Splash Spring 2021
Course Catalog

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Arts Humanities
Math & Computer Science Science
Miscellaneous


Arts

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A338: Introduction to Latin Dancing Basics
Difficulty: *

In this class, join two members from the Latin dance team Baila! to learn some Salsa and Bachata basic steps and a small choreography to practice the skills at home!

A340: Introduction to 8-Bit Music Composition
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Eli Levenshus

Do you ever wonder how music was created in old video game systems? This class will give an introduction to 8-bit music and chiptune. We will start with a brief introduction to the mechanics of 8-bit music (specifically the 2A03 chip), then explore 8-bit compositional techniques and the current chiptune music scene. The rest of the class will be spent learning Beepbox (https://beepbox.co), a simple browser-based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) to help you start making your own 8-bit music.


Prerequisites
Access to either a laptop or a tablet. Music theory knowledge/composition experience is helpful but not required.

A342: Learn to Dance: Hip Hop
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Marie Eric

Come and learn a fun hip hop dance routine! All levels are welcome. The steps will be broken down and catered to every student's experience. Popular dance moves such as the Woah and Bart Simpson will be included.


Humanities

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H335: Lead your own Civilization! Playing a Role-Playing Game to Learn History
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Tony Yao

All too often, History in school is about memorizing facts. In this experimental class, we'll try to learn history through playing a "table-top-style" game instead! Students will be split into teams and be tasked with leading fictional civilizations across Afro-Eurasia. Your team's choices will change the history of this parallel Earth! If you've wanted a new way to look at history, this is the class for you!

H337: The History of the NFL
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Nathaniel Semanek

This class is for any avid football fan or player that is curious about how the game has been formed over the last 100 years. Are you intrested in learning about the history of the Lombardi Trophy, the Super Bowl, and the draft? Did you know that we have two different U.S. presidents to thank for football being televised? That we can actually blame the New England Patriots dynasty on General Custer? Or that the football caught by Franco Harris during the "Immaculate Reception" is located in a vault in a Western Pennsylvania bank? All of this and more will be discussed!

H343: Learn German!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Maya Watson

Learn some simple sentences and phrases to impress people with your German skills! You'll also be introduced to some German culture and music in this fun introduction to German class.


Math & Computer Science

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M330: An Introduction to Abstract Algebra
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Shravan Venkatesan

In this class, we'll give an overview of the building blocks of algebra, including Sets, Groups, Rings, and Fields, and see how they lead to the algebra on the real numbers that we traditionally use.

M333: Math is Beautiful
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Noah Zahn

In this class we will look through some of the various beautiful and surprising connections in math. Topics will include the Fibonacci Sequence, Sinusoids/Harmonic Motion, Euler's Formula, Calculus in Geometry, Basic Mathematical Modeling and Approximation, and much more! This course is designed to show the amazing ways in which math can be interconnected while providing an insight into over looked aspects of mainstream topics.


Prerequisites
Calculus Preferred, Pre-Calculus Required

M341: Intro to Cryptography
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Reshmi Patel

We'll learn how to encode and decode text using different ciphers and will finish up by applying Python to do the same. (No prior coding experience or software downloads necessary.)


Science

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S331: How to Power a House on Mars
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Aniket Pratapneni

I always hated how monotonously the natural sciences were taught in high school, so in this class we'll use engineering and the laws of physics to explore one of the most effective (and yet, one of the most absurd) ways to power a house on Mars.

S332: How to Blow Up a Black Hole
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Aniket Pratapneni

A step-by-step, scientific guide on how to engineer a supernova-scale explosion. A fun experiment to try out on your enemies! Or their entire solar system, for that matter.

S346: Jurassic Park: Fact or Fiction?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sruthi Katakam

Jurassic Park is the quintessential dinosaur movie, and spawned an entire franchise based on the idea of reverse-engineering dinos from fossils. But how much of the science behind the park is true? What did they get wrong? More importantly, is a real Jurassic Park in our future? We will analyze the science in the movie and make predictions about the future of biotech.

S347: Proteins! Enzymes!
Difficulty: **

Proteins and enzymes are really important. Like, you would not be alive without them, and they are really interesting too. Want to learn why it's so hard to predict how proteins fold, why life might have originated from enzymes made of RNA, or how to make recombined proteins that cure cancer? Join to dive into the world of molecular biology. We will have a protein folding video game (Fold-It) competition at the end.

S348: History of The Universe
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Roberto Jarrin

Explore everything from the Big Bang to the eventual end of the Universe in this class that covers topics like the life cycle of stars, dark energy and dark matter, and the question of the multiverse.


Miscellaneous

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X334: Applying to College 101
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Kaitlyn Storm

The college application process is long, with many steps and different deadlines. But never fear- this class is here to help! We will give a comprehensive overview of the process, with advice on everything from writing essays to asking teachers for recommendation letters. We will review deadlines, discuss how to research schools, and explore the different parts of the application!

Please note that this class will not involve personally reviewing participants' applications nor give school-specific and applicant-specific advice. It is simply a general overview to help you be a more well prepared applicant.

X336: Choose Your Own Adventure: An Interdisciplinary EXPERIENCE Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Louisa Benatovich

In this highly-interactive, discussion-based class, students will leave looking at learning in a whole new way. Starting with the human cell, we will weave together different/seemingly unrelated fields of study (medicine, science, humanities, and more) into a magical experience. If you've ever thought: "I have too many interests!" or "How could I possibly choose?", this class will show you that you do not have to!

X344: Social Media: For the Better or For the Worse?
Difficulty: *

It's everywhere: Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok, you name it. Do our lives revolve too much around social media? Has it taken control of your life in ways that you have not noticed? We will focus on the psychology of why we put effort into seeking outside approval, why social media is addicting, discuss ways to improve your social media presence, and much more.

X345: This Is An Illusion
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Elaine Yang

Puzzle through the what, why, and how of illusions by making your own! Experience the illusory power of the human mind firsthand in this interdisciplinary class. Covers everything from Plato's Allegory of the Cave to phantom limbs.