What makes a great designer when AI can generate polished images, concepts, and creative directions in seconds? Increasingly, the answer is not technical proficiency or the ability to produce more—but the ability to exercise judgment: to identify meaningful problems, ask consequential questions, and determine what is worth making.

Drawing on nearly three decades of teaching design at Parsons School of Design and recent research on creativity and design education, Steven Faerm examines how generative AI is reshaping what it means to be a designer. The lecture explores why problem framing, discernment, experimentation, and creative judgment are becoming more valuable as production becomes increasingly abundant—and why some forms of creative struggle should be protected rather than optimized away. Faerm also examines how AI can both accelerate expertise and complicate how expertise develops, particularly for student and emerging designers.

Attendees will gain a new framework for understanding creativity in the age of AI, including practical strategies for evaluating creative work, structuring AI within the design process, developing stronger creative judgment, and recognizing the human capabilities that become increasingly valuable as production becomes automated. Ultimately, the lecture asks a fundamental question: What human capabilities become more valuable when AI can perform the production?

Please note: This is a lecture presentation, not a hands-on workshop.

Presented by Steven Faerm, Professor of Fashion, Parsons School of Design.


Class Style
Lecture

Do you want to learn how to win an A Capella battle? Do you want to learn how to do beatbox/vocal percussion? Are you looking for fun singing exercises to practice with friends?
Join the MIT Wellesley Toons (MIT's one and only cross-campus a cappella group) in this fun 1h 30 min class full of a cappella warm ups, beatbox and music training exercises. No previous musical experience needed, just a lot of initiative to learn!


Class Style
Activity

Want to be able to drop sick beats without a drum set? Or maybe you just want to annoy your friends? Learn how to beatbox! We'll cover how to make some basic sounds and then make some cool music together!


Class Style
Activity

Have you ever wanted to learn to make a cool, origami ball with almost too many points? Do you like folding paper many times? Now's your chance! In this class, we will teach you how to make an origami modular icosahedron out of Post-Its.


Class Style
Activity

Ever wanted to learn how to make your own mini comic-books and share them with your friends? Are you an artist who struggles with 'finishing things'? Or maybe, just a person who likes drawing or writing or making cool stuff?
Come draw, write, and make cool stuff! We'll make a number of 8-page zines, and then learn how to copy and assemble them so you'll never be without the ability to disseminate your ideas ever again!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
An interest in making stuff!

Have you always wanted to learn how to read sheet music but don't know how? Are you confused by those odd little note symbols? Come learn about the history of sheet music and how to read it! No musical experience required!


Class Style
Discussion

Read a lot of comics? Read no comics but want to see what the hype is? Want to express ideas and tell stories in a unique format? Come learn about comics techniques and the anatomy of a comic, and draw your own short comic!

In this class, you'll learn how comics "work" and how writers, pencilers, inkers, letterers, and other comic book creators come together to tell visual and verbal stories about everything from superheroes to politics to everyday life. We'll also discuss the use of color, panels, gutters, and lettering, as well as how comics portray dialogue, motion, and emotion. Then, you'll have an opportunity to try out these techniques with a comic of your own.


Class Style
Activity

Ever wondered how acapella groups adapt their favourite songs into vocal harmonies?

In this class, the MIT Asymptones will guide you through arranging a 30s-1min excerpt from a song of your (yes, your own!) choosing, for a soloist and a four-part ensemble. We'll discuss arrangement structure and texture, go over music theory and voice leading considerations, and generally give you a glimpse into how we approach arranging.

Note that this will be a very interactive and participation-based workshop -- we expect it to be quite fast-paced!

Bring earphones / headphones, and a laptop with Musescore Studio installed from musescore.org (not from musescore.com; they're very similar! Make sure the app lets you create a new score.)

Make sure you've picked out your song excerpt ahead of time! (One verse / chorus; 30s-1min. Ideally something with a soloist / with lyrics, and some meaningful melody + harmony [so not, e.g., rap])


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Some basic music theory experience; you should be somewhat familiar with sheet music notation / note names, and major/minor chords/scales in a given key.

There is something beautiful about the deep care and precision that goes into reconstructing an animal and preserving the parts of it. This class will teach the basics on how to begin this incredible and ancient craft; to tap into the macabre that we all have in our hearts. Students will learn to perform wet taxidermy, dry taxidermy, and skeletonize animals. They will also receive safety and general advice. WARNING: this class will feature images of various animals' internal anatomy, as well as discussion and descriptions of it.


Class Style
Lecture

'ello. How are you?
DO you have the zoomies?
DO you wanna own the world?
DO you have a very specific play with all your OC's in your mind that you would love to see played out in real life?

Then you got to come LARP as a playwright! In this class, we will spend *30 minutes discussing how to actually write a play/plot, and then 1 hour actually writing **something. The best part? You get to then, for the next hour and a half, watch people voice-act/ actually act out the plays you produced. Come all ye theater children! Let's actually do this!

* Time durations of in class assignments are flexible and subject to change.
** "Something"- as in something chill enough to be written in an hour and performed in class. Topics can be vetoed.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
willingness to write willingness to be cringe willingness to talk with other people

Hey, you! Do you like to sing? Ever heard an acapella group and wondered how they get those harmonies to work, or been curious about what it's like tuning to the chord? Come join the MIT Asymptones, MIT's premier low-time-commitment acapella group, for two hours of beginner-friendly music-learning and singing!

We'll be teaching you how to sing our four-part arrangement of Petals on the Moon by Wasia Project, arranged by our alum Alex: we'll first teach your individual part in sectionals, and then we'll practice singing as a group.

At the end of the session, you'll join us in one of MIT's lobbies (with their lovely, echo-ey acoustics), where we'll sing the full arrangement together — it's quite the experience.

You'll get to keep the annotated sheet music (in case you ever want to sing this with your friends!), and an audio recording of yourselves singing with us (strictly opt-in / only if you want).


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None! All experience levels welcome.

Why does the Interstellar score give you chills? Why do people cry at Coldplay concerts? Why are some songs perfect for a workout playlist while others belong in a late-night cry session? And what actually happens in your brain—and your vocal cords—when you try to belt those songs in the shower or in front of friends?

In this course, students will explore these questions and more through the combined lenses of math, neuroscience, music theory, and singing. We’ll learn the main techniques songwriters and composers use to create tension, grief, joy, and excitement in their work—and then embody those techniques with our own voices. Along the way, you’ll:

- Practice singing exercises that connect directly to music theory (intervals, modes, chord progressions, rhythm), so you can hear and feel the structure of music in real time.
- Explore mixed voice, resonance, and breath support, with a strong emphasis on vocal health—how to sing louder, higher, and longer without straining or damaging your voice.
- Analyze how your brain processes melody, harmony, and lyrics—and why certain sounds make you want to cry, sprint, or hit “repeat.”
- Deconstruct songs from theater, orchestras, pop stars, and movies, then experiment with singing and lightly arranging these pieces in class.


You’ll not only identify the tricks behind iconic musical moments—you’ll also try your hand at performing and even writing them. Expect low-pressure group singing, playful vocal warm-ups, nerdy deep dives into why that key change hits so hard, and creative experiments that feel a bit like musical puzzles.

Whether you love music, the brain, or math—or just want to understand and improve your own voice—this course will open your ears, strengthen your vocal skills, and change the way you listen, sing, and create.

Whether you love music, the brain, or math - this course will open your eyes to the intricacies of the sounds many of us take for granted everyday, and hopefully make you a better listener and composer!


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
n/a

Come learn about the awesome writing implements that are fountain pens! This class will teach you about how fountain pens work and how to use them for a range of purposes from writing letters to making delightful works of art!


Class Style
Activity

Have you ever wanted to learn a little Japanese? Interested in Anime and want to understand some of the language and even some of the written text? Look no further! We'll walk you through 50 minutes of Japanese language, writing, numbers, and some fun expressions to get you started on your way to Tokyo!


Class Style
Discussion

"For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill." Cirdan said this to Gandalf upon his disembarking in Mithlond. But his statement referred to more than the looming War of the Ring.

In fact, the world of the Legendarium (also known as Arda) is continually in the process of "growing chill," as entropy wears away the primordial integrity of its creation. The great kingdom of Numenor fell into decay (first moral, then physical) and now persists only as "a memory brought over the hills." The Phial of Galadriel is but "an echo of an echo" of the original Light of Valinor. And even Mordor -- "that vast fortress... secure in its pride and its immeasurable strength" -- is itself a paltry imitation of Morgoth's stronghold of Utumno.

This class will be an interactive seminar on decay and wearying in Arda, and the concomitant grief (elegy) of those who witness it. We will examine how these elements are woven into the text, from Bilbo's farewell in Chapter 1 to the last line of the final appendix. And how the "ever-mounting burden of years" bears upon the tale.

The class will be a mix of discussion, solo contemplation and writing, and potentially peer-to-peer feedback.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Having read LoTR is important. The Silmarillion is helpful but not required. It will be very useful to have your own copies on hand, but I will bring some extras as well as printed excerpts. The only other required reading is Patrice Hannon's short essay "The Lord of the Rings as Elegy" (uploaded as a class doc.)

Are you a fan of games with meaningful choices and highly branching stories? Interested in ergodic literature or CYOA books? Curious what "diegetic sound" or "fourth wall breaks" are? Then, this class is for you! Come learn about the basic narratological principles behind interactive fiction including video games, hypertext fiction, and more!


Class Style
Lecture

Come learn the secrets of how languages evolve and relate to each other! All the world's languages are the product of systematic historical changes, and understanding those changes can reveal incredible connections. "Piano" and "flat"? Kyoto's "kyo" and Beijing's "jing"? "Factory" and "do"?? Yes, all these pairs are cognates! In this class we'll zip through the basics of phonetics, talk about the most common sound changes you'll see in the world's languages, and cover a basic history of sound changes in some of the biggest European (and maybe East Asian!) languages — including English, of course!


Class Style
Lecture

Coco is 12 jaar oud.
Haar broer is 1 jaar ouder.
Hoe oud is haar broer?

If you can understand that, congratulations: you are already qualified for this class!

We’ll be speedrunning math contest problems from around the world, except there is one small problem: they are not in English. Your job is to figure out both what the problem is saying and how to solve it, using whatever clues you can get from diagrams, equations, cognates, repeated words, sus answer options, and pure desperation.

We’ll play Kahoot-style, starting with problems where you can probably bluff your way through and gradually escalating to much trickier problems. Along the way, you'll accidentally learn some linguistics and math.

No knowledge of any language besides English is required. No math contest experience is required either! Having no idea what is going on is strongly encouraged.


Class Style
Activity

In this class, we will talk about literary translations and the different priorities that translators may have, particularly as it relates to verse and figures of speech. There will be a mix of lecture and discussion, so if there is a poem/other work of literature in translation that you want to talk about, feel free to come with a copy and/or questions about it!


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
It will probably be helpful to have taken a foreign language class at some point, but that is not a requirement.

When you hear someone with a different accent, how do you know that it's different? Maybe the differences are small enough that you take several minutes to notice. Or maybe the differences are so big that you notice with the first few words! How can you describe how different or similar an accent is compared to your accent? Can we put numbers to it (the answer is yes)? What secrets will these methods unlock about your own speech? How can you learn a British accent?

Join us to learn how linguists describe and differentiate the sounds of language!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
know IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

Have you ever tried blowing up a Minecraft village by hand with TNT and thought to yourself, "man, if only there were a way to do this 100 times faster"? If so, this class has the solution for you!

By the end, you'll be able to not only decimate entire villages in seconds, but also summon homing projectiles, control hordes of mobs, and more! Along the way, you'll learn how to use Minecraft commands - Minecraft's in-game version of programming - from first basics. Just be careful not to crash your game...

Snacks will be provided :)


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
A device to run Java edition of Minecraft may be helpful to follow along, but is NOT required.

Sure, you may be familiar with the internet. However, there are so many cool things you're missing out on! From the most useful to the most useless, you will learn about (almost) every website and tool you can imagine.


Class Style
Lecture

This class offers a unique and fun intro to multithreading through playing the video game OpenTTD.

OpenTTD is a free and open-source transport simulation game where you build networks of buses, trains, ships, and airplanes to transport passengers and cargo. However, two trains can't travel on the same track at the same time or else they'll crash, which necessitates a system of signals and locks. This class will cover the basics of OpenTTD, path signals, block signals, presignals, junction design, synchronization, SRNW (self-regulating networks), priority merges, and signal-based logic gates, as well as applications of these in-game concepts to real-world programming.

You MUST bring a fully-charged laptop with OpenTTD either already installed (it's free!) or one where you have permission to install OpenTTD. Otherwise you won't be able to play the game and will be very sad. Mouse recommended.


Class Style
Activity

In this hands-on class, you'll build and program a LEGO robot and give it some AI-powered abilities. We’ll explore how modern AI can turn information from the real world into actions: your robot might learn to recognize what it sees through a camera, respond to human gestures, interpret commands, or make decisions based on its surroundings.

Along the way, you'll experiment with training and testing AI models, connect their outputs to motors and sensors, and discover what happens when an AI system has to interact with the messy physical world rather than just produce an answer on a screen.

No previous experience with AI or robotics is required. Come ready to build, experiment, debug, and create a robot that can do something surprisingly intelligent.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Recommended: some programming experience, bring a laptop if possible, but not required

Every AI you’ve heard of, from ChatGPT to self-driving cars, are built upon neural networks. Most people only use them through libraries like PyTorch without ever seeing what’s inside. Here in this class, we’re peeling back the layers and opening the back box. NO AI libraries allowed. We will build a working neural network with just Python and math.
We’ll start with the overarching architecture and then break layers down. We will learn about layers in these networks including: convolution layers, MaxPool, and fully connected layers. We will then take a step back to work on Tensors and seeing how data is stored. We will talk about how to use tensors and operators to create these layers. We will then move on to optimizers, learning rate schedulers (cosine annealing LRS), data loading, and end with forward propagation and back propagation. By the end of the class, we will run our model and see how well it does at identifying different types of memes (e.g when someone is doing six seven hands) [yes we will find a way to scrape and label that data]. We will also end on discussion on optimization techniques including batching and split k reduction.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Coding Foundations in one of Python ESSENTIAL. We will not talk about Python and assume it is known. Basic knowledge on Calculus and Linear Algebra is nice but not required.

There are tons of websites out there, but how are they made? This class will give you a broad introduction of all things web development. Things like HTTP, HTML, Code, Design, etc. and you will build (aka code, no AI involved) a simple PAGE! By the end, you will know how to get started making any website you want. How cool is that now, c'mon!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Bring a laptop if you have one!

Basic NNUE principles, theory, and implementation for chess evaluation. We will also discuss how NNUE is used in modern chess engines like Stockfish and, if time permits, more advanced topics.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Introductory machine learning knowledge (e.g. familiarity with multi-layer perceptrons, matrices, and vectors). Chess knowledge is helpful but not required.

In 1950, Alan Turing proposed a controversial idea: if you can't tell a machine from a human in conversation, does it matter which one it is? We'll find out by taking the Turing Test ourselves. You'll interrogate mystery contestants, try to spot which ones are LLMs, and see if you can bluff as a bot yourself. Then we'll wrestle with the questions underneath the Turing Test: How do you know anyone is thinking? Is sounding human the same as being smart? What would change your mind?


Class Style
Activity

Have you ever seen a cool AI algorithm and wondered how it works? And no, that doesn't mean just "knowing it uses PyTorch" or "TensorFlow." In this class, you'll take the lead to actually make these neural networks yourself. This includes figuring out what an objective function actually is, trying to visualize loss fields, and doing some (simple) matrix calculations yourself, all to make an ML model that can play tic-tac-toe (or an equivalent game of your choice).

The one catch? You'll be implementing (~)everything from first principles, just like the mathematicians of the 1900s.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Python, single-variable calculus Anti-prerequisites: knowing about NNs and backpropagation!.

How can we keep ourselves safe from the Terminator? Or, more realistically, how can we make sure that the AI helps us, rather than causing harm and perpetuating the bias that exists in our world today?

In this interactive class, we'll discuss what AI bias looks like, how it arises, why it's important, and how researchers are trying to improve it for a number of machine learning techniques, including facial recognition, classification problems, and large language models (LLMs) like Claude and ChatGPT. We'll also discuss AI safety (including guardrails and security) and observability, and how each of these shapes decisions about how and when to use AI.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Background in algebra, basic probability, and understanding of vectors may be helpful, but is not necessary; relevant topics will be explained in class.

Sharks have been refining their design for over 400 million years, and engineers are finally catching up. This class explores how one of the ocean's most feared predators has become a source of inspiration for some of today's most innovative technologies.

We'll dive into the microscopic structure of sharkskin and discover how it led to drag-reducing aircraft coatings as well as how shark-inspired surface patterns are helping hospitals fight bacteria without chemicals, how a shark's electric "sixth sense" is informing new sensor research, and what shark teeth and cartilage can teach us about building stronger, smarter materials.

Along the way, you'll learn the fundamentals of biomimicry: how engineers study nature to solve human problems. The class ends with a hands-on, collaborative design challenge where you'll pitch your own shark-inspired invention.

No engineering or biology background required. Just bring your curiosity (and leave your fear of sharks at the door!).


Class Style
Activity

Rockets, video games, hospitals, and the cafeteria lunch line are all systems: lots of parts that have to work together. Systems engineers are the people who make sure they do. In this hands-on class, students become systems engineers. They learn to ask what a project needs to do, break it into parts, make sure the parts connect, test everything, and fix what breaks. In this class, students will learn to think like systems engineers: set clear goals, design connected parts, test what breaks, and improve it as a team.


Class Style
Discussion

Curious about renewable energy? Grinding through Science Olympiad, First Robotics, AP Environmental Science, or other science projects*? Want to major in civil, environmental, mechanical, materials, or computer engineering? Come learn all things (wind) turbines!

*Officially affiliated with MIT Wind Team, not any other organization. What is MIT Wind Team, you ask? It's a cool group of people you should meet at Splash!


Class Style
Lecture

Have you ever wondered how an air conditioner works? What about a heater? And why are they so expensive to run?

In this class we'll cover the fundamentals of energy engineering, looking at how energy is converted, moved, used, and wasted in everyday systems, and get a sense of how engineers think about these problems.
No prior background needed, just curiosity.


Class Style
Lecture

Ever wanted to control an asteroid shooting spaceship with nothing but your own hands? How about in Virtual Reality? Well you're in luck!
Join us in building your very own VR glove controller. No electronics or programing experience needed! We'll walk you through every step of hacking reality!


Class Style
Activity

In this course we will learn about concrete: its history, its creation, and why it's important.


Class Style
Lecture

Come build underwater robots and compete against other students in a friendly battle bots competition in a pool. Learn about neutral buoyancy, stability, and get creative with your robot's design!


Class Style
Activity

What would it be like to live in a Mars settlement? We will show pictures of proposed Mars permanent bases, settlements, villages, habitats (houses), workshops, and greenhouses. Some were designed in Mars Foundation projects.


Class Style
Lecture

Ever wonder how a smartwatch knows your heart rate? In this hands-on workshop, you’ll team up to design and build your own working heart monitor from scratch (circuits, sensors, and all), then test how well it really works. No experience needed. Come see your heartbeat in a whole new way!


Class Style
Activity

Are you fascinated by rocketry? Here's your chance to get an inside look into what we do on MIT's Rocket Team! We'll kick off by introducing each of our subteams; they all contribute to our yearly projects in unique ways, and you'll get a sense for which ones may fit you best. Then, you'll dive into simulating your own personal rocket as we walk through the process of becoming L1- or L2-certified rocketeers. We'll close out by looking at some of the rockets our team has built in the past, giving you a chance to see how your work will become part of something incredible.


Class Style
Activity

Learn about how an MIT build team designs, builds, then races a road-legal solar powered car 1500 miles across the United States!


Class Style
Lecture

Interested in global development? Water? Engineering? Working with international communities? Come learn about the exciting work MIT Engineers Without Borders is doing in global development! In this class, you'll learn about the projects we're working on – improving access to safe drinking water in a Kenyan community and building an irrigated garden at a Tanzanian primary school – and the engineering and social challenges and considerations that come along with it. After that, we’ll have a hands-on building activity on water and irrigation. No experience is required, and all are welcome!


Class Style
Activity

How do you teach a robot to grab something without dropping it or crushing it? Robots can build cars and explore Mars, but grabbing everyday objects is still surprisingly hard. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll design, wire, and program a robotic hand from the ground up, then challenge it to pick up objects of all shapes and sizes. No experience needed!


Class Style
Activity

Learn how to start endless electronics projects by understanding datasheets! We'll study a few quirky datasheets, followed by building a basic circuit through the help of understanding datasheets. We'll end the class with a fun datasheet scavenger hunt.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Knowledge on breadboarding, digital logic gates, & rudimentary circuit theory like Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Current Law, and Kirchhoff's Voltage Law are all preferred.

Design a car. Manage a budget. Outsmart your rivals. Race in a custom F1 simulation.

Working in teams, you’ll design your own F1 car and decide how to spend a limited development budget. Once your car is designed, you’ll take it to the track in a custom F1 racing simulation. Different circuits will reward different engineering choices.

Along the way, we’ll explore some of the real ideas behind Formula 1 (including aerodynamics, optimization, engineering tradeoffs, probability, and race strategy) but the focus will be on experimenting, competing, and seeing your decisions play out on the track.


Class Style
Activity

The classic team-building exercise turned on its head! You can (and will) get to know your classmates by building towers with them. But more importantly, you'll learn how to build some extraordinary structures! Your building materials: spaghetti and marshmallows. End of list. What's the tallest tower you can make?


Class Style
Activity

The 4th amendment to the US Constitution says that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." But what in the world does that mean? Come see how this foundational piece of constitutional law has evolved since its inception in 1791, as we discuss the various ways courts have interpreted this restriction on state power over the last two and a half centuries. In the process, you'll learn what probable cause is, what exactly police area allowed to search with and without it, and why, sometimes, "open fields need be neither 'open' nor a 'field.'"


Class Style
Discussion

Have you ever read a book, watched a movie, or played a game and thought "Wow, I really wish I could live in that world?" What if you could create a world that invokes that response in others? This class will explore the fundamentals of creating a rich, developed, and creative world. We will talk about environment, history, culture, social identity, and even how you can add unique touches to your world. As we discuss, you will also get to create the beginnings of a world of your own!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
An open mind and desire to be a bit silly and creative!

What does it take to write a novel? More than you might think. This is a course on the planning and writing of a novel which will pass through many stages. Because novels are not written, they are rewritten.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
None

Ever wonder why your annoying little sibling acts the way they do? How that newborn turned into walking, talking, and thinking human in just a few years? Have you ever wondered how infant and children's minds (sort of) work in general, including your mind? Children undergo incredible transformations as they grow.
We'll briefly explore how human minds learn and adapt throughout childhood using content from MIT classes!


Class Style
Lecture

What do you want colleges to understand about you beyond your grades and activities? Before you start writing application essays, take some time to discover what you actually want to say.

In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore your values, interests, and experiences through guided reflection, storytelling exercises, and discussion. We’ll introduce personal branding as a way to identify and communicate the qualities that genuinely reflect who you are. You’ll leave with a personal story map, a few central themes, and a collection of real experiences you can draw on in your college applications. No extraordinary achievements or essay drafts required!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None

Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Have you ever tried writing a novel and then lost steam a few thousand words in? In this class, we will talk about ways of structuring and planning novels/novel-length stories (yes, that includes fanfiction), strategies to stay motivated, and maybe talk about our novel ideas if there is time/interest.


Class Style
Seminar

Everyone likes to think that they'd have been on the right side of history. That they'd have marched for women's right to vote, or spoken out against kids working twelve-hour shifts in factories. But back then, those injustices were normal, and speaking up meant standing out.

So here's the harder question: who's still outside the circle today? What's normal now that people will one day look back on in disbelief? And would you be willing to stand out?

We'll dig into what really makes someone matter, why good people miss what's right in front of them, and whether animals belong inside the circle. Then we'll get practical: can you live a healthy, thriving life without compromising your values? Some of the world's top athletes say yes.


Class Style
Discussion

The snows of Skyrim fall on over 4000 years of history. They cover the first footprints of Ysgramor, the brooding dungeons of the departed Dwemer, the forbidding temples of the Dragon Cult, and the still-sodden battlefields of the Empire and the Stormcloaks.

This class will be an interactive exploration of a small part of this history. We will inspect an ancient Nordic barrow, starting with the exterior surface and proceeding through deeper stratigraphy.

Throughout, we will engage the basic questions of all archaeology: who built this, and for whom? What is this place intended to convey, and how is that reflected in its contents and design? And what does the state of the site tell us about what has happened to it since?


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
It would help if students have some background on the lore of Skyrim and the continent of Tamriel. But too much could also detract from the experience.

You have experiences worth writing about - but how do you turn them into a college essay that feels like you?

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll practice choosing a meaningful story, finding its central message, and using specific details and reflection to communicate who you are. Through examples, short writing exercises, and optional peer feedback, you’ll learn how to move beyond listing achievements and explain why an experience matters. You’ll leave with an essay outline and a short passage you’ve started developing in your own voice.

Bring an idea or an existing draft if you have one. If you don’t, we’ll help you get started! You can take this class independently or alongside “Discover Your Story.”


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
None.

Explore how art has transformed from 1800 to the present through means of political revolution, technological innovation, and cultural change! From Romanticism and Impressionism to Surrealism, Pop Art, and contemporary works, discover how artists in the past have challenged traditions, questioned society, and redefined "art" itself—and explore how we can do the same in our own society today.


Class Style
Lecture

Have you ever wondered how we understand things that people never actually say? If someone tells you, “I ate some of the cookies,” you’ll probably immediately think that they did not eat them all. But they never said that! So where does the extra meaning come from?
In this course, we’ll explore what linguists call scalar implicatures—the hidden inferences we make in everyday conversation. Through examples, puzzles, and activities, we’ll discover how words like some, all, or, and and reveal the surprising logic behind the way we communicate.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
none

What makes Thai food taste Thai? Why do ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime, tamarind, coconut milk, fish sauce, shrimp paste, and fresh chilies appear again and again—and how do they come together in dishes as different as tom yum, green curry, som tam, pad thai, and mango sticky rice?
In this class, we’ll take a tour through Thai cuisine by looking at both the food on the plate and the history behind it. We’ll explore essential Thai ingredients, cooking techniques, major types of dishes, and the different flavor profiles found across Thailand. We’ll compare the cuisines of Central, Northern, Northeastern/Isan, and Southern Thailand and see how geography and local ingredients shape what people eat.
We’ll also look at how Thai cuisine developed through centuries of cultural exchange. Chinese migration influenced noodles, stir-frying, and many street foods, while Indian, Persian, Malay, and other regional influences contributed spices, curries, cooking techniques, and new ways of combining ingredients. Rather than simply copying these foods, Thai cooks adapted them to local ingredients and tastes, creating dishes that became distinctly Thai.
And because this is Culinary Nerds, we’ll dig a little deeper into the ingredients themselves: why sticky rice is sticky, what makes coconut-based curries rich and creamy, how fermentation transforms fish into intensely savory fish sauce, why herbs contribute such different aromas, and how Thai cooks balance spicy, sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and aromatic flavors.
We’ll also talk about how Thai meals are ordered, shared, and eaten—and, if logistics permit, finish with a small cooking demonstration or tasting.
No knowledge of Thai culture or cooking is required. Come ready to learn, taste, and argue about what actually belongs in pad kra pao.


Class Style
Activity

Dive into the history of the gothic cathedral! This class will explore three icons: Sainte-Chapelle, Cologne Cathedral, and Seville Cathedral.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None

Where do our words come from? What do they mean? Have you ever had a conversation where someone you were speaking with asked you: “where did you hear that?” If you have, then you might be curious about why or you might have a sense for why it’s important to cite your sources. The way humans share news, build knowledge, and decide what to believe depends on acknowledging where our information comes from. But technology, from the beginning of history until today, has made it harder and harder to know who said what. That’s why systems—like legal copyright and academic citations—have been used to keep the record straight. Even social media uses user names, handles and content tags.
In this class, we’ll practice some free writing and think face-to-face with each other about where our words come from and what makes them true, especially in light of new technologies that can seemingly make language and meaning appear out of thin air.


Class Style
Seminar

In this course, we will cover one of the most dramatic and variegated confrontations of the 20th century. A tempest of ideologies and social relations, considered by many to be a clarifying preface and microcosm of WWII, the Spanish Civil War is a fascinating piece of history that contains within it a myriad facets of human experience.


Class Style
Lecture

Oftentimes, we look back on our earliest years in a distorted manner -- from idealization to amnesia, there are a lot of gaps in our knowledge about children and how they contribute to culture more broadly. In this class, we'll analyze literature created by children and how their words subverted (or continue to subvert!) society's expectations for them. The last quarter of class will have student discussion of the (short) excerpts shown during lecture.


Class Style
Lecture

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

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

Mathematical Inversion: Turn Geometry Upside Down!

Have you ever heard that Mathematics is black and white? Exact answers, clear calculations, and rules that always work…

Well, not always!

Sometimes, when a Geometry problem looks absolutely impossible, the solution is not to work harder — it’s to look at the problem from a different light.

Inversion is a geometric transformation that lets us do something that feels a little like magic: under the right conditions, circles can become lines, and lines can become circles!

And no, we’re not breaking the rules of Geometry. We’re just looking at the same configuration from a completely different perspective.

In this class, we’ll learn the basics of Inversion, prove some of its coolest theorems, discover useful lemmas, and use them to solve olympiad problems.

By the end, you’ll have a brand-new weapon in your Geometry toolbox — and hopefully, the next time you see a terrifying configuration full of circles, you’ll think:

Hmm… maybe I should invert this.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Power of a point, angles in the circumference, and cyclic quadrilaterals.

Life is full of choices and opportunities, so why does it sometimes feel like the odds are stacked against us?

How many students should your club admit? Who should you ask to prom? How many colleges should you apply to, and how do they decide whom to admit? When you graduate, how many jobs should you apply for, and how do employers choose whom to hire?

In this class, we’ll explore the mathematics behind matching, competition, and rejection. Using ideas from Operations Research, we’ll build simple models of college admissions, hiring, dating, clubs, and other situations where people apply for limited opportunities.

We’ll ask not only how these systems work, but also how we can make them better. Can we design matching and selection systems that are more efficient, less cutthroat, and fairer for everyone?

Bring your curiosity and a willingness to think mathematically. Together, we’ll pull back the curtain on everyday systems and see how mathematics and engineering can help us understand and improve the world around us.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Algebra 1 and 2 (Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities)

This class will cover more than just learning new card games. We will go through the theory behind some card games (not poker , no probability) and how it connects to the culture it originated from.
Additionally, we will work on some Olympiad combinatorics problems to build some fundamental problem-solving intuition.
This will not be a traditional class where you take notes. The only things we are going to use are 52 cards, that will be provided. It's about critical thinking, recognizing patterns, and, most importantly, having fun!
By the end of this class, we will be divided into five groups of four, where you'll get the chance to create your own card game and teach it to your fellow classmates.
The best game is up for a treat :0!


Class Style
Activity

Learn about expected value, a mathematical concept that provides a weighted average of how valuable an action or state will be, and its applications in game theory, philosophy, and real life! In this class, you'll learn about expected value and how to compute it. Then, we'll talk about situations where it's useful, and why the word "value" must be treated carefully. We'll also discuss the philosophical paradox of Newcomb's Box and learn about an alternative form of expected value: expected causal utility.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Comfort with Algebra I/basic algebra. Exposure to Algebra II or basic probability concepts may be helpful, but is not necessary.

Why does “blick” sound like it could be an English word, while “bnick” doesn’t? Why are some letters, sounds, and words much more common than others? And how can we use math to describe something human language? In this class, we’ll explore surprising connections between linguistics and mathematics. We’ll use ideas from probability and combinatorics to investigate what makes a word sound possible, how predictable language really is, and how mathematical structure hides inside the way we speak.


Class Style
Discussion

Have you ever wondered how we can determine whether a large number is prime? In this class, we will explore how elliptic curves -- curves of the form $$y^2=x^3+Ax+B$$ equipped with a natural operation that allows us to “add” points -- can be used to determine the primality of large integers. In particular, we will study the Goldwasser–Kilian primality-proving algorithm. If time permits, we will discuss optimizations of this algorithm (for example, replacing the inefficient second step (Schoof's algorithm) using the theory of complex multiplication (i.e, studying the structure of the maps from an elliptic curve to itself) instead). We may also look into the elliptic curve method (ECM), which is a way to factor large integers.


Class Style
Lecture

Sangaku (算額, literally "calculation tablets") are geometric puzzles or theorems inscribed into wooden tablets. These were quite popular in the Edo period (1600-1868), and were hung in temples and shrines as offerings, or as challenges to passers by. Here I'll cover puzzles that are pretty doable, and puzzles that are much more exotic; and the puzzles certainly do get way more exotic. Occasionally, you can see hints of calculus in the geometry!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Strong geometry fundamentals encouraged, but if you want to just take in a bunch of shapes for an hour that's fine too!

Do you like the game SET? Do you like learning about how math can apply to board games? If you answered yes to at least one of those questions, come learn about some of the combinatorics and modular arithmetic behind SET!
If you've never played SET before, that's okay! We'll play a round at the beginning of class, but it might be helpful to read about the rules in advance.


Class Style
Lecture

What does it mean to add or multiply infinitely many numbers? How would you assign a finite value to $$1+2+4+8+16+\cdots$$, where the terms are the powers of two? Would that even make sense? If we had to choose, is $$1-1+1-1+1-\cdots$$ equal to zero, one, or a half? What if we wanted to figure out, using nothing but Pascal's triangle, how to add all the cubes of positive whole numbers with remainder $$2$$ after division by $$3$$? Why would an infinite product involving primes give $$\frac{\pi}{4}$$? Why would an infinite product involving primes be connected to straightedge and compass geometry? What's the connection between the alternating sum of factorials $$1-1+2-6+24-\cdots$$ and winning strategies in two-player games?

Many of our questions may not be satisfactorily answered in this class. We will take a sightseeing tour through a gallery of beautiful and absurd infinite formulae. If you have ever wanted obvious "lies" to be mathematically "true", this is the class.


Class Style
Lecture

You are in kindergarten, playing the “biggest number game.” Tragically, your opponent hits you with “infinity.” Initially devastated, you bounce back with “infinity plus one.” An argument ensues.

In this class, we’ll learn about well-orderings and transfinite induction, which lets us carry proofs beyond the finite numbers. Along the way, we’ll encounter the axiom of choice, and the continuum hypothesis, which we will use to prove some highly unintuitive results.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Familiarity with mathematical induction and some set theory.

How long could you go undefeated in tic-tac-toe? Come learn about combinatorial game theory, the framework for understanding tic-tac-toe and several much simpler games, including Chess, Checkers, and Go. We'll play some of these classics and learn a couple new games as well. Along the way, we'll cover more general theory, including tactics like strategy-stealing, what it means to take the sum of two games, and why Nim is the most important impartial game. If we have extra time, we'll also introduce a subclass of games called surreal numbers, which include strange infinitesimal and infinite quantities you won't find in $$\mathbb R$$.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Basic familiarity with set-theoretic notions like set, union, and countability. Binary numbers. Ruleset of chess.

Heard people discussing the stock market or cryptocurrencies and want to learn about how the trading process works? Interested in exploring the type of work traders do? Come to our class for an introduction on exchanges, orderbooks, and the basics of trading! At the end, participate in a live trading event with your classmates! Hosted by Traders@MIT.


Class Style
Activity

Do you want to win games? Do you want to lose games? Do you want to invent numbers? Do you want to learn about infinity? If the answer to any of those is yes, come to combinatorial games!

Come to learn some fun games to beat your friends at, and how to do so! For example, did you know that dots-and-boxes is actually a very difficult game? You'll also learn why numbers are really just special types of games, and about various types of infinite numbers as well.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
general mathematical maturity; willingness to work with abstract topics

We go over the basics of building statistical models, the intuition behind all of machine learning and data science.

The class focuses on linear regression. We discuss how changing a quantity called the "loss function" allows us to adapt this basic method to deal with various kinds of data. We phrase everything using the language of optimization, though we shall use NO calculus.

We will demonstrate how to implement all our methods in Excel and/or Python, but you do not need familiarity with either to take this class.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Algebra II (understanding quadratic equations, graphing, etc.)

Learn about valuation, decision-making, and cooperation by playing (modified) Plants vs Zombies Fusion with us. Fuse the Super Chomper and fend off newspaper zombies!


Class Style
Activity

"Hip-hop is the last true folk art" according to Mos Def / Yasiin Bey. How did hip-hop grow from a grassroots movement to one of the most dominant music genres, influencing global culture on a mainstream scale? In this class, we'll look at the origins and evolution of hip-hop, with a focus on the "golden age" in the 1980s and 1990s. We'll explore how hip-hop bridges the gap between past and present through the use of techniques such as sampling, interpolation, and callbacks.


Class Style
Lecture

What exactly is a "sigma rizzler?" Who is Triple T? And why are the numbers 6 and 7 so funny?

In History and Applications of Brainrot, you will learn both the intricate history behind the words that have become so ingrained in modern vocabulary, and the insightful lessons we can garner from brainrot today.

Prepare for your brain to both grow and shrink in these two jam-packed hours, including a review of the early 2000's, an abridged runthrough of post-covid shenanigans, and a final (definitely-not-kahoot) exam!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Brain which is at least 10% dysfunctional

What makes a rhythm game have aura? What makes a rhythm game not have aura? In this class I'll be leading a discussion about various rhythm games, and the different perspectives one can have on them. Games from Project Sekai to beatmania IIDX included!


Class Style
Discussion

Come learn a bit about formalwear and then learn/practice a few different ways of tying ties! We'll cover the basics to start, but if there's time we'll also learn some fancier knots. Everyone is welcome regardless of gender; ties are for everyone!

I will bring some of my own ties, but please BYOT if you are able.


Class Style
Activity

The aim of this class is to teach students everything they need to know to begin watching the current arc of One Piece in a timely manner. We will be assuming no prior information about the show


Class Style
Lecture

Why do Americans seem to love conspiracy theories? In this class, we discuss the phenomenon of conspiracy theories, why they're so compelling in our current historical conditions, separating real from fake, historical failures from the US government to misattributions of scandals to... aliens?


Class Style
Discussion

Ever played EToH? Ever quit EToH? Even if you haven't, this course will attempt to teach you how to perform jumps in ROBLOX platformers, also known as Obbying. Many jumps. Long jumps, wallhops, truss flicks, wraps, stickouts, walkarounds, and so on. There are way too many jumps to count. Bring a charged laptop (or a laptop charger) and a mouse.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Any ROBLOX installation

We will have a discussion about the recently-concluded MLB season (or interesting baseball things in general). Feel free to come with discussion topics, hot takes, fun facts, and more!


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
ball knowledge (ideally)

Ever wondered why strawberries don't grow legs? Ok, maybe you haven't... but if that got you thinking about what makes a berry a berry, come find out! In this course, we'll get hands-on practice with experimental design while recreating the classic strawberry DNA extraction experiment and giving an overview of modern life sciences research. We'll also be giving a brief introduction to scientific literature, and how to use curiosity to investigate the (fruity) phenomena in life.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
interest in the building blocks that make up life :)

Connects light-hearted science experiments with their serious scientific background!
Two activities: 1) make your own slime + discuss crosslinking of polymers 2) timing dissolution of different pain relievers in acidic vs basic environments to simulate the digestive tract + discuss the interplay of chemistry and physiology in the digestive system
Have hands-on fun while also learning a ton!! :)


Class Style
Activity

When you ‘know’ how to use your native language, what actually is it that you know? How can you tell what’s just a jumble of words and what’s a sentence with meaning? (For that matter, how on earth are you understanding this!?) In this class, we’ll look at syntax—the structure of language—like linguists. We’ll find out why a sentence made of words is less like a string of beads and more like a structure of Lego blocks, blocks that the human mind builds up to express an endless array of thoughts. You’ll learn to use your own knowledge of language to uncover the hidden rules behind our everyday speech and get a taste of how linguistics can help us understand the ways that the mind produces and perceives language.


Class Style
Lecture

Do you want to know how quantum entanglement can be applied to medicine? Or how nuclear reactions can occur inside the body? If you’re intrigued, come take a deep dive into the world of nuclear medicine! First, we’ll learn about the basics such as how radioactive pharmaceuticals are made, how PET scanners work, and the applications of nuclear medicine. Then, we’ll look at some cool research happening in the field, (where quantum entanglement comes into play)!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Highly recommended to have taken a chemistry class, but not necessary

We use language in creative ways to play, joke, and generally express ourselves all the time. In an era where we are increasingly surrounded by AI generated speech, this ability to create and to play remains distinctly human. But what actually makes a lyric catchy or a poem sound poetic? From haiku to hip hop, we know a poem when we hear or read one. How do we know? This course will attempt to answer this question by exploring the linguistic underpinnings of poetry and verse.

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguists want to understand all of the complex things we know (even if we don’t know we know them) when we know a language. In a poem or a song, sound and meaning are skillfully manipulated and arranged in order to create a wide range of effects. Complex meanings and intense feelings can be conjured in just a few words or lines. This is an incredible cognitive feat when you stop and think about it. In this course, through exploring poetry and lyrics across a variety of languages, we will think critically about processes like rhyme and word play. We will investigate what these properties of poetry can teach us about how our linguistic system works, and how it allows us to produce and interpret sound and meaning.


Class Style
Discussion

We'll cover some of the more unusual examples of how the human body can be an example of exquisite functional design or completely stupid fail. From here I hope to encourage discussion and question and answer of any bodily myth, mystery, or ailment. Topics such as: Our weak backs, a penchant for atherosclerosis, the valgus knee and why this tells you Bigfoot (Patterson-Gimlin) has to be a guy in a furry suit.


Class Style
Lecture

[This class is designed for students with no previous exposure to special relativity; come prepared to learn more about this fascinating topic in physics!] Ever wondered what space dilation means or how moving observers can see things occur differently? In this course we'll walk through some historical paradoxes and investigate why special relativity is instrumental to our understanding of physics today.


Class Style
Discussion

What do septic shock, taking prescription dosages in full, and your colon have in common? In this lesson, we’ll explore the world of bacteria—from how they cause infectious disease to how they can evolve to resist the medicines designed to target and kill them. We’ll also discover classes of beneficial bacteria that influence our health and digestion from inside and outside of our gut. Never underestimate the little guys—they may be microscopic, but you’ll find out how they pack a serious punch.


Class Style
Lecture

everyone knows how DNA replication works (https://xkcd.com/2501)*. in this class, we will go through a paper by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl (1958) that established a fundamental result about DNA replication—one that’s reflected in diagrams and textbooks everywhere! we will focus on analyzing the Figures of the paper and on explaining how the underlying physical mechanism of DNA replication gives rise to the data we see. in other words, we will practice thinking like a scientist, by analyzing what the data tells us about what’s going on underneath (note that interpreting data in cell biology, chemistry, and related fields involves drawing conclusions indirectly, since you can’t actually SEE the molecules!) (we’ll also discuss the experimental methods used in the paper, as well as where the paper fits in the broader history of genetics.)

anyway, here’s the paper :)))) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC528642/


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
know what an isotope is. *in all seriousness, no formal biology knowledge (or knowledge of DNA replication) is required; the first sentence of the course description is a joke.

Twenty thousand years ago, MIT's campus was buried by a thick sheet of ice. But how do we know this? And what caused the climate to change? In this activity-based class, we will cover some of the methods scientists use to study past climate variability, including measuring the composition of tiny ancient organisms at the bottom of the ocean. We will also talk about what has caused cycles of cooling and warming over Earth's history.


Class Style
Activity

Want to relive the 2010s Angry Birds craze? Want to build slingshots and catapults to launch projectiles into buildings? Then come learn about the physics principles behind the classic mobile game and compete to knock down the most pigs!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Algebra I is recommended. No physics background is required.

String theory is a theory of quantum gravity. For most physical systems that we learn about in school – like molecules, or planets, or even the subatomic particles that make up the nucleus – you may need to understand the effects of quantum mechanics, or gravity, but not both. But for black holes, which are some of the most extreme objects in the universe, both quantum mechanics and gravity become important. To understand the properties of these systems, it becomes essential to use a framework like string theory which combines quantum mechanics and gravity in a consistent way.

In this talk, I will introduce some of the ideas of black hole physics, including a puzzle that has tantalized physicists for decades: when information falls into a black hole, where does the data go? Within the past few years, physicists have made dramatic progress on this question using tools from string theory such as holography. By the end of this talk, you will have gotten a flavor of the ideas involved in these recent advances, including their exciting connections to other areas like quantum computing.


Class Style
Lecture

Zoom into rocks! hair! gloves? computer chips! under a scanning electron microscope and a super strong optical microscope! Discovery the scales on hair! What does a split end look like? Identify the elements in a mystery rock using energy dispersive spectroscopy!


Class Style
Activity

Often, drawing a picture can teach you much more about physics than doing lots of complicated math! In this class, we will introduce Noether’s Theorem, which encodes how geometric symmetries (e.g. rotational symmetry) are closely related to conservation laws (energy, momentum, etc). Using Noether’s Theorem, we’ll discover that the electromagnetic field carries energy and momentum, and we’ll find out that conservation laws survive even in the “strange” quantum world where Newton’s Law’s break down. We’ll see how symmetry is an organizing principle to understand all of the universe, from the macroscopic orbits of planets around stars to the microscopic organization of the periodic table.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Familiarity with Newton's Laws and conservation of energy and momentum; differential calculus is helpful but not necessary.

Come on a journey from your backyard to the edge of the universe. Leaving Earth behind, we'll explore the realm of the galaxies, from our galactic neighborhood out to the edge of space and the beginning of time. Along the way, we'll discover how galaxies form, grow, and evolve. We'll find out what a galaxy is made of, and how that led to the mystery of dark matter. Then we'll dive into deep space to find the very first galaxies, and learn what the James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered about their secrets. Curiosity required.


Class Style
Lecture

In this interactive workshop, students will explore the basics of growing their own food and caring for a garden. Students will learn what plants need to thrive, how to start seeds, plan a garden, and recognize common garden problems. Through hands on activities, students will plant something of their own to take home and develop practical gardening skills that they can use at their home, school, or in their community.


Class Style
Discussion

How can two healthy parents have a child with a genetic disorder? Why do some diseases skip multiple generations and suddenly reappear?

The answer to all these questions lies behind pedigrees: family trees that geneticists use to understand how traits and diseases are inherited across generations. In the first half of this lecture/activity hybrid session, we will learn how to analyze pedigrees and understand common inheritance patterns, including some funky ones your bio classes haven't covered :) In the second half, you'll be teaming up with other students to solve real-style case files, working together to figure who's at risk and what pattern is at play. Finally, we'll wrap things up with a trivia showdown (prizes for winners)!


Class Style
Activity

What happened right after the beginning of it all?
How did the atoms in your body like H and He condense out of the primordial soup?
Why is it impossible for the Milky Way to exist without dark matter?
We'll touch on all these questions (and more!) - you will think quantitatively about our cosmic origins!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Algebra is required. Some physics or calculus would help people get more out of it, but are not required.

"Quantum" is one of those words that can seem mysteriously futuristic and frustratingly confusing. Lucky for us, we don't need rigorous (and intimidating) math to begin to unravel the mystery that quantum mechanics can sometimes look like. A broad, conceptual overview of quantum mechanics will be given, with a particular focus on real experimental results that reflect some of the unintuitive parts of quantum theory. We’ll then showcase emerging technologies that use quantum mechanics to solve some remarkable problems.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Previous exposure to basic physics/chemistry would be helpful, but all necessary concepts will be reviewed.

Amino acids – the building blocks that make up proteins – are given one-letter codes that correlate to them. Because of this, we have an amino acid "alphabet" that consists of 20 letters*, and we can use these to spell out millions of words! Sign up if you would like to spell out YOUR name – or countless other words – as its very own amino acid sequence.

*If your name has a B, J, O, U, X or Z in it... this will be slightly harder – but we can work through this together. :)


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
General knowledge of biology and protein biology; I will give a brief overview of anything pertinent to my class when I'm there.

The universe is unimaginably vast and old—plenty of space and plenty of time for life to emerge beyond Earth and develop the technology to travel to other solar systems. Yet, as far as we can tell, no such aliens have ever visited Earth, nor have we found any conclusive evidence for any form of life (intelligent or not) on other planets.
If the size and age of the universe suggest it should be teeming with technologically advanced aliens, why hasn’t anyone come calling? This is the Fermi paradox.
In this lecture-style class, we will discuss the possibilities of life beyond Earth, the likelihood of a technologically advanced alien civilization, possible answers to the Fermi paradox, and what these insights say about our own species and civilization. It should be an interesting and fun session.


Class Style
Lecture

You started as a single cell. Today, you're made of trillions of specialized cell types – including neurons, muscle, and skin cells – all with the same DNA as that first cell. How does a single cell turn into the trillions of complicated cells that form the body? And how do scientists take advantage of this process to reprogram cells back in developmental time?

In this class, we'll follow the first cell divisions of an embryo, exploring how cells decide what to become and why cells with the same DNA instructions can look and function very differently. Additionally, we will delve into how scientists leverage this biology to reprogram cells into new cell types. We will discuss the implications in medicine, such as cloning, organ regeneration, and drug testing, and briefly touch on the ethical questions surrounding this research.


Class Style
Lecture

Artificial intelligence is poised to be the most transformative technology of our lifetimes. Although AI has already dramatically affected several aspects of our day-to-day experience, it may surprise you that AI also has deep connections to theoretical physics -- indeed, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics went to two researchers for their work on neural networks!

In this talk, I will discuss the interesting connections between AI and my fields of quantum field theory and string theory. I will tell you a bit about my current job as a Junior Investigator at the "AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions," a collaboration between MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Tufts which brings together scientists interested in the intersection between AI and physics. Finally, I will describe my vision for how AI might play a key role in the future of scientific research, driving innovation in all fields of study and radically transforming the way that we do science.


Class Style
Lecture

Fermentation is one of the oldest (and tastiest) human practices, dating back to the dawn of humanity in the fertile crescent. Come learn about the science behind it and leave with the knowhow to start your own projects at home!


Class Style
Lecture

A lecture-style class that covers new reactions and how to problem solve. Build chemical intuition and the skills to understand the chemistry around you. Find out how OTC medicines like aspirin are synthesized, why plastics with the same composition behave differently, and how light can make reactions happen!

We will have snacks!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
A basic foundation in organic chemistry is $$\textbf{required}$$! AP or first year chemistry knowledge is helpful but not required.

Have you ever looked at something that happened in a movie or book and thought, "man, is that even (biochemically) possible?" Today, let's examine some of the "science" in film and media from the lens of a biochemist to see what's actually possible and what's just movie magic.


Class Style
Lecture

The human animal, much like other species we're familiar with, is the product of an evolutionary trajectory hundreds of millions of years in the making. People across all different disciplines ask "what does it mean to be human?", and yet it sometimes feels as though the more answers we get, the harder the question becomes.

In this course, we will discuss this question using perspectives from biology, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, linguistics, and philosophy to try to figure out both how we are different from the animals around us and how we are similar.


Class Style
Lecture

Take a piece of string, tangle it up, and glue the ends together. Can it be untangled into a simple loop, or is it truly knotted? This question sounds like a puzzle, but it turns out to connect some of the deepest ideas in modern science. In this class, we'll play with real string to discover how mathematicians tell knots apart using "invariants," numbers and polynomials that stay the same no matter how you twist a knot. Then we'll see something surprising: the Jones polynomial, a tool for studying knots, shows up in quantum physics and is a problem that quantum computers are naturally good at. Finally, we'll look at how researchers (including me!) are using machine learning to discover new patterns between knots and geometry, such as the famous Volume Conjecture. You'll leave knowing how to prove two knots are different, plus a glimpse of where math, physics, and AI collide. No knot-tying skills required!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Comfort with basic algebra. No physics or programming experience needed.

When hearing about quantum mechanics, we are met with ideas that seem on the surface to have an obscure, almost mystical quality. These ideas are a common source of frustrations to students, and a hurdle for attaining a scientific, cohesive, big-picture understanding of quantum mechanics. However, these questions are too often handwaved away or papered over in QM courses that rush towards calculation, forcing students to come to their own intuitive understandings only after years of sweat and tears.

In this conceptual, light-on-math course, we break down the air of mysticism around these questions and show how the underlying ideas are fascinating, but concrete and well-structured. We will uncover the "true meaning" of wave-particle duality, entanglement, measurement, the classical-quantum correspondence, and perhaps other topics.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Some math, up to the level of matrices, is unavoidable, but all of it will be given a primer. No calculus.

Though high school biology makes it sound like us biologists have it all figured out; in reality, there are many unanswered questions in the study of life. In fact, you may be very surprised by just how simple some of these unanswered questions are! The following questions will definitely be covered, but if students have any questions during the discussion or beforehand, we can definitely make time to include them:

- The origins of life: Where, when, and how did life originate from an abiotic world? How did the genetic code develop? How did metabolic pathways develop? How and why did various cells come together to form the eukaryotic cell?
- The G-value/C-value enigma: Why do organisms of very different levels of complexity have a similar number of genes? Protein-encoding genes? For instance, bread wheat has a genome size 4x that of a human. Why is that?
- The chemoton to superorganisms: Are enzymes necessarily a part of life? Is the entirety of the biosphere one big...superorganism?
- Neutralist vs selectionist theories of molecular evolution: Is genetic variation at a molecular level primarily neutral/nearly neutral, despite the fact that evolution at a species scale is certainly not neutral?

Optional readings to enhance understanding of the topics at hand will be sent out before the class begins (and after, if there are other topics left unexplored). Though students in class are expected to participate and contribute ideas in a discussion format, there is no requirement that ideas be especially sophisticated or remotely "correct." These questions still remain unanswered, so feel free to come in eager to learn and ready to ask away!


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
Has taken a biology class and understands basics, e.g. what is DNA

The wisest among you may be aware that birds have feathers. But what are they made of, and how do they look so colorful? Join us to learn the biology of how feathers develop, the materials science of their structure, and the chemistry of where they get their colors. This class includes a trip to the MIT Breakerspace, where you can apply your newfound knowledge of avian creatures to see their feathers using high-fidelity scanning electron microscopes!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Belief that birds are real.

Astronomers use telescopes to explore distant galaxies. Microbiologists use microscopes to explore unseen worlds. In this workshop, we will learn about the microbes all around us and use light microscopy to meet them face-to-face. We will explore fermented foods, tardigrades, triangular fungi and more!


Class Style
Activity

Science can be a messy process but has the remarkable ability to course-correct and reorient itself over time. We'll take a closer look at a few examples of times that science has been led astray in the past and how the work of diligent scientists sealed these cracks. In each case study, we’ll ask the question of why it occurred - from innocent mistakes to malicious deception. We’ll end with a look at what the future of this process looks like in the day of generative AI and large language models. You should hopefully walk away with a deeper understanding of the modern scientific community, or at least some incredibly niche gossip.


Class Style
Lecture

What do the colorful hot springs of Yellowstone, the red rocks of the Grand Canyon, and the forests of Acadia have in common? Microbes! Some of the strangest and most beautiful places in our national parks are shaped by microscopic organisms that play essential roles in connecting the environment and life.

In this class, we’ll explore some of the coolest real-world case studies in environmental microbiology and give you lots of fun facts to impress your families and friends with the next time you’re out on a road trip around the National Parks. We’ll also look at how scientists and engineers are learning from these tiny organisms to tackle big sustainability problems.

Then, you’ll build an ecosystem of your own! Everyone will make a Winogradsky column: a miniature microbial world made from mud, water, and nutrients. Over the following weeks, different microbial communities will grow into colorful layers as they create their own chemical environments. You’ll take your column home and watch your tiny ecosystem develop over time.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Some exposure to biology and chemistry would be helpful, but not strictly required!! Come to learn something fun about the world around you :)

How does the physical universe dictate the rules of life? In this course, we will look past descriptive biology and use the laws of physics and math to decode the living world!

We will analyze biological systems through numbers and scaling laws, discovering how the square-cube law determines the typical size of a mammal and sets the exact physical limits for how organisms grow. Together, we will debunk everyday myths like the "3-second rule", estimate the speed of human thought, and explore mathematical frameworks of ecology, dictating the evolution of populations in the wild. Finally, we will apply these same quantitative toolkits to track evolutionary history through phylogenetic reconstruction and predict the real-time spread of global diseases.

If you want to discover the hidden patterns in the operating system of life, this class is for you!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Introductory Probability

Come learn about plasmas, the fourth state of matter, with fast-paced live demonstrations! We'll create a plasma in a vacuum chamber, visualize electron paths in a Crookes tube, and simulate Earth’s magnetosphere and auroral phenomena using a terrella.


Class Style
Lecture

We will have a panel discussion on International Olympiads (including IMO, IChO, and IPhO), covering recommended preparation, general format, similarities and differences, and any other questions the audience might have.


Class Style
Panel

In this hands-on lab, you won’t just learn about bioluminescence, you’ll actually get to see and experiment with it yourself! After learning how and why some creatures produce light, we will work directly with living bioluminescent algae. You’ll make them glow in the dark and see what they look like under a microscope. It's your chance to hold living light and investigate the biology behind it!


Class Style
Activity

Exploring all of the strange and incredible regions of the brain, what they do, and how we know! In this class we will go over many of the regions of the brain and what happens if they are damaged. Could you lose your memory of everything on your left? could your arm get a mind of its own?

(some images of surgery and discussion of brain damage if you don't like that)


Class Style
Lecture

our world is full of organic molecules that were made in labs, from small molecules like drugs and TNT to long, bulky polymers like plastics and nylon. the process of “synthesizing” these molecules involves performing sequences of chemical reactions, precisely rearranging bonds between atoms to create a product with a specific desired structure (which leads to specific desired properties).

i find this precision amazing—the fact that we can MAKE molecules with any* structure we want. i like to think of it as potion brewing, except it’s actually real, in real life! you identify the specific molecular structure that you want, then you design a sequence of reactions that produces that final structure, then you actually make those reactions happen by mixing some liquids and powders together.

this class will center around the “design a sequence of reactions” part; we will give you a “toolbox” of reactions to work with, and then, given a desired final molecule, we will think about how to chain those reactions together, like puzzle pieces, to produce that molecule. each organic synthesis problem is like a puzzle! we will mainly work with chalkboard drawings of molecular structures, but we will also include pictures and videos to show how synthetic manufacturing processes look in real life.

pairs well with sovannjet’s other class, “drugs”, as pharmaceutical drugs are a particularly important application of the synthesis of specific organic structures.

* organic synthesis is an ongoing field of research!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
a high school chemistry class, including periodic trends (e.g. electronegativity), groups of the periodic table (e.g. halogens), covalent bonding, etc. (acid-base chemistry might also be good).

How did the universe begin? How has it evolved to its current state? What are dark matter and dark energy? Is the universe a donut? These questions probably won’t be answered in this class, but we’ll explore them as much as we can.


Class Style
Lecture

There are around 7,000 distinct languages used everyday across the world. Despite the extensive variability, each of these languages allows their users to successfully communicate information. In this course, we will discuss how languages come to be the way that they are by analyzing the factors that shape their development, and by discussing both the core and additional features languages around the world have.


Class Style
Lecture

Are you a tree hugger? Or sniffer? Have you ever looked at a birch tree and wondered what they could be used for (besides looking pretty?) In MITrees, we’ll get to the roots of tree ID, ecology, and forest management. As we explore the trees of MIT’s campus, we will transform your prior be-leafs about trees and dive into the importance of good forest stewardship. Take home a tree cookie souvenir along the way!


Class Style
Lecture

Maybe you've watched Olympic figure skating on TV before, and you've thought to yourself, "Wow, that looks so cool. But how hard is it, really? And was that a triple axel or a quad? Also, why is this scoring system so confusing?"

Fear not, for we are here to elucidate for you (almost) everything about how competitive figure skating works. Come join us and learn about the major figure skating competitions, the six main jump types, why (according to the laws of physics) some figure skating elements are harder than others, the scoring system, and anything else that your heart desires!

Whether you're a casual "every four years" enjoyer, you've studied the ISU handbook page-by-page since birth, or you just thought Alysa Liu was really cool at Milano Cortina this year, we hope you'll come learn about figure skating, physics, and other frivolous folly!


Class Style
Discussion

Ever wonder why a paper cut heals but a damaged heart or spinal cord usually doesn’t? This course explores how cells, stem cells, biomaterials, and signaling pathways work together to repair and rebuild tissues. We’ll look at how the body naturally regenerates, why regeneration sometimes fails, and how scientists are designing new strategies to regrow skin, bone, muscle, nerves, and even organs. Expect a mix of developmental biology, tissue engineering, and futuristic regenerative medicine—with plenty of real-world examples and emerging technologies.


Class Style
Lecture

Is there really such a thing as a "female brain”? In this interactive lecture, three speakers take you inside the female brain and body to separate what's real from what's myth. We'll demystify "female intuition" as the brain's powerful pattern-detecting ability, and trace how centuries of myths about women's minds shaped the confidence gap we still see today. You'll learn how female biology is not a limitation, but a source of insight and power. You'll leave with practical tools to understand your own body, trust your own mind, and speak up with confidence. No science background needed, just curiosity and a willingness to question what you’ve been taught.


Class Style
Lecture

How do cancer cells "talk" to each other, feel their environment, and force their way through the body? In this short course, you’ll dive into the cutting-edge intersection of biology, physics, and medicine. We’ll explore signal transduction (the cellular communication networks that go haywire in cancer) and cell mechanics, looking at how tools like microrheology allow scientists to measure the physical forces and stiffness of living cells. Finally, we’ll take a closer look at ongoing, groundbreaking research happening right now at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None

Are you ready to have the quantum conversation at the family dinner table?
Look no further than Quantum History.
How did the groundbreaking rebellion that was Quantum Mechanics rise to a fundamental theory of small things? The answer: a chaotic group of young physicists that would come (reluctantly and epically) to rewrite the laws of certainty itself. Join a Boston based "Quantum Engineer" to explore the exciting history of the most important theory outside of Einstein himself. All are welcome!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Algebra

Are you curious about robots?
Have you ever interacted with a robot in real life? Would you like to meet one???

Interactive Robots is a dynamic session where studnets will work in groups with simple robots. We'll learn what defines a robot on both a macro-scale level, like NASA rover or on a nanoscale, like in medical research. We'll also learn about the history of building simple robots, and discuss interesting uses, in addition to exploring hands on devices.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
none

The odds of a tornado are low... but never zero.

How do we know when severe weather is coming, where it will hit, and how intense it will be? We’ll look at tornadoes, hurricanes, doppler radar, forecasting, storm chasing, and see just how far humans can stay ahead of the weather.


Class Style
Activity

Come meet our magnets: watch them jump, weigh electrons, distinguish martian rocks, and levitate trains - and learn why one is on a diet of liquid helium.


Class Style
Lecture

What's the smallest thing? You might say atoms, but you can go smaller. Maybe protons or neutrons. But guess what? You can go smaller. The biggest experiments in physics have proven that these are made up of smaller particles called quarks and gluons. And yet, there are particles that are even smaller, called neutrinos!

Come learn about all 17 particles that make up the Standard Model of Physics, how they were discovered, and if there's time, the search and evidence for dark matter.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Prior physics knowledge is NOT needed, but basic chemistry will be helpful! (knowing what atoms are and what they're made of)

Why does an apple fall to the ground, but the Moon never crashes into Earth? How did Newton, centuries ago, figure out that these seemingly unrelated phenomena are actually caused by the same force?

In this class, we'll play detective and reconstruct how Newton, and other scientists, pieced together the mystery of gravity. Starting with a handful of observations and measurements, we'll use simple physics and math to see if we can uncover the rule governing gravity for ourselves.

No advanced physics is required, though familiarity with basic algebra is recommended. This class focuses on problem-solving and the scientific method and does not function as a rigorous physics lecture.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Familiarity with algebra

Ever wonder what kinds of rocks you're passing on a hike? Come learn about three major rock types, the rock cycle, and the minerals that make them up. By the end of this class you will be able to recognize common rock-forming minerals, identify different rocks in the field, and use clues like texture, color, and composition to figure out their geologic story.


Class Style
Activity

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

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

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


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
basic understanding of biology and chemistry. acid/base

Why did birds develop wings? To fly? No!

Learn the truth about how animals developed complex appendages and answer the big evolutionary question that stumped Charles Darwin when he published his theory of Natural Selection. We'll end our discussion by going through a modern paper that expands on this mystery, and you'll run your own experimental 'test-flight' to check that it works!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
Introductory Bio/Genetics would be helpful but not required!

When you shine light on molecules, they resonate at certain special frequencies, just as a tuning fork resonates with sound waves. Calculating these resonant frequencies directly seems to require the full machinery of quantum mechanics, but in this class we'll explore a different approach to the problem. By thinking about the shape of a molecule, we can understand its resonances using pictures, visual intuition, and some techniques from the mathematical subject of representation theory.

This might be surprising, since representation theory is considered a fairly advanced topic and usually finds applications in my area of theoretical physics. However, we will see that it also gives a very natural way to think about the process of "infrared spectroscopy" in chemistry.

Come to this class to learn how chemists use abstract techniques, familiar to mathematicians and theoretical physicists, in order to study the hidden music of molecular vibrations.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
You might get more out of the discussion if you know how to multiply matrices, but this is not required.

Modern physics has given us the best framework for understanding the evolution of the universe. We'll talk about Hubble's Law, derive a simplified version of the Friedmann equation, learn how to solve for the expansion of the universe over time, and create models for toy universes, leading us to the standard model of cosmology. If you are currently taking calculus but do not know how to integrate or solve separable differential equations, you will be expected to learn ahead of time. This class will be intense, but you will leave with a much greater understanding of the universe. I recommend that you attend my other class, Cosmology and the Dark Side of the Universe, to get the most out of this class.

Other questions that may be answered mathematically:
- How is the observable universe so much larger than 13.8 billion light-years?
- What determines if the universe collapses or expands forever?
- How do we measure the density of matter in the universe?


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Completion of AP Physics 1 and completion of AP Calculus AB or concurrent enrollment in AP Calculus BC (or equivalent).

Though General Relativity predicts constant emission of waves, the strongest known sources can only move a mirror by one ten-thousandth the width of a proton.

Learn how LIGO manages to detect this minuscule motion by removing the air from 4km tunnels, damping motion with glass fibers and magnets, aligning invisible lasers with radio signals, and squeezing light with glowing rocks. Includes demonstrations of the major wave and optical phenomena employed.


Class Style
Lecture

Quantum mechanics is among the most successful physical frameworks that humanity has discovered, and it underlies our present understanding of nature at the smallest scales. One way of thinking about quantum mechanics, which you might hear about in a chemistry class, involves wavefunctions. However, there is a completely different and quite beautiful perspective on this subject which connects it with a branch of mathematics called "stochastic processes".

In this class, I will explain the surprising connection between quantum physics and jittering, jagged paths with fractal properties. Using Python, I will show simulations of models like random walks and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, and tell you how they describe the behavior of quantum particles. And, if there's time, I'll try to give you a taste of my research which builds upon this connection to link quantum mechanics with the neural network models that are driving the AI revolution.

Come to this class for a new and exciting view on the physics of the very small, and leave with an appreciation of how the mathematics of random paths encodes fundamental aspects of reality.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
You might get more out of this class if you've seen some calculus, but this is not a requirement!

Quaternary ammonium compounds are wonderfully stable, non-toxic and are useful as disinfectants because of one peculiar property: a stable positive charge on a nitrogen atom. By exploring the utility of "quats" we will find out how that positive charge explains its antimicrobial activity as well as its relative lack of toxicity. From the chemistry of hair, to the nature of blood clotting, and the functioning of our immune system---all of them can be explained by the management of a stable positive charge.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
basic biology and chemistry knowledge

at the Splash Teacher Information Session, teachers are told not to talk about violence, alcohol, or drugs. we will talk about drugs. (for legal reasons, the medically-prescribed, non-illicit, socially acceptable kind.) we will do so from the standpoint of biochemistry and physiology and use ibuprofen as a case study to explain how pharmaceutical drugs work. we will introduce chemical interactions that are responsible for medications’ mechanism of action, and biological pathways that lead to the actual physiological responses we experience in our bodies. along the way, we will also talk about protein structure and touch on drug design.

pairs well with sovannjet’s other class “organic synthesis: real-life potion-brewing”, which will elaborate on how organic molecules (like many drugs) are actually synthesized in labs.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
understand electronegativity and covalent bonding.

I will discuss some theories for the origin of life (panspermia, abiogenesis), as well as what makes them interesting. I will introduce some classic hypotheses and post some questions around whether there is life *out there*. The remainder of the class will be based in discussion and question-asking. I would like to know what kinds of alternative life architectures students find plausible.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Some biology and chemistry will be helpful. Alternatively, physics or earth science.

People use language everyday to communicate information with others around them; most people can speak and understand each other effortlessly and automatically. How is this possible? In this course, we will overview the processes our minds and brains undergo to do this, as well as the methods scientists use to study these processes.


Class Style
Lecture

Join us as we embark in a journey of solving epic linguistics puzzles for fun small prizes


Class Style
Activity

Make new friends and test your trivia knowledge!


Class Style
Activity

Imagine playing a card game where nobody tells you the rules—because cracking the secret rule is the entire point. Invented by game designer Robert Abbott, New Eleusis turns a standard deck of cards into a fast-paced game of scientific deduction. One player acts as "Nature" (or God) and secretly writes down a hidden law governing which cards can be played next—such as "red cards must be followed by even cards" or "cards must alternate between higher and lower values." As the other players, you play cards from your hand to run experiments; legal plays extend the mainline, while illegal plays get cast out as failed trials. Through trial, error, and sharp pattern recognition, you race your fellow players to deduce the hidden pattern, declare your hypothesis, and prove you’ve figured out how the universe works before anyone else does.


Class Style
Activity

Talk about your favorite fun facts! Teach fellow students about your hobbies! Learn how to plan a class of your own! Practice public speaking in a chill low-stakes environment!


Class Style
Activity

Come extract DNA from your choice of fruit and get to take it home with you!


Class Style
Activity

Join us to solve a wide variety of logic puzzles! We'll have copies of sudoku, Numberlink, Nurikabe, and many other classic logic puzzles that will be a fun test of your critical thinking skills!


Class Style
Activity

Walk in and learn to play Go! It is one of my favorite board games and I find it super fun (more fun than chess, if that piques your interest).


Class Style
Activity

Flexagons are magical shapes made out of folded paper with many different sides that can be revealed by "flexing." You might be familiar with the standard trihexaflexahon or hexahexaflexagon, but what other designs are possible? Stop by to make square flexagons, octaflexagons, tetraflexagons, and other variations. Decorate your flexagons to make cool designs and maybe learn something about the theory of flexagons while you're here!


Class Style
Activity

Have a break in classes? Make a fun drink!


Class Style
Activity

Come take a break from all the classes by suggesting your favorite song and singing your heart out! You didn't need your voice tomorrow anyway. Snacks will be provided :)


Class Style
Activity

Learn about hyperbolic surfaces by crocheting your own! Discover exciting shapes with negative curvature and make your own to bring home.

No experience or knowledge of crochet (or hyperbolic surfaces) needed. All instructions and supplies provided.


Class Style
Activity

Don't have another class? Watch some soccer!


Class Style
Activity

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


Class Style
Activity

Join us and solve a wide variety of crosswords! We'll have printed copies of puzzles of all sorts of shapes, sizes, and themes, so there will definitely be one for you!


Class Style
Activity

The history of life on earth... as a NERF war??? You are a creature, and it is your job to adapt to your environment (the metagame). Survive fellow creatures and natural disasters. Can you survive an asteroid impact?


Class Style
Activity

Why take notes like a normal person when you could take notes like the nerd you truly are? Learn how to use the note-taking application Obsidian by setting up your own vault of notes. Link notes together to form an interconnected web of knowledge, customize your experience with plugins, use databases to track homework assignments and exams, and make everything look pretty with themes!


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
No experience required. I would highly recommend bringing a laptop so you can follow along. Despite the title, no nerdiness required--note-taking is useful for everyone!

Do you want to understand the mysterious world of makeup? Do you want to understand the difference between eyeliner and mascara in case someone sends you to buy it someday?
Allow me to help: simple, technical definitions, diagrams, schematics, and demonstrations for how to apply a full face of makeup.
You can watch and learn, or bring your own makeup and follow allong!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Minimal or lack of knowledge about makeup (boys encouraged -- it's helpful to know!)

What do kids in Myanmar play at recess, at the New Year water festival, or in the street after school? Join BURSA (MIT's Burmese Student Association) for a hands-on afternoon of traditional Burmese games! We'll give you a quick intro to Myanmar and its culture, then spend most of class playing Burmese games. No experience or athletic skill needed. Just come ready to move around, laugh, and maybe learn a few Burmese words along the way.


Class Style
Activity

Are YOU a semi-pathological liar? Do you want to fit in literally ANYwhere? Get 500+ LinkedIn connections while drinking matcha bobas and wearing wired headphones?

Come take this course about how to feel no shame while making connections and get into the next YC batch while already having investor meetings in the bag.

Leave this class feeling evermore performative and larp-pilled.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Be chill