by Alec Resnick
Sprout is an educational nonprofit which is starting up
its first big season of programs in the next few weeks.
You can find a full listing at the programs;theprograms
as well as more information about their open studios in
Davis Square ourstudios. What follows are some short
descriptions of their math- and science-focused programs
appropriate for both youth and adults in the area.
Significant financial support is available, so if you'd
like to make arrangements (or if you have any other
questions), feel free to email Alec Resnick at
alec@thesprouts.org.
- EXPLORING MATH THROUGH COMPUTATION, AND VICE VERSA
turtlegeometry is a thirteen-week, hands-on seminar
exploring how we can actively and personally explore
questions of computer science, topology, and
differential geometry using the programming languages
Ruby, Processing, and Scratch. In particular, this
course will focus on exploring and unifying the
aesthetic and computational aspects of these fields.
No formal background in computer science or math beyond
basic comfort with algebra is required. There will be
three tracks: one for educators and parents, one for youth,
and one for a general audience. Email Alec at
alec@thesprouts.org; if you have any questions or check
out the seminar site turtlegeometry; for more details.
- ECOMODDING YOUR HOME eventbrite is a two month
seminar focused on identifying and implementing simple
strategies to reduce electricity consumption. In this
seminar, we'll use a special power strip developed at
sprout. This power strip enables you to see how and
when your appliances use electricity and ensure they
only use electricity when you want them to--whether
that means turning off your TV's standby mode
while you're at work or dimming your lamp when its
sunny outside. This is accomplished by programming
the microcontrollers which control the power strip--
a skill participants will be introduced to through
this seminar. No background in electronics or
programming is required.
- FLUTES AND WAVES flutesandwaves is a weekend
workshop in which participants will build their own
flutes and begin to explore the acoustical qualities
of those instruments. Interested participants will
have the chance to exlpore how their flute design
affects their instrument's acoustics using a spectrum
analyzer and working to understand the underlying
physics of what's going on inside the flute.
Instrument design is an amazing mix of craft and
science--despite how much we know, we don't know
much about how the finer points of instruments'
sound work. This is a two-day workshop and studio
(10AM-4PM on two, consecutive Saturdays) exploring
how flutes are made, and how their design controls
what sorts of sounds they can make. This workshop
is appropriate for people coming at it from the
musical, acoustical, or simply interested perspectives.
Email shaunalynn@thesprouts.org if you have any
questions.
- DIGITAL GARDENING dg.eventbrite is a one day
workshop coordinated by Keith Simmons, co-designer
of the Wireplant microcontroller kit. Hosted at the
MIT Museum, this workshop leads participants through
the basic electronics and practical skills needed
to understand and assemble an Arduino-controlled
moisture sensor which lets you explore sensing
and measurement in gardening.
- SIMULATION AND NATURE IN DESIGN nervous.eventbrite
is a thirteen-week, project-driven seminar exploring
how computation and simulation can be used to take
inspiration from the processes and phenomena of the
natural world to produce physical and virtual
objects. Facilitated by Jesse Louis-Rosenberg
(co-founder of the Nervous System n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com
design studio), this seminar will explore how we can
understand natural forms—from leaf venation
to the growth of coral—with computational tools.
Email jesse@n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com if you have any
questions or check out the seminar site
n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/education for more details.
No comments:
Post a Comment