2:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 50)

Z13869: Economic Games(?!) Full!

Difficulty: **

Teachers: Rajashree Agrawal, Jason Gross

We will attempt to generate some key concepts in economics through puzzles. These concepts will enhance your ability to engage and reason about social phenomena in the world. In class, the puzzles will stimulate your logical and rigorous selves, and occasionally, your social selves!

Class Style
Discussion

Meeting Time
Section 1: Sun 3:05pm--3:55pm

Grades
7 - 8
Enrollment
Section 1: Full! (max 20)

Spark 2020 Course Catalog

Spark 2020
Course Catalog