Science & Math
Winter/Spring Semester 2012, PreK Through 12th Grade
A MATHAMATICAL SAMPLER Cancelled
What do mathematicians really do? We'll study some topics that intrigue them including arithmetic on clocks, symmetry, games, graphs, knots and chance. Learn how to create divisibility rules using clock arithmetic. Explore the symmetry of a triangle and find out what that has to do with rearranging three objects. Find out how to pick the shortest routes using graph theory, the strange rules of chance, and more in this eight week course.
Topics:
- Using clock arithmetic to understand and create divisibility rules
- Compare the symmetries of the triangle and the square to permutations of objects.
- Using graph theory to find efficient paths.
- Games cooperative and non-cooperative.
- Knots.
- How to count efficiently.
- Triangles whose angles do not sum to 180o and strange π's.
- The surprising world of probability.
Instructor: Dr. Michael Klucznik earned his Ph.D in Mathematics from Brandeis University, his M.A. in Medical Sciences from Harvard, and his B.A. in Biology from Harvard. Locally he has offered classes through OMSI and Saturday Academy and he is on sabbatical from St. Bonaventure University.
6th-8th Grades
January 30-March 19 (7 classes,10.5 hours, no class February 20)
Mondays, 3:00 - 4:30
Location: Middle School Artemis
Min/Max enrollment: 5/10
Cost: $145
ALL ABOUT TRAINS! New class!
All Aboard! Come explore the wonderful world of Trains. This class will take a brief look at the history of railroading in America. Students will learn the difference between standard and narrow gauge track. We will study steam, diesel, and electric powered locomotion. Students will also look at different freight cars and what they are used for. We will spend a day learning all about signals and incorporate songs and stories along the way.
Instructor: Liz Brown
K-4 Grades
April 16-May 21 (6 classes)
Mondays, 3:00 - 4:00
Location: Scott House, Room 14
Min/Max enrollment: 5/12
Cost: $100
DECIMAL NUMBER SYSTEM
Our decimal number system is a unique number world based on only ten digits, but able to perform an infinite number of mathematical operations. In this class, students will be guided to look at place value from inside and outside of our decimal system. We’ll explore what makes this system unique by comparing it to other systems like Roman Numerals, the Babylonian System based on the number sixty, and the Binary System. Along the way, we’ll play with specific types of numbers within our decimal number system, such as natural numbers, prime numbers, and square numbers.
Instructor Christine Dreier has taught math and tutored math students for the past fifteen years.
5th-6th Grades
April 4-May 23 (8 classes)
Wednesdays, 3:00-4:00
Location: Middle School Hercules Room
Min/Max enrollment: 5/12
Cost: $115
INSECT SAFARI
Come explore the great outdoors! Our campus has a variety of life through out with each area being its own special habitat. Each class will include a story, a craft, and an exploration of insects in our area. Students will learn the difference between a bug and an insect, and see how influential these small creatures can be. Students will track their findings in a journal, and have lots of fun learning about the little friends who share our days with us.
Instructor: Liz Brown
K-2 Grades
April 13-May 11
(5 classes)
Fridays, 3:00 - 4:00
Location: Scott House, Room 14
Min/Max enrollment: 5/12
Cost: $90
MAD SCIENCE: JUNIOR SPACE CADETS: New class!
Calling all cosmonauts! Here’s your chance to fly through the galaxy with the greatest of ease! Travel to the farthest corner of the universe and walk around on undiscovered planets without the hassle of putting on a space suit! Create Space Phenomena in the lab, such as asteroids and meteorites. Explore gravity. Make a lunar eclipse and experience other amazing outer space concepts.
Kindergarten-2nd Grade
February 6-March 19 (6 classes, no class Feb. 20)
Monday, 3:00–4:00
Location: Scott House, Room 14
Min/max enrollment: 12/16 students
Cost: $100
SPACE-TIME Cancelled
Soon after Einstien created his special relativity, his former calculus teacher Hermann Minkowski created a geometry that mathematically explained it in terms of symmetries. We'll use his spacetime diagrams to understand the loss of simultaneity and why moving clocks run slow and moving rulers are short. We'll explain the changes with a modified Pythagorean Theorem. We'll find out how to fit a 75 foot pole into a 50 foot barn. And last, we'll see how Einstein concluded that E=mc2 from the structure of space.
Instructor: Dr. Michael Klucznik earned his Ph.D in Mathematics from Brandeis University, his M.A. in Medical Sciences from Harvard, and his B.A. in Biology from Harvard. Locally he has offered classes through OMSI and Saturday Academy and he is on sabbatical from St. Bonaventure University.
9th-12th Grades
January 30-March 19 (7 classes,10.5 hours, no class February 20)
Mondays, 4:30 - 6:00
Location: Middle School Artemis
Min/Max enrollment: 5/10
Cost: $145
THINGS THAT GO! New class!
From cars to airplanes- this class is an exploration of the many modes of transportation. Learn about planes, trains, boats, automobiles and more! We will explore basic design, the physics of flight, wheels & axles, balance, and propulsion. Each class includes a story and a craft.
Instructor: Liz Brown
K-2 Grades
February 3-March 23 (6 classes, no class Feb. 10 & 17)
Fridays, 3:00 - 4:00
Location: Scott House, Room 14
Min/Max enrollment: 5/12
Cost: $100
