Cascade Cascade 2021
Course Catalog

What makes a successful presidential candidate?

This course hopes to answer that question by examining presidential elections. As an introduction, we will cover how elections work. This will allow us to build up to the crux of the course: analyzing how various candidates attempt to appeal to the American public, and how their strategies may have changed over time. In order to investigate, we will be watching clips from famous candidate speeches and presidential debates, as well as looking at campaign slogans. Finally, we will be discussing election results to determine which strategies worked, which didn’t, and what qualities make for a winning candidate.

Some poems are...dare I say...weird. Quirky, actually. Some are super short, some have multiple "strands," and some seem to switch in and out of gibberish. Close reading them can be intimidating. The goal of this course is to equip students with the tools to confront challenging poetic works with a full toolbox of close reading implements. In that process, students will learn just how funky the art of poetry can be and have the opportunity to write their own weird poems.

Scientists have an innate curiosity to push the boundaries of their knowledge of the universe. What else would have led them to discover particles smaller than atoms, like protons and electrons? But why stop there? What if there were even smaller particles and what if these could help explain the great mysteries of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present day? Well, that’s exactly what the field of particle physics studies. Welcome to the wacky world of subatomic particles that is the subject of a vibrant and fast growing area of physics research. This course seeks to introduce and illuminate exactly what this area is and how important it is in solving many problems in modern physics. Students will first be introduced to important mathematical tools used in the subject of quantum mechanics, a crucial foundation for the study of particle physics. We will then discuss what is studied in particle physics and how it relates to the topics of a typical high school physics curriculum. Some extensions on deeper topics include highlighting the subatomic particles known as neutrinos and a look at how interdisciplinary this overall area of research is including how high school students can start to be involved in meaningful research.


Prerequisites
High school level of algebra is recommended. An upper level knowledge of high school mathematics is not required as we will introduce a toolset of some advanced topics within the course. The most important prerequisite is a strong sense of curiosity and an interest to learn something new!

We all experience sound and music every day. But what exactly is sound? How is sound produced? How does it travel? What distinguishes music from other sounds? In this class, we will answer these questions and more, so come and learn how sound can be so seemingly simple, yet so important to our daily lives!


Prerequisites
Some knowledge of trigonometry could be helpful, but not necessary

When you think about biology, you usually think about the zoo and botanic garden. But in reality, modern biology is all about data and computers.

We will figure out:
How can you read the DNA sequence?
What do protein molecules look like?
How can you identify a genetic mutation or new virus variant?
Will a drug work to treat a given disease?

In the course we'll look at databases of genes and play with biological software.


Prerequisites
Tabletop computer

What do designer babies, the catching of the golden state killer, and the strawberries in your fridge all have in common? They’ve all been influenced by our discoveries in the field of genetics! This seminar series will provide an introduction to modern genetics, followed by our exploration of the far reaching consequences of its research, including applications in medicine, agriculture, and law. Finally, we’ll discuss genetics and science fiction--and what may not be fiction in the future.


Prerequisites
Some past exposure to high school biology is helpful.

Chess is played by millions of people all over the world. Maybe you’ve heard about it through The Queen's Gambit, or even through PogChamps. Join us to learn the basics of this fascinating game and become part of the growing chess community!