Splash Biography

‘Human rights’ includes a whole range of topics. It can be international. It can be local. It can be personal. It also means a lot for everyone—that’s why people talk about it all the time and the news reports about it everyday. In this class, you will learn and think about what kind of rights we have as a human being, and what kind of problems we encounter regarding our rights. Not only will we learn about the basics of rights, but we will also engage in discussions of how we can solve such issues by analyzing different situations and weighing the various consequences involved. Come join if you want to discover how politicization of municipal garbage collection in Jerusalem can be relevant to your life!

What are human rights? What are civil rights? (What’s the difference?) Who decides what they are, and how to protect them? How are they protected in the US, how are they violated, and how do other countries’ policies to protect their citizens’ rights differ from ours? Put another way: it’s 1994 in South Africa. You’re in charge of writing the new, post-apartheid constitution. What’s your starting point? How are you going to improve it? Is the constitution going to matter?

Until recently, the US Supreme Court was composed of nine old white men, yet it's the most powerful part of one branch of our government. Even with 9 people who are more representative of everyday Americans, is this democratic? How much power should the Court have, and how much scope for interpretation? How easily can its rulings be overturned? We'll discuss these topics using a few important cases as examples.

The elements of music are not random; math and physics can explain a lot about music. We'll explore answers to questions like the following: Why does a trumpet sound different from a flute or a violin? Why does singing in the shower sound different from singing in a classroom or outside? How does tuning a guitar work? What makes one pitch "right" and another wrong; what makes scales work the way they do? Feel free to bring your own questions as well.

Master a variety of culinary techniques, tips, and tricks by preparing a full meal structured around time honored Jewish recipes including latkes (potato pancakes), kugel (a savory noodle casserole), and honey cake. You will get your hands dirty, as you fry, mix, and bake your way through these delectable dishes under the guidance of a costumed grandmother and grandfather from the old country.

Want to learn more about music theory? We’ll start with the basics of reading music and move on to scales, the circle of fifths, how to transpose music from one key to another, and other fun things! We'll focus on Western more than any other tradition, but we can also talk a little about Middle Eastern music and Javanese gamelan. If we have time, we can even go into a discussion of the coolest bits of the physics/math behind music. No experience is necessary, just a desire to know more about how music is put together. This is a theory rather than a performance class.

Ever wonder why peacocks have colorful feathers? Want to learn where the Himalayas came from? Did you know that fetuses have an extra heart valve? Want to learn why? If unusual facts sound like fun to you, then join this class! Feel free to bring favorite facts or curiosities of your own to share! Special bonus: the etymology of the word trivia...and Origami velociraptors!