Droplet Droplet 2021
Course Catalog

Are you an aspiring actor looking to nail your next performance? A musician attempting to develop a stage persona? A Hamilfan looking to make the next trending TikTok? Whoever you may be; look no further. In this hour long class, you will learn the intricacies of developing a believable performance through the art of characterization. We will be exploring themes of empathy, intention, backstory development, etc. So be ready to think of acting in a NEW LIGHT!

"Chocolate Cures Cancer," "Cereal Causes Alzheimer's," "Sitting is the New Smoking." These are just a few of the health and science related news headlines that pop up on our phones on a daily basis. This class explores these studies and others helping you determine what information you can trust.


Prerequisites
None

Should people be allowed to sell their organs? Should a doctor have to treat you even if you can’t pay? What’s up with our healthcare system? We will cover some of the landmark legal cases that have determined our country’s answers to these questions, as well as debate these issues among ourselves.

“Imagination gives us borders… I often feel I am trapped inside someone else’s imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free.” ~ Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

How does the use of one’s imagination spark social and systemic change in the world? What does it mean to blur the lines between the creative and the political experience? What would immigration look like in your ideal world? Students will be introduced to the radical contemporary practices that artists and activists alike use to build creative, impactful lives while also brainstorming ways they can effect change.

Ever wanted to learn how to play a game that has captivated minds for almost 1000 years? Want to find places to play chess against opponents online to hone your strategies? Come to "Introduction to chess"!

This course teaches the basic rules of the game, important strategical concepts, how to start a game, calculation of material exchanges, basic tactical patterns to recognize in games, and how to make a record of games that you play using algebraic notation.

In 1858, Henry Chadwick, a baseball sportswriter in New York, invented the "box score," a simple data-based summary of a sports game. Since then, there have been (multiple!) statistical revolutions in and out of sports. From Bill James to Billy Beane (Oakland A's) to Daryl Morey (Houston Rockets/76ers), teams from all major sports are finding ways to use data to identify talent, optimize game strategies, and win games. Now more than ever, major sports teams are looking for the next generation of sports managers, coaches, and analysts who have an understanding of data-driven strategy.

This class will present a basic overview of how math, statistics, and computer science are being applied in various sports (e.g., NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL), but will assume no prior technical knowledge. Students will get an inside look into how technology is changing how sports are being played. The class will conclude with a mini-research project where each student will find a statistic, article, or visualization and design a single powerpoint slide explaining their findings and how it relates to sports. The instructor has previously worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Baseball Analytics and currently pursues research work with other NBA, MLB, and college teams.


Prerequisites
Interest in sports and sports business, data science & machine learning, optimal strategy, and/or behavioral science

Jane Eyre was my favourite book growing up. A passionate love story, a tortured hero, a strong female protagonist. But between the lines there are explicit and implicit elements of feminism as well as racism. We will scrutinize this well-loved book and discuss the historical and societal implications of passages and themes employed in Charlottes Bronte's writing. This class is designed as a friendly discussion among thoughtful book-lovers and is not a lecture.


Prerequisites
Having read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. It can be found free online.

Have you ever wondered how your own body was put together over the long journey of evolution? As paleontologists, we ask this question every day, and we look for clues in the fossil record to help us fill in the gaps on how different parts of the body changed over time, and how they work together to keep an animal alive and well. In this class, you will get the opportunity to trace the evolutionary history of several novel structures in the vertebrate body. Specifically, we will discuss a series of case studies on how early vertebrates evolved jaws for chomping, how birds took to the sky with their wings, and how mammal ancestors transformed part of their lower jaws into tiny bones in our ears. At the end of the class, you will be able to design your own scientific expeditions to look for new fossils and extend our knowledge on the rich evolutionary history of vertebrates.

This course will introduce fundamental principles of how neurons work and communicate. We will discuss how drugs effect that communication and neuronal function. Additionally, we will talk about how the action of drugs on the brain results in different physiological, psychological and behavioral effects. Broadly, this course will give you a basic understanding of how what goes on in the brain determines what happens in the rest of the body.


Prerequisites
A basic biology course

The most famous questions in physics are either unfathomably large (as in astronomy) or smaller than small (as in quantum mechanics). But what about in between, at the scale of objects we see every day? It turns out there's a lot we don't understand here, too. We'll look at a phenomenon that you can explore in your kitchen sink — and learn what connects it to the structure of our solar system.

Curious about how memory organization works? Confused about how your brain falls for illusions? Register for our neuroscience course to learn more about how your brain captures memories and constructs memory palaces. You can also learn about the mystery of perception and how visual, audio, and touch illusions fool your brain. This interactive course will stimulate your interest in neuroscience, so come learn about your brain, play kahoot, and meet our wonderful instructors from the NEURO Club.

Have you ever wondered what’s really going on in the minds of our closest relatives? How different (or similar!) is their social cognition from ours? This class will go over some unique behavioral experiments that give us some insight on how primates perceive and communicate with one another. Let’s talk about what we think other primates think!

What do organic chemists do and why are their jobs among many of the most important jobs in the world?
In this class, students will (1) undergo a whirlwind tour of how organic chemistry has changed the course of human civilization and (2) develop an insight into what organic chemists do and how they think about problems. We will discuss what makes something an "organic" molecule (hint: it's not what you think) and look at case studies involving extremely influential medicines, foods, dyes, and pollutants that have affected the global population in recent memory.


Prerequisites
You need to know about atoms and molecules (you do not need an AP or advanced chemistry background)

“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more
precise measurement.” Lord Kelvin is reported to have said sometime in 1900, shortly before
physics was revolutionized by the advent of quantum mechanics. But what experiments lead to
the need for these new theories? How did the results lead to the strange predictions that changed
everything we thought we knew about the world? From blackbody radiation and the ultraviolet
catastrophe, to the photoelectric effect and the De Broglie relationship, we will cover the first
few chapters of the quantum story and that of the scientists that uncovered it, page by page.

Have you ever wondered how x-ray, CT, and MRI scanners work? This course gives an overview of the physics involved. You will learn how shining light on a object can create an image. To help understand the process, you will physically get to observe one of the most prominent physics concepts involved, the photoelectric effect, by shining light on metal. Then, you will work in groups, with guided advice, to discover the process of how medical images are reconstructed from a simple light source.


Prerequisites
Basic physics and chemistry understanding is advised

Is your favorite Marvel character Thor? Do you like stories about medieval times? Are you a general mythology buff?
Well if any of those sound like you, and even if they don't, join this class to take a dive through some of the greatest hits of Norse Mythology. We'll talk about wars, magic, and even the Apocalypse. We'll even see how Norse myth has impacted our world.