Splash 2019
Course Catalog

Do you want to create music that both expresses how you feel and is pleasing to others? Look no further than this class. We will take an interactive approach to music production and cover the basics of music production, song form, and everything else that you need to make a hit!


Prerequisites
Looking for rappers, musicians, producers, and anyone else with an interest in music!

Come learn how to dance! We will decide during the class what music and style everyone wants to learn!

Clogging is a high-energy percussive American folk dance, originating from Irish Step-Dance, and similar to tap. Learn the basics, history, and direction clogging is going today, as we explore the folk-art's purpose, development, and community.


Prerequisites
Please wear sneakers.

What is music, and what makes a piece of music what it is? In this class, we'll be exploring this question by examining musical works from all around the world and from a variety of time periods that challenge the meaning of what a piece of music is. We'll be relating all of these works to an overarching concept of musical minimalism, where musicians try to make music with as few variations of sound, rhythm, melody, and harmony as possible.

In this class, we'll listen to Japanese taiko, Gregorian chants, and works by Ligeti, Glass, Reich, Cage, and The Beatles. We'll also read a piece of minimalist music, Steve Reich's Clapping Music, together!


Prerequisites
It will be helpful to come in with a basic understanding of Western musical notation and rhythms, though the class will be fun even without a musical background. Familiarity with musical performance a plus, but definitely not required!

Hindi film dance, also known as Bollywood dance, is a style that draws from classical Indian dance, folk dance, hip hop, and Western dance. In this class, students will learn a one-minute piece to a song from an Indian movie. The moves will be simple and fun to allow students from all types of backgrounds and abilities to participate. After the class, you'll get a video of your performance, which you can continue to perfect and perform for your family and friends!

Still not sure what Bollywood dance is? Check out "Chammak Challo", a Bollywood song/dance with vocals by Akon. This dance is representative of what we'll be learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4EZHGFK-1c.


Prerequisites
Open mind, good attitude, and ready to dance!

A performative course, this is an introduction experience to the urban dance style. Combining popping and hard-hitting along with contemporary movement, we will learn how hip-hop varies from urban dance and practice and perform new choreography!

Art forgers have had centuries to perfect their craft- and art forgery detectives have stayed one step ahead of them. But how exactly do these detectives spot the perfect fake?

Students will learn how to use historical catalogs, X-ray data, and high-tech 3D images to examine ancient Roman coins and figure out if the artifacts are worthless forgeries or authentic pieces of history. Come learn how to be an art detective and solve a mystery thousands of years in the making!

East Coast Swing is a really lively and fun partner dance that will impress your friends guaranteed! It was developed in the early 20th century alongside the ‘big band’ scene of the time but has since evolved to accompany contemporary pop and jazz music. No partner or experience required.

Up your Instagram game with this fun, easy course. We'll walk through the basics of "real cameras," giving you hands-on experience that you can apply in your own everyday photography exploration. We'll break down *complex* topics like exposure and aperture, so you'll feel confident shooting on your own. Woo!

Ever lost a button off of your favorite shirt? Rip a hole in your pants? Don’t replace them, repair them!
From threading the needle and sewing a basic stitch to learning how to reattach a button, this course will give you the skills you need to extend the life of your clothing. If you have any item of clothing that needs fixing, bring it with you.

Why do you look better in certain colors of clothing, but not others? Why is your favorite color your favorite anyway? In this course, we will use color theory to figure out what color palettes you should look for when picking out clothing and how to use the historical and cultural symbolism of color to your advantage.

Do you think you’re someone who can’t draw? If so, this course is for you! With the right approach, I believe we are all capable of drawing well. This course will introduce you to the basic techniques of drawing from life. You will engage in short- and long-form drawing exercises and get feedback during class.


Prerequisites
None; drawing materials will be provided

Learn the basics of knitting! Learn how to cast on and the knit stitch. Time permitting, we'll also learn the purl stitch and get you started on your first project!

In no time you'll be ready to wear your own scarves, hats, or even sweaters!


Prerequisites
None

Although most see it as an art-form only, origami has found itself in engineered designs of everything from medical devices to bulletproof shields. In this class, you'll get to learn about how origami has been used in satellites to create what is known as a deployable structure. You'll also get to test how well the origami design works for the satellites by shooting rockets with both unfolded and folded "satellites" attached. This course will involve both the engineering and the art of origami.

This an introductory lecture about what is civil engineering and what do we going to study during the undergraduate and master period. this course will display several facet of civl like structure, mechanics and materials.

This course will introduce the basic idea of computer vision and show some sample demonstrations of it.

Robots are cool. You know that. I know that. This class will teach you what goes into controlling a robot at a low-level (i.e., how does a robot stay upright?). My hope is that by the end of this class you will be comfortable enough with the electronics and theory to build your own robot!

Tentative outline:
What is a robot?
What is a control system?
What electronics does a robot use?
Activity: assemble a robot and investigate control properties


Prerequisites
Basic understanding of physics. Not scared when people use the word "Calculus" (I'll briefly touch on some concepts of Calculus, but don't worry if you haven't taken a Calculus class: I'll do my best to explain everything intuitively)

Добро пожаловать ! Are you interested in learning a new language, but don't know where to start? Why not start at здравствуйте ? Students in this course will learn the basics of Russian conversation to prepare them to take a trip to Moscow and/or to impress their friends and family. Learn the basics here, and you'll be reading Tolstoy in no time!

In this class we will discuss the ways that the four branches of anthropology interact in academia as well as in the field. We will get a chance to better understand the importance of anthropological thought/theory in the real world and how to apply this knowledge in the career/job search.

Consciousness is arguably the fabric of the universe - at the least the universe you perceive and interact with on a daily basis. Despite the rich history of philosophical contemplation and scientific inquiry, we still do not have a satisfactory explanation for the origin/nature of conscious experience.

In addition to exploring these concepts and paradigms, this course will guide participants in the self-examination of visual and tactile perception using illusions.

This class will provide a brief introduction into the complexity of the conflicts in the Middle East. We will explore the history of different ethnic and religious groups and how the past affects the present. Instead of determining who is right and wrong, we will focus on the circumstances that cause conflicts to arise and the perspective of either side.

Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology. We will cover the birth of the greek gods, creation of man, and the adventures of heros.

Ever wondered how our species is the way we are right now?

The first half of the class is a summary of how we evolved, migrated, created, and destroyed over the millennia. The second half is a discussion on how we can learn from our past to guide us into the future.

What is hip hop and how did hip hop as we know today come about? What styles of music and historical/cultural contexts have shaped hip hop? This class will explore these questions and give students new perspectives on hip hop music and culture. Hip hop fans (and haters too) are all welcome to join!

Watercolors, drawings, and prints are beloved media, but we don't often consider the common component that makes them possible: Paper! In this class we will talk about paper structure, watermarks and how studying the paper that 16th and 17th century prints and drawings are on can better help us understand them. We will also make our own paper!

This course will cover the basic concepts of maritime archaeology, including shipwrecks around the world, introductory methodologies, and ethical considerations of working on underwater sites. Students will learn how to map a mock shipwreck and spend time critiquing representations of maritime archaeology and treasure hunting in the media.

We will go over the basic characteristics of armored vehicles, and how various designers optimized these characteristics given the technology of their times. We will also go over the roles that various vehicles played in major historical events, including both World Wars as well as significant battles up to present.

This course will move beyond a discussion of the most commonly taught poetic techniques such as metaphor, simile, and rhyme by providing an introduction to poetry’s more unusual and complex rhetorical devices, verse and stanza forms, and figures of speech. We will look in particular at the qualities and purposes of abecedarians, villanelles, zeugmas, ghazals, pantoums, and terza rima poems.

Students keen on getting more involved with creative writing will find this course to be of particular interest, as we will have the opportunity to practice writing poems that make use of these devices and forms.

This class will explore some of the early Christian texts that were excluded from the official Christian canon. Hundreds of these texts exist, but only sixty-six were ultimately included in the Bible. What do they say? Why were they excluded? Some of the heretical texts examined will include the Infancy Gospel and the Gnostic texts, and we will focus on how culture, power, and theology interact in early Christian texts, and what this interaction has meant for the religion that has shaped a significant part of the world. This class is not a Bible study and prior knowledge of Christian texts is in no way required; this class is an objective look at heretical texts with a literary and historical lense. Students should expect a lecture-style class, and be open to offering their own interpretations.

Every wanted to learn the basics to a fun new language but also learn the culture you need to survive maybe 1 hour in F R A N C E? Come join this easy, relaxed class for a fun hour of not only learning the basics of french, but also some fun cultural facts, customs, and tranditions.

Note: This is Part A of a two part course. Details below.


Suppose you did not know that $$\pi$$ was 3.14..... How would you find it or at least a few digits of $$\pi$$ ? Come to this class and you can see how to find $$\pi$$ by throwing darts. We'll also teach a computer to throw darts using Python. This class aims to introduce how programming languages like Python can be used to find answers to mathematical questions. You do not need to know Python to enjoy this class.

This is Part A of a two part course. In this part, we talk about probabilities, do some math on the board and then throw a few darts.

You can also register for Part B which will be scheduled in the same room right after Part A. You will get to see the programming language Python being used to do some cool math. You have the option of registering for both courses or just one .


Prerequisites
Basic probability, some interest in learning programming

Introductory statistics course taught by R. R is a programming language and free software environment that is often used for data analysis via simple examples. By the end of the class, students will be able to understand the importance of data visualization, will be able to calculate simple statistics from the data (i.e., mean, median, variance) using a real data.


Prerequisites
Need to know their height and weight.

See how people can use trends to trick you and learn how to think about numbers so they can't.

How can a traveling salesman find the shortest path through every major city? How do colonies of amoeba find the food they need to survive?

Although these seem like very different problems, they actually share a common solution! Even though we think of computer science as a human invention, many of the problems that we use computers to solve have in fact already been figured out by other living things. In this class, we'll take a look at the different ways that the study of biology and computer science have influenced each other over the years and look forward to ways in which biological principles might be used to design the computers of tomorrow.

Note: This is Part B of a two part course. Details below.

Suppose you did not know that $$\pi$$ was 3.14..... How would you find it or at least a few digits of $$\pi$$ ? Come to this class and you can see how to find $$\pi$$ by throwing darts. We'll also teach a computer to throw darts using Python. This class aims to introduce how programming languages like Python can be used to find answers to mathematical questions. You do not need to know Python to enjoy this class.

This is Part B of a two part course. In part A, we talk about probabilities, do some math on the board and then throw a few darts. Part B will be scheduled in the same room right after Part A. In Part B, You will get to see the programming language Python being used to do some cool math. You have the option of registering for both courses or just one .


Prerequisites
Basic probability, some interest in learning programming

In the 60s, some very smart people mathematically showed in a group with the same number of heterosexual men and heterosexual women, you can always pair them up in a way that is "stable." We're going to talk about this problem of "stable marriage," look at their solution, and discuss its implications for teenagers.

An introduction to the methods and protocols used to secure electronic communication. We will discuss basic algorithms for encrypting and decrypting messages along with techniques for securely sharing secrets.

No prior experience required, but knowledge of modular (clock) arithmetic is a plus.


Prerequisites
Algebra 1

Learn about the spaces between dimensions and the strange, beautiful mathematical objects which live there: fractals. Also, see how both nature and humanity use these ideas to create beauty, complexity, and strength with a minimum of effort.

Interested in story telling, website coding, or role-playing games like Bandersnatch? This course is for you! Twine is an online program that lets you easily publish a role-playing game online and even add variables, images, CSS, and JavaScript. All skill levels are welcome; I will teach a quick tutorial over the program, then we will make one as a class and I'll answer any questions!

Let's say you're a poker genius: an expert at counting cards and remember the probability of every combination - then what? What is the best strategy you can use when playing poker? That's when math comes in - we'll be discussing how to model poker using game theory and figure out how to beat your opponents.

From the semiconductors and crystals that power your cellphones, to the plastics and fabrics in your shoes/clothes, advanced materials define the modern world we know today.

In this course there we will introduce some basic principles behind these materials technologies and their exciting applications through a variety of hands-on demonstrations. These mini-workshops will feature a wide range materials including familiar everyday objects to unusual materials that defy conventional physics.


Prerequisites
None

Learn about basic plant biology, how plant propagation works, followed by a hands-on experience potting succulents, and take them home!

Learning disabilities are a prominent class of disabilities that affects millions of students. This class will explore different types of learning disabilities, their prevalence, and the accommodations available to students.

Ever wonder how things fly? You'll first learn some basic knowledge in aerodynamics and later apply it to flying a frisbee disc. In the activity session, you'll explore how a frisbee flies, what makes different trajectories, and what influence the wind has by throwing a frisbee disc with a partner.


Prerequisites
Experience of tossing/ throwing a frisbee disc would be great but not really required.

You may have heard about E. coli outbreaks from food, but did you know that you can "design" E. coli to make useful molecules? We will learn some basics about E. coli and how to design genetically modified bacteria. Then we will practice creating our own mock protein molecules using the E. coli engineering process. You will leave this course knowing about some methods that many biologists and biochemists regularly use in research!

How did past scientific research contribute to the world's current problems? Will today's computing lead to a society ruled by artificial intelligence? To answer such questions, we'll explore how cutting-edge research will impact our world in the years ahead--and might just save us.

In this course we will use common plastic items to show how temperature outside of the normal range can greatly change the properties. We will show what happens to rubber balls when they are very cold and what happens to plastic spoons when they are very hot. We will understand why, although these are very different temperatures the reason the properties change is the same.


Prerequisites
Basic Chemistry is a plus but not required

Chemistry is all around us, even in works of art!

In this class, we will talk about the chemistry behind paint drying and the differences between mediums artists use. We will also try mixing our own paint and paint a still-life with this new appreciation of art + science.


Prerequisites
Basic chemistry is a plus but not required.

Do you love Forensic Files or other crime T.V. shows?

If so, come be a detective and solve the greatest crime ever created!
We will explore topics in physics, biology, and chemistry as they relate to crime solving! No more binge watching Forensic Files while stuffing your face with mozzarella sticks on a Friday night; come join in the action instead!

How do forensic analysts in your favorite TV shows use chemistry to catch criminals? Learn about techniques used by real world forensic chemists and get hands on experience on solving crimes in this interactive whodunnit lab class.

Molecular gastronomy is the science behind manipulating flavor and texture to make interesting food. It involves physical and chemical transformations of ingredients, such as making popping pearls. Popping boba pearls are a type of boba often found in bubble tea, a rapidly growing cultural sensation from Asia. Spherification of juices, a technique in molecular gastronomy, is involved in producing these pearls. In this lesson module, we’ll be learning how to synthesize a modified version of these flavored bubbles, using several common chemical reactants. Taste testing is also part of this bubbly experience, of course!

Have you ever thought how your brain works? How are we able to move, speak, and create new ideas?

We will learn about how our brain is structured and how it works. Followed by some research and findings from different fields like psychology and linguistics.

Liquid nitrogen boils at -320°F. That’s more than 500 degrees colder than the boiling point of water! Let’s see what happens when we use liquid nitrogen’s super cool properties to freeze things super fast.

Natural selection tends to optimize, leading to highly efficient and robust designs. In this course, we will discuss the great power of using nature to inspire innovation. Biomimicry has been and continues to be used to inspire a wide array of fields, ranging from art to engineering.

One of the most important ways we can predict Earth’s future is by looking at the past. But how do we know what climate, biology, and the environment were like for the Earth’s 4-billion year history, when human records only go back a few thousand years? This class will examine a few ways that scientists understand Earth’s history.

Physicists often say that springs are everywhere. Ever wonder why that is? This class will tell you why!

This class will be a basic introduction to the types of things physicists care about and why they care.

Other than the intuition that things fall down, no physics experience will be required. I will not assume any math either

When we hear speech, what we hear is not as neat as what we believe it to be. In fact, a stream of speech is more akin to "somethinglikethiswhereyougetnodistinctsignalsthatindicatethestartandtheendofwordorphraseorsentence." Nevertheless, we are masters at parsing speech signals and have strong intuitions that allows us to categorize what are actually very subtle, gradient distinctions. In particular English speakers are confident in telling apart the /b/ sound from the /p/ sound in "pat" and "bat," in judging"ksrpiw" as an impossible English word and "blarks" as a possible English word, and in creating word, phrase, and sentence boundaries where they don't exist. But what underlies these intuitions? And how can we make these judgments so effortlessly despite the messiness of human speech, which is fundamentally just complicated noise?

In this session, we will explore human speech from multiple dimensions, including acoustic physics, anatomy, cognitive science, linguistics, and psychology. We will toy around with a speech analysis software to help us visualize sound, and learn about the features of consonants and vowels, mainly from English, but also those found in other languages.

Want to play with instant-freezing water and hear a story on how it may have lead to an entire lake freezing in seconds? Would you like to know how to make rock candy with super-saturated water and sugar? Or how water can make frogs levitate? This course will explain some lesser known properties of water and will have an interactive experiment along with a few activities to take home!


Prerequisites
None

In this class, we will use a high powered, super microscope that uses electrons to see the smallest scientific wonders. Ever wonder what a bug's eyeball looks like close up? Or maybe the pieces that make up the inside of your cell phone? Come spend an hour learning how scientists see the tiniest of things!


Prerequisites
None

How large a group of people is necessary before it is more likely than not that two people share the same birthday? Only 23.

On average, how many letters would a monkey typing at random have to type before it spelled out ABRACADABRA? $$26^{11}+26^4+26.$$

A molecule moving randomly in two dimensions has a 100% chance of eventually returning to its starting position. What's the likelihood that the same molecule eventually returns to its initial position in three dimensions? Only 34%!

Probabilistic reasoning is central to the natural and physical sciences, but is generally passed over in the high school curriculum. This problem-oriented session will present an introduction to probability and its far-reaching applications.

We take our movements for granted, and yet, our ability to move is what allows us to put our thoughts and plans into action. In my class, I will provide a brief tour of our current understanding of how the brain controls how we move. The talk will be accompanied by a demonstration of recording muscle activity as I (and/or a volunteer) perform different movements. Finally, I will end the class by discussing how this research has real world application by helping us design better prosthetics, and improve recovery from spinal injuries.


Prerequisites
Basic biology. Some familiarity with how neurons work would be a plus.

This introductory science course will discuss the microbial life that exists in, on, and all around us. We will learn why these microbes are important, and explore how they are involved in making cheese.

Interested in how electricity can be made from sunlight? In this hands-on experiment, you'll build a device that converts the energy in sunlight to electricity. Come find out why the colored juice from fruity berries is one of the most important ingredients!


Prerequisites
some basic chemistry is helpful, but not required

A beginner-friendly salsa class. We'll go through the basics and have everyone comfortable with their hips and basic steps by the end.

Do you think you are a rational person? Do you think you are an analytical person? Try these activities motivated by game theory, mathematical models meant to study strategic interaction,


Prerequisites
None.

Sign up to play the most popular trading card game in the world, Magic: the gathering (AKA Magic).

We will begin by first introducing the basics of how to play and how to build a deck. Afterwards, students will get to pick out their own decks (cards will be provided) and play other students.

As a gift, students will get to take home the deck they've built and a 20-sided die!

Students will learn about the college application process and will gain access to hundreds of scholarships they can apply to.

Do you love drums? Do you like the sounds they make! Well get ready to learn to do all of that without having to beg your mom for drumset while still driving her crazy with the noise!

Wanna drop freestyle beats for your friends, or just make some sick walking music? We'll cover it all! Singing is lame come jam out with me and we'll have a blast!


Prerequisites
Bright Smile and love of dank beats

Come to learn and enjoy yourself dancing to popular African songs, as well as, pop songs with an Afro-beat!

No past experience required!


Prerequisites
Come in comfortable clothing, and bring water!

Come spend 50 minutes hanging out and learning a useless skill which you can use to impress your friends for the rest of your life!

Personal statements are an essential part of applications to colleges, job, scholarships, and more. Writing a statement that is unique, persuasive, and reflects your strengths takes a lot of time and practice. In this class, you will learn the characteristics of compelling personal statements, critique personal statements written by students applying to college, and practice writing about yourself.

While the emphasis of this class will be on personal statements for college applications using prompts from the Common App, students of all grades can benefit from strengthening their personal essay writing skills.

Bring your laptop or a notebook to this class to take notes and practice writing. Loose-leaf papers and pencils will be provided if you forget.


Prerequisites
An open mind and positive attitude.

West Coast Swing is a contemporary-style of Swing, very different than what most people initially think of as Fred Astaire type of swing. This sleek, smooth dance is versatile enough for almost all music genres! Its relaxed and smooth body movements, playful improvisation, and stretch give it a distinctive look.


Prerequisites
Wear comfortable shoes and clothes so you can move around! Bring your smile and enthusiasm for some cool dance moves! No previous experience or dance partners needed.

Work smarter, not harder. In this course we will learn how using nothing more than a rope and some strategically placed knots, the strength of a single individual can be greatly amplified. These simple pulley systems we will study have wide applications from moving heavy loads for a construction project, to setting up rescue systems in an outdoor survival setting. Working together, the class will build a simple pulley system before taking on your teachers in an epic game of tug of war.

Like puzzles, cards, communication games, epic nerdy trash-talk, and ultimate contests of skill? Welcome to the world of bridge-- the world's most exciting card game! Come join Northwestern University’s jam-packed one-day bridge class! Players of any experience level are welcome, and our members are ready and able to teach the game to any new players.

Bridge is a (healthily) addictive card game that uses strategic thinking and occasional deception, and there’s always something new to learn. We’re ready to put on a show for you (snacks included)!

This course is a brief overview of J.R.R. Tolkien's great work of the Lord of the Rings. It will have fairly in-depth insight into how his work was influenced by his Roman Catholic faith.

There will be a crash course on the plot, so no experience is required. After this crash course, major themes will be discussed in the context of specific events in the story.

(The faith aspect will be entirely objective and looked at simply as a set of values just like any other. The focus will be on how Tolkien was inspired by his set of values, and how it bleeds through his work - it's important to know those values in order for someone to fully appreciate the Lord of the Rings.)

Members of various world religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism, to name a few – consistently seem to argue or even fight against each other. But what if their religions are more connected than they think?

In this class, we will explore a hypothesis found in the Baha'i Faith about the interconnectedness of the world's religions, questioning whether all these faiths might stem from the same source. Get ready for some interesting discussion and a game of jeopardy!

Learn the ancient Japanese art of paper folding as well as a few simple folds that you can do anywhere that you have paper!

Junk phone calls and emails claiming you've won the lottery are all too common today. Join me as we look at how these scams function by playing on emotions or trickery to con people out of millions.

As a former leading member of Teenangels, an international organization that combats cyberbullying and raises cybersecurity awareness, I would like to share my knowledge about internet etiquette, how to protect one's identity, especially on social media, and what students can do to prevent and stop cyberbullying.

Ever wonder how you can make a positive difference in your community and in the world? This course will present an economic way of thinking about how to do the most social good given what we have. We will address questions like: how do we define “social good”, why should we care about it, how do we measure it, and how can we try to maximize it? We will discuss how to apply economic thinking to evaluate the social impact of our individual actions and of large-scale policies.

Learn how to critically analyze and deconstruct the systems behind a modern board game, then apply what you've learned by making a game of your own to play with fellow students!


The last few years has seen an explosion in the creativity and popularity of board games as a social medium.

An era arguably starting with Settlers of Catan in the late 90's, modern board gaming is in the midst of a renaissance of sorts, largely thanks to many new designers introducing novel concepts and mechanics, all while balancing accessibility.

In this class, we will explore the role of player interaction, randomness, theme, and more in an effort to unravel what makes a board game tick.


Tentative class structure:

Interactive Lecture Portion (~25 min)
-What is fun?
-Interaction maps
-The role of randomness
-Loops

Create a quick prototype (~15 min)

Share your prototype (~10 min)


Prerequisites
None, though an interest or familiarity with modern board games would be helpful.