Splash Fall 2020
Course Catalog

Are you guilty of watching endless calligraphy videos on Instagram or YouTube? Ever wanted to try it for yourself but never had the tools for it? Guess what?! Join our new and improved VIRTUAL class and learn that you can do it with any tools! From no. 2 pencils to Crayola markers, learn how to enhance your learning with calligraphy! In this brief course, you’ll learn the basic techniques of modern calligraphy. We’ll make cards and show you an array of brands of effective markers you can use at a cheap cost. Overall, we’re here to have a good time and share our skills!


Prerequisites
None

Have you ever seen calligraphy and wondered how people do it? Are you interested in picking up a new hobby? Then join this introduction to calligraphy decal! This course will allow students to learn about the history and significance of calligraphy. It will also give students the ability to expand their artistic palette in hand lettering, including using different fonts, techniques, and tools. This will further allow students to find a new creative outlet in order to create new designs and begin to master the art of calligraphy.

Have a spare notebook, some pens/markers, and the urge to doodle? Ranging from daily agendas, habit/mood trackers, student templates, and even recipes for self-care, bullet journaling is not just art and writing. It's a therapeutic and creative outlet designed entirely by your own imagination!


Prerequisites
Please prepare the following: blank/dotted notebook (preferably not lined), pencils/pens/markers, and creativity! Be ready to draw and design your own bujo :) (Digital tablets also work too)

"Track the past, order the present, design the future." A bullet journal can be a powerful tool for getting your life together. Learn how to organize your academics, prioritize your mental and physical health, and express your creativity with a simple dotted journal. If you're a sucker for 𝒶𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈 like us, take this class!

Some of the topics covered in the presentation include:
What is bioengineering?
Bioengineering concentrations offered at UC Berkeley
Bioengineering extracurriculars
Career options
How do bioengineers impact society?

In a world where the effects of climate change are becoming more apparent by the day, humanity is quickly realizing that something must be done to address them. However, many important questions remain largely ignored in the global conversation. How big is the problem? What can we do about it? And how much must we do to solve it? This course will attempt to answer those questions.

This course will take a quantitative look at climate change and teach students to evaluate strategies for climate change mitigation. It will be broken into 3 parts.

Climate Science: Derive and evaluate the effect of greenhouse gasses on the climate.

Mitigation Technologies: Understand energy systems from production all the way to end use and calculate the impacts that changing technologies may have.

Adaptation and Geoengineering: Assess the merits of various engineering approaches to counteract the effects of climate change.

Inspired by the acclaimed UC Berkeley course created by Professor William Nazaroff, this course will aim to give students the tools they need to study, understand, and engineer solutions for a changing climate in a changing world.


Prerequisites
Algebra and chemistry required, physics recommended

Every civilization that has ever walked the earth has relied on materials and ours is no different. So why is it that such an influential field like Materials Science and Engineering is virtually unheard of in secondary schools? In this class, we'll discuss some of the exciting and impactful applications enabled by materials so you can get a taste of what this field of study is like. We'll discuss a variety of cool materials, from next-generation alloys to advanced energy materials to quantum computers. I will also provide some [extremely biased] opinions of why this is the best engineering major in college.


Prerequisites
A curiosity for materials around us and how they physically work.

This class with cover the basics of civil engineering. Students will be given a brief overview of the structural, transportation, geotechnical, project management, systems, and environmental sectors of the field.

Buildings come in all shapes and sizes. From the tallest skyscrapers to your very own home, each is a complicated work of both art and engineering that takes an enormous team of specialists to design, construct, and operate. If you've ever wondered how skyscrapers can be so tall, how a building can possibly use ZERO energy, or how to even design your dream home, this is the class for you.

This class will cover the basic principles of architecture, structure, construction, and sustainability in buildings and what a career in these areas is like.

Since a 50 minute class is no substitute for a full course though, in the week before Splash Fall 2020, students will be emailed primer handouts on these topics that cover the basics of what will be discussed so students can come prepared for class and are encouraged to research and form their own questions for the instructor beforehand. Handouts will also list where to find more information and offer ideas for home activities if students want to be more engaged with the topic. The class will conclude with a Q&A to answer any questions students have, either from the handouts, the lecture, or about buildings and engineering in general.


Prerequisites
Previous coursework in algebra, geometry, and/or art (you heard that right.... art) is recommended but not required.

What is Chemical Engineering? Chemical Engineering is responsible for the production of almost anything you can think of, from jet fuel to textiles to "impossible" meats! In this course we will cover:

- What goes into Chemical Engineering?

- Career paths for Chemical Engineers

- Introductory principles of process design

- An example of applying these principles to a real life process!


Prerequisites
Current enrollment in Algebra, Chemistry (non AP) is useful but not necessary

This course is designed to teach and enhance students' oral and written communication skills as it pertains to design proposals, emails, interviews, resumes, presentations, and more forms of communication. Students will learn and practice ways to effectively communicate in a professional setting.

This course will give a brief overview of not only the Holocaust, but the roots of antisemitism as well as the aftermath of the Holocaust.

It’s Spooky Szn! Before you celebrate Halloween today (safely, of course), come learn about the history and practice of Halloween from around the world! We’ll be looking at the origins of Halloween, how it’s become a popular holiday in the United States, and what Halloween means in different cultures and contexts.

Interested in activism but don't know where to start? Confused about why certain words and actions carry such a heavy weight in today's sociopolitical climate? Come join us for a group discussion about social justice and why it's important! This class will allow you to share your thoughts and concerns about the current social movements happening in and around your communities, and will equip you to critically engage in a conversation surrounding rethinking what systemic racism looks like. We will be covering topics about police brutality, mass incarceration, and understanding resistance movements. Let's talk about our role and power as change makers!

We will be focusing on healthcare disparities among BIPOC, analyzing how the development of modern medicine stems from the exploitation of marginalized groups. We will also be covering the basics of the concept known as social determinants of health. These include social factors such as income, employment status, and nutrition that greatly influence an individual’s overall health and well-being.

Take a tour of the 19th dynasty tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II the Great. Nefertari died over 3000 years ago, and her "house of eternity" is one of the most spectacular tombs from the ancient world. We will learn about the Book of the Dead, painted on the walls of her tomb, as we follow Nefertari on her afterlife journey.


Prerequisites
none

This brief course will not only tell the myth of the Minotaur, but will go over the story's history and origin, all the way back to the confusing labyrinthian look of the Minoan palace of Knossus on the island of Crete.


Prerequisites
None

An introduction to Orientalism and its unique implications for the Indian Subcontinent's histories and politics. We will be discussing the cultural homogenization and exoticization of South Asia and its peoples during and after British rule.

Staying healthy goes beyond just taking care of our physical health. Staying healthy is also taking care of our mental health. In fact, the two go hand in hand—mind and body. We need to start normalizing and having conversations about mental health the same way that we have conversations about physical health. In this course, we will cover:
(1) stigmas around mental health, (2) common mental health stressors that youth face such as depression and anxiety, (3) how to promote conversations about mental health with family, friends, and our communities, and (4) practicing self care.

Can we really trust automated decision making? Whether we like it or not today cars are starting to drive themselves and medical diagnosis are done by computers.
In this course, we explore what it means for a computer program to be correct and how we can be absolutely certain it is.


Prerequisites
None required, but familiarity with basic logic arguments is a plus.

Data science, a combination of statistics and computer science, is a rapidly expanding field and applicable to almost any subject. Learn how you can use numbers to figure out facts about the world, make predictions, and visualize trends. We aim to make this course accessible to all skill levels, regardless of past experience.

Based on UC Berkeley's fastest growing introductory class with over 1500 students and taught by current course staff.

As we become a more data driven society, databases are increasing becoming the backbone of all modern technology.

We'll first explore the concept of data and databases and how they are used practically all around the world, then we'll contrast SQL to other imperative programming languages, and finally we'll have some hands on time to learn the syntax and write our own SQL queries.

At the end of the course, you should take home an understanding of the purpose of databases, key database terms, basic syntax on how to query databases, and if we do our jobs correctly, an unquenchable excitement of learning something that so few high school students are exposed to!


Prerequisites
Some basic programming knowledge is ideal to draw comparisons, but is not necessary

Last year, Google made a landmark announcement that they had achieved "quantum supremacy," but what exactly does this mean? In this class, we'll give an introduction to what quantum computing and why Google's announcement was such a big deal! We'll cover some basic differences between classical and quantum computing and discuss limitations in the hardware that are keeping quantum computers stuck in the laboratory.


Prerequisites
None

If there is a single idea that permeates nearly every field of science and engineering but the name of which is unknown to most people, it is the Fourier transform. Although the basic idea is nearly 200 years old, it is so ubiquitous that scientists are still developing ever faster ways to perform the transform computationally. In this class, we will develop intuition for what the transform is, how it works, and what you can do with it. Some applications that may be covered (pending time and interest) include:

* Data compression
* Signal processing
* Music Theory
* Acoustic Engineering
* Electrical Engineering
* Quantum Mechanics

Come learn about (arguably) the most important mathematical tool in all of science! Emphasis will be on examples, visualizations, intuition, and applications rather than formal mathematics.


Prerequisites
Required: trigonometry; Suggested: calculus and/or linear algebra

Algorithms are the basis of programming and are ubiquitous in every day life. Learn the process of writing algorithms and how to use algorithms to solve problems. We will be going over the algorithms used to control the Curiosity rover on Mars and you will be able to program a basic algorithm to control a simulated rover through a maze.


Prerequisites
Access to a computer and internet required

This interactive and discussion-based course aims to introduce students to public health and how it impacts everyday lives. We’ll explore the different areas of public health and look at how medicine, the environment, and social-structural forces play a role in health. Learn how you can make a difference in public health!

This class focuses on the intersection of queerness and Islam in both the East and the West. It's a common misconception that these two groups, Muslims and queer people, cannot coexist. More than that, that there cannot be queer Muslims. This class dissects this misconception and introduces academic work that explains the identity politics of the two groups separately and together. We cover identity politics, gender and queer theory in relation to Islam, Islam in relation to gender and sexuality, and the ways in which intersectionality affects the political landscape. By the end of this course, students are expected to have a better understanding of academia within Islam, intersectionality, queer analysis, and progressivism in queer and Muslim political movements.

In this course, we will discuss anthropology in its three major subfields: socio-cultural, archaeology, and biological anthropology. Through this, we will look at what anthropologists do and what jobs they work in. Additionally, we will learn how cultural groups have been affected by Western colonialism in anthropology, and how modern anthropologists are revolutionizing the field.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also known as the laws of war, is a broad set of treaties, customary law, and principles that govern situation of armed conflicts and occupation. In this course, you will learn the four fundamental principles of IHL and its application. You will walk out of this class with a stronger understanding of international relations, the intricacies of law, and humanitarian aids. You will engage in a series of interactive activities and discussion to strengthen your understanding.

We'll discuss some basic terminology, history, and theories of personality! I'm looking forward to hearing what all of you are interested in with regards to personality, psychology, or any other related topics! I'm planning on making this course more of a conversation about personality psychology so that we can really engage with each other in an online environment :))

Ever have trouble understanding a foreign accent or dialect? Most of us probably have! The good news is that listeners can adapt -- we can get quite good at figuring out what someone is saying even if their pronunciation differs from what we normally hear in our day-to-day lives.

How do we do it? This course will give you a big picture overview. We will start with the basics of speech perception, move on to why accents can cause difficulty for listeners, and finally discuss how this problem can be overcome.

In the process we will answer questions like:

- What do we actually learn when we adapt to an accent?
- Why are some dialects/accents more difficult than others?
- How can we use experiments with artificial accents to answer these questions?


Prerequisites
This a class on experimental linguistics, so we will cover some basics of designing experiments and interpreting results. Prior course experience in linguistics and/or psychology is welcome but not required.

Archaeology? What is it? This class will introduce you to the archaeological inaccuracies and falsified depictions in popular video games and films. Along with some background context and innovative discussion, we will tackle how archaeological stereotypes are perceived! We will talk about games such as Tomb Raider, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, and more! Also, films like Indiana Jones and Night at the Museum will be explored.

The course will examine the political elements portrayed in Avatar the Last Airbender. While the ATLA universe is a fictional world, the show depicts important themes that we see our modern society. This class will discuss and cover themes such as: imperialism, policing, and classism.

We will examine political events from the cartoon and compare them to historical events from around the globe. Students will engage and think critically about events in the cartoon with the goal to provide perspective and better understand of how these events occur in the real world.

*SPOILER ALERT* Content and storyline from the Avatar the Last Airbender will be revealed.


Prerequisites
Having watched Avatar the Last Airbender is NOT required, but highly encouraged.

Have you ever wondered "What are they building there?" Have you heard your parents ever complain about traffic?

Want to know how the powers-that-be believe we should try to solve traffic? What about what types of buildings and housing should we have? Want to get involved in how our cities are designed and lived?

All of these issues are at the heart of city planning. While city planning talks a lot about zoning and land use, the field really is about designing the way that we live in our cities, towns, and suburbs.

City planning may hold the key to solving, while also being the cause of, society's problems--climate change, racism, traffic, inequality.

This class will explore some of the issues at the heart of modern planning, the ways in which planning can solve some of society's most-pressing issues, and how to get involved in planning in your city!

This course investigates how stigmas associated with different health issues intersect with those surrounding race, sexual orientation, and class. Through interactive activities and case-study analysis, we’ll explore how presumptions linked with health conditions cause harm to certain groups of people. We’ll also discuss how these stigmas impact the ability to address and treat COVID-19, infectious diseases from drug-use, epilepsy, and more. Come share your ideas and learn about stigma-reduction interventions as well as organizations you can contribute to.

Despite being a nation comprised of diverse people, the existence of prejudice and discrimination is undeniable. In the light of recent events within this past year, you might ask yourself - why do people uphold those ideas? What drives people to act in that way? This class aims to answer those questions in exploring the intersection of prejudice and discrimination with social psychology. Part of the class also allows for discussion of these topics in the context of psychology.

Interested in creative storytelling? Thinking about joining your school newspaper? From writing to interviewing to audio to social media, students will learn about all the different aspects of journalism. Currently an arts and entertainment reporter for The Daily Californian, Taila Lee condenses everything she’s learned from four years of journalism experience into a fifty-minute class. (**This class is intended for beginners, but students from all levels are welcome!**)

This course will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to human trafficking and basic terminology associated in the field. We will discuss the nuances of sex and labor trafficking, dispel common misconceptions that attend to each of these forms of exploitation, and investigate ways to identify and report potential instances of trafficking. We will also discuss the variety of national laws and international protections that govern anti-trafficking work and the marginalized communities that have been disproportionately impacted by human trafficking. By exposing students to critical perspectives, we hope students will walk away from the course with a greater understanding of the structural vulnerabilities, institutions and policies that engender trafficking in our communities. Through our closing discussion on the various professions that can play an active role in combating trafficking, we hope that students will be equipped with the knowledge to reimagine anti-trafficking advocacy and contribute to this social justice cause in their future endeavors.

Ever wondered what happens to the brain on drugs? Today we will be discussing the brain on opioids, lsd, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs. The history of the drug, and short and long term effects will also be discussed!

Energy -- making it, storing it, using it, and doing it all sustainably -- is one of the biggest challenges facing the world. Crystals are beautiful, intriguing, and claimed by many enthusiastic bloggers to have elusive properties for controlling and harnessing our inner energies. But in the world of real science, crystals are perhaps more exciting and powerful than any blogger imagined--including harnessing, storing, and controlling energy in the 21st century! We will talk about how the chemistry and physics of crystals leads to exciting properties and applications to solar cells for catching sunlight, batteries for storing energy, catalysts for clean fuels, and maybe even superconductors. In addition to materials already in use, we will explore future energy applications involving cutting edge nano- and quantum-materials. Along the way, we will learn about bonding, lattices, band structure, surfaces, and other fundamentals of material science underlying these critical applications.

Quantum mechanics underlies the chemistry everything is made of, but quantum mechanics is usually behind the scenes in all but the smallest, most isolated, coldest and shortest lived systems -- electrons, isolated atoms, supercooled, perfectly ordered crystals. Biology -- biomolecules, cells, and organisms-- is (relatively speaking) big, warm, soft, and immersed in messy liquids that would destroy any hope of front and center quantum mechanics. Or so one would think. But scientists have discovered evidence of quantum mechanics in amazing biological applications--with wave particle duality, interference, spin, and more on full display. We will focus on two examples: how plants turn sunlight into fuel in photosynthesis, and how certain birds use the electron’s spin to navigate with the Earth’s magnetic field. We will learn some basic features of quantum mechanics, see some fascinating quantum tricks evolution has discovered, and appreciate just how amazing these bits of quantum biology are, and perhaps what humans can learn from them. It seems even in quantum mechanics, life finds a way.

How do you read an X-ray of someone's teeth? What can looking at your mouth tell you about your heart? Why do people need to have wisdom teeth removed sometimes? Come explore these questions and more with us at the Oral and Dental Health Decal!

Taught by college students interested in pursuing dentistry, this course will offer exciting insight into the basic anatomy and microbiology of the mouth, how the mouth is related to the overall body, healthy hygiene habits, and an overview of dentistry as a career pathway. No previous knowledge of the subject is required!

We all like to be able to see the things that we're studying, but what do we do when those things are atoms? Visible light works great for everyday objects, but it isn't enough for materials science applications. In this class, we'll build up an intuition for the cool physics behind a fundamental characterization technique—X-ray diffraction—and see what amazing science we can discover using it.


Prerequisites
Familiarity with scientific notation and SI unit prefixes (nano-, micro-, etc.) will be helpful to appreciate how tiny these things are! Basic trigonometry (sine) is helpful, but not required.

In the 1930s, astronomers were surprised to discover that the everyday matter we see, touch, and feel could not explain the gravitational effects they were observing - because to them it appeared invisible, they called it “dark.” Dark matter is actually about 5 times more abundant in the universe than regular matter, and it seems to be the key to explaining topics ranging from galaxy evolution to the origins of large scale structure in the cosmos. However, almost a century later, scientists still haven’t been able to agree very much on what it is, how it interacts, or why it exists! What they have found is that it gives off no light and barely interacts with anything we are familiar with, so it is extremely challenging to make experimental progress as well, though several international teams are participating in the effort to constrain its possible properties. Discovery of a dark matter candidate particle would represent an overturning of the entire standard model of particle physics as it currently stands!

This class will explore the history of the discovery of dark matter, including various sources of evidence for its existence, and examine the most popular theories explaining it. Join us to find out more about why you should care and why it *matters!*


Prerequisites
There aren't any strict prerequisites, but we will reference intro physics concepts like Newton's Laws of motion & gravity (think F = ma, F = -GMm/r^2), so familiarity with those could be helpful.

Photons are massless particles. Yet, if you manage to put $$1.48\times10^{40}$$ photons with frequency equal to $$9,192,631,770~$$Hz on a weighing scale, you will get a reading of $$1~$$kg. This is the new definition of a kilogram, which replaced the 90%-platinum/10%-iridium alloy sitting in Paris. In this class, we will discuss how the fundamental unit of mass is defined. In particular, we will answer the question: do photons have mass?


Prerequisites
Have learned Newton's laws of motion and trigonometry. Have heard of the concepts of photon, momentum, Planck's constant, and Einstein's mass-energy relationship ($$E=mc^2$$).

Chakras refer to the wheels of energy throughout the body. There are seven main chakras. First chakra starts from the base of the spine and goes through to the crown of the head. ... The name of seven chakra: Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra and the Crown Chakra. We will teach how to activate all the chakras by deep breathing, colors and Chanting Mantras.


Prerequisites
None

You might be wondering how police identify suspects when they find their body fluids at crime scene. This presentation introduces students to basic biology of Short tandem repeats (STRs) and Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs)) used in human identification. Students are familiarized to methods used in the forensic lab: body fluids collection, and identification, extraction and quantification of DNA, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Capillary electrophoresis - Genetic Analyzer, and assessment of DNA type. The presentation also describes students to evaluate DNA typing results of two samples for the comparison. Finally students are introduced to associate the DNA typing results to match the suspect with evidence and determines the true biological father of a child.


Prerequisites
none

Just a few decades ago, the idea of there being planets around stars outside of our Solar System was the stuff of science fiction. But no more. In the last two decades, astrophysicist have discovered thousands of these extrasolar planets (or exoplanets, for short). A large part of this effort has been devoted to determining how many habitable planets - planets that humans, or some other form of life, can live on - exist in the Milky Way Galaxy.

In this class, we'll talk about how astrophysicists find and characterize exoplanets. We'll begin by discussing the famous Drake equation, which can be used to estimate the number of active extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy, and how astrophysicists are working to solve it. We'll then discuss the science behind the different exoplanet detection techniques and how we use them to learn about what planets are made of. Last, we'll discuss how we gather information about exoplanet atmospheres and how that information is used to determine if a planet is habitable - or is already inhabited.


Prerequisites
Knowledge of introductory-level physics and astronomy would be helpful (i.e., Doppler effect; electromagnetic spectrum; Kepler's laws; difference between planets, stars, and galaxies).

Symmetry is a property that we all see in our everyday lives. In physics, however, symmetry is a tool to understand everything in our Universe.
In this course, we'll explore the notion of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking (SSB), where a system spontaneously transforms from being symmetric to being asymmetric. Widely used in particle physics and condensed matter physics, SSB can help us understand how simple outcomes in our world, like a falling pencil, might give rise to parallel universes.


Prerequisites
Think about this question: If a pencil is balanced on its tip and falls, what direction does it fall? Why?

Are you interested in bone health or orthopaedics? Learn the basics in Intro to Orthopaedic Sciences! We will cover neurosciences, biomechanics, bone physiology, and bone health within our 50 minute course. No background knowledge is necessary.


Prerequisites
N/A

What is quantum information and what makes it so special? A new kind of physics called "Quantum Acoustics" seeks to store quantum information within crystal sound waves. This coupling between classical and quantum systems forms a hybrid quantum system.

This course will go over the basic ideas of how quantum information can be carried in a similar way that our every day conversations carry information.


Prerequisites
Algebra

In this lesson, students will be delving into genetics and DNA. The students will first explore natural selection through a simulation, then create a DNA model to learn about the structure of DNA and the pairing of nucleotides. By the end of the lesson, students will have a general understanding of the structure, components, and importance of DNA, as well as how natural selection influences
our genetics.

This course will explore the history and advancements in gene editing technologies, with a particular focus on the CRISPR/Cas9 system, much of which was pioneered on Berkeley's campus. We will also discuss the ethical and social aspects of this ever-evolving field.

What is energy?

This course will give an introduction to energy topics and explore the social, environmental and economic impacts of our carbon-based economy. We depend on energy to fuel our cars and airplanes, grow and transport our food, light our cities, warm our homes, cook our food, and power our machinery, appliances, and electronics. As we continue to deplete our resources (and pollute our air and water in the process), the challenge to satisfy our energy needs continues to mount. How will you respond?

Many believe that the cures to most diseases lie in stem cell science and research, yet others fear repercussions that could forever alter our social conscience and morality. This class takes students on a journey inside the stem cell revolution and its intersection with cardiology., where perspectives from scientists, researchers, policy-makers, and ethicists will challenge students to consider the societal, political, even spiritual implications of this rapidly developing frontier. How do we use stem cells to treat cardiac problems? Let's find out!


Prerequisites
none - a general overview of basic biology recommended, but not required

You know what kidney beans are, but do you know what your kidneys do? Kidneys are one of the most important organs in your body. This course will go over kidney function and how it is relevant to chronic kidney disease or kidney failure. This class functions as both an introduction to physiology course and awareness presentation noting the importance of screening for CKD.

What do 3D movies, LCD screens, and sunglasses have in common? What is polarized light and how can we manipulate polarization?

Join us in for an illuminating presentation on the physics of polarized light: from classical electrodynamics to early quantum theory!

Come learn about the basics of organic chemistry, from it's many applications to how to draw a proper mechanism!


Prerequisites
None

Come learn about, see with your own eyes, and maybe even befriend the incredible water bear! As this miniature beast is the first member of the animal kingdom to successfully survive exposure to outer space, become a model for cutting-edge cryptobiosis research, and recently make news headlines about helping solve the quantum superposition of living organisms paradigm, you might be surprised to learn that the water bear (a transparent microscopic invertebrate with eight legs, claws, and eye spots that belongs to the phylum Tardigrada) can actually be found in virtually any film of water, fresh or marine - even in your backyard. As an oddball of the animal kingdom, you probably won’t learn about tardigrades in your high school biology class, but come learn the little-known history of the phylum (consisting of over 1000 species), how to collect and view the adorable critter on your own with just a few basic tools, and build up your repertoire on the most recent tardigrade research with applications to medicine, molecular biology, systematics, ecology, and even quantum physics. We’ll have virtual demonstrations of live organisms and cool handouts, plus we’ll even talk about ways that YOU can contribute the growing pool of tardigrade knowledge. Before you know it, you’ll be your local water bear expert!

“Resonance” is a concept in physics that ties many aspects of our natural world together, from musical instruments to collapsing bridges. Come learn about the physics of waves, frequencies, and how resonant frequencies affect our everyday life! We will be doing some hands-on data-taking involving wine glasses, thin-necked glass bottles (such as empty beer or wine bottles), and a ruler, but will also be including computer-based activities for anyone who doesn’t have these objects at home.


Prerequisites
Algebra

COVID-19 is a major historical event that will be studied in textbooks as we grow older. This virus crosses international boundaries, affects different groups disproportionately, and has unique social implications for where it rears its head. It is a great case study to be introduced to arguably the most important up-and-coming field - global and public health. In this course, I will cover the major ideas in public health using COVID-19 as a relatable case study.

Have you ever heard of spraying on skin to heal burns or growing a fully functional lung in a lab? Join us to get an overview of stem cells basics and to learn about more of these incredible stem cell applications!

From glow sticks to fireflies to that creepy Nemo anglerfish, things that light up have captured our attention. Have you ever wondered how/why they do that? This course will dive into the concepts of luminescence, focusing on deep sea bioluminescence and its many applications.

The theory of relativity, in its special and general forms, remains a remarkable milestone in human scientific achievement. Demanding a revolutionary, and often unintuitive, way to think about space, time, and our universe, relativity manifests as an extremely elegant geometric theory which can be linked to a variety of physical phenomena, including muon decay, gravitational lensing, and black holes.

Beginning with electromagnetism and the origins of special relativity, this class will then proceed to give both a qualitative and quantitative treatment of the theory of general relativity and all of its glorious implications, triumphs, and remaining mysteries.


Prerequisites
There are no strict prerequisites for this class, although any amount of knowledge of electromagnetism, mechanics, linear algebra, and/or calculus would probably enrich your experience. The biggest prerequisite however is always just curiosity!

This class will give an peak into the mysterious world of insects. It will go over how field of insect study started, the many insects in our world, and how to get started in catching these interesting critters. Because it will be Halloween, we are also diving into the world of spooky looking bugs that will guarantee to give you the frights!

We're back and continuing to apply real science to the most absurd questions we can think of. In the name of fun and also to illustrate the power of human scientific understanding, we'll take a look at a spaceship which moves around by throwing balls out the back and what would happen if we decided to terraform the moon by taking away half of the Earth.

NEW: We're asking you to bring some questions of your own, which we will try to answer live and in real time. We're looking for questions of the form:

1. What would happen if you did X?
2. What would be the best way to do X?
3. How many X would it take to do Y?

We're excited to see what you'll come up with!

From the people who brought you such ridiculous questions as:

What would happen to a planet made of fish?
What would happen to a chicken egg in the Large Hadron Collider?
Could you cook a fish with electric eels?
and
What if you could see x-rays?

What is cosmological inflation and why does anyone believe in it? How does inflation connect the quantum world to the macroscopic one, and how does that relate to the origin of objects such as galaxies, stars and black holes? How can we understand fundamental physics by looking at clues from our cosmological past, and what do these clues suggest for our future? Join us on a joyride through spacetime as we look to the cosmos for answers to some of the most mysterious questions about the universe!

Coaching you to master your finances, time, relationships, and overall health to help you become a well-rounded adult!

The school system does not require a class for students to learn how to live in the real world and function as an adult. We often enter college unprepared to take care of ourselves. Many life skills, including how to develop good habits, manage stress, pay taxes, budget our spending/income, and to live a healthy lifestyle, are necessary, especially when college is the bridge to adulthood. This course will explore the many dimensions of how to successfully adult.

SUKHASANA - EASY POSE--There are some amazing benefits of Sukhasana. It spreads a sense of calm and peace through your mind and body. Your body alignment is improved. Practicing this asana helps elongate your spine.
PADMASANA- ( LOTUS POSE)--The Posture is a power packed hip and heart opener, with numerous physical and spiritual benefits. It is one of the best meditative poses.
VAJRASANA-(THUNDERBOLT OR DIAMOND POSE)-It Strengthens pelvic muscles by changing the flow of blood and nerve impulses the pelvic region. It improves the whole digestive tract, relieves
stomach disorders such as acidity and peptic ulcer.
KAPAL BHARTI-(FIRE OF BREATH) -It Helps in Weight loss,Mental Agility,Blood Circulation,Enhances beauty, Healthy body organs,Stress relief. It lights up your life.
TULASANA-(BALANCE / SCALE POSE)-Strengthens your arms, wrists, and upper body region. Makes your shoulders strong.
Relaxes muscles and calm the mind. increases the sense of balance. It includes tightening the abs and bring out a rigid stomach. The muscles of your abdomen are pulled up tight and thus lungs show sign of improvement.


Prerequisites
Any one is eligible for taking this class. There are no prerequisites required for this class as the class is for Beginners.

The world needs a new generation of passionate leaders that can inspire and spark positive change. YOU are that leader! Learn essential leadership traits and qualities that you can use and apply to any job position, team environment, or even write about in your UC Personal Insight Questions. You will learn about your own leadership style while also finding ways to maximize your leadership opportunities within your community. Have some fun while also becoming a better leader!!

Applying to the UCs and college in general can be difficult and often times scary. Come join a student advisor from UC Berkeley's Office of Undergraduate Admissions who's excited to help navigate the UC application with any high school student interested in applying!

You'll gain tips and tricks about the application, learn about how college life is, and hear my story as a UC Berkeley student.

In our dreary and pandemic addled world, adventure and heroism feel like things we watch, read, or hear about, but seldom live out. We live not the lives of dashing fighters, devious sorcerers, and swashbuckling rogues but of usually mundane and hopefully safe humans, doing our best in a messy and minutia-filled world. But fear not--for we can come together and bring our most fantastical dreams to life through the game of Dungeons and Dragons, with the aid of some inspired imagination and the rolls of some many sided polyhedral dice.
In this class, we will briefly discuss what Dungeons and Dragons is and how to play, sticking to the big ideas and leaving the details for another day. Then, giving each student a character, we will play a quick and likely Halloween themed adventure. (I’ll handle the game mechanics to let players stick to creativity and character). Perhaps as a raging barbarian with a side penchant for poetry, you will do the only thing you know how when confronted with the dying of the light. Or your frontier-hardened ranger’s kleptomaniacal streak will earn her some trouble with a coven of ever plotting witches. Or, as a warm and charming warlock, you’ll be content with your lot in life--though the powerful being you struck a deal with for your arcane powers may feel differently. And perhaps your adventures will teach you something about heroism, teamwork, and adventure along the way. There’s no limit to the tales you’ll forge in D&D, so come join us!

Applying to the UCs and college in general can be difficult and often times scary. Come join two student advisors from UC Berkeley's Office of Undergraduate Admissions who are excited to help navigate the UC application with any high school student interested in applying!

You'll gain tips and tricks about the application, learn about how college life is, and hear our story as UC Berkeley students!


Prerequisites
None!

Have you ever stopped in a grocery aisle, awed by the overwhelming selection of pasta shapes in front of you? Is it your personal quest to eat as much pasta as you can in a single lifetime? For you carb lovers out there, this class will cover the ABCs of pasta, from its mysterious origins, the vast array of pasta shapes available, to the best ways to prepare and consume your next Italian meal.

With the COVID-19 Pandemic changing our lives completely, NBA league commissioner Adam Silver has been forced to change how the league operates to follow safety guidelines. Let's talk about the changes made, the past of the NBA, and have a discussion about the NBA right now!

People come from all different paths of life. Come, learn, and share your life experiences. After we hear from each other's experiences, I want to introduce you to how people with disabilities (learning, physical, social, etc) have to adapt to society's norms.

How can we make a difference in things we are passionate about? How can we change the norm and make a better future for generations to come?

The goal of this class is to listen to stories and potentially find new passions that you see yourself in the future making a difference in.

In this workshop, a life coach will guide you to think about how to design your life to be meaningful and fulfilling. What's your self-vision? How do you want to grow yourself? Understand your motivations, create the right design, and execute your plan. Learn how to overcome mental barriers and self-imposed limitations along the way.

Disabilities can be seen or unseen. But with so much cultural stigma surrounding disability, you almost never get all of the information you need.

Did you know that you are (legally) entitled to accommodations in order to succeed in class?

Did you know that the disabled community has been involved in every civil rights movement?.

Come learn all the tips and tricks you can't Google--and what specific things you can.

This course aims to build a deeper understanding of the current issues and injustices in tech, explore educational and industry initiatives to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion, empower students to use their voices and personal perspectives to challenge current realities of tech, and prepare students for futures in tech by encouraging them to explore their passion.

Through this course, you will be able to learn about ways to better manage your finances! From budgeting to credit cards, the class will give students an overview of ways to take ownership of money instead of the other way around. This course aims to equip students with basic knowledge on managing finance, student loans, different financial services, etc.

Unsure of where you want to go to college or if you even want to go to college at all? Do you have questions about college that you're too scared to ask because it feels like everyone around you already knows what's going on? I did too. Come join us for a discussion about your options post-high school! Any question is a good question, let's figure them out together. This class will cover topics about financing college, effective studying tips, figuring out your major, college-exclusive opportunities, and much more!