Classes

This course is a conversational Spanish course intended for teens and adults interested in improving fluency. Some previous Spanish instruction or knowledge is required. Conversation circles, study of verb conjugations and tenses in addition to reading Spanish short stories, novels and are a part of this class.

This course will be a continuation from Justin Duffy's Welcome to Physics Fall 2011 class. It will focus on mathematics within physics and will review and reinforce concepts learned in the first semester. This course will survey a wide variety of topics within the realm of physics with an emphasis on strengthening math skills as we go. There are so many interesting things going on in this universe and with a little math and a little science, we can unravel many of their inner workings.

Think Tank will be offering math tutoring services on Thursdays from 12-2pm. Cost is $10 for any period of time from 12-2pm. MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences) graduate students (all with backgrounds in math and science) will be available as volunteers for this service. Please contact us via phone or email  if you or your child are interested to ensure availability and get details. This will run Feb. 2nd till April 6th.

*This workshop will cost $5 for students who are already enrolled in at least one other Think Tank class.

*Additional math tutors are

The beginners improv acting class is open to anyone, regardless of prior acting experience. If you have acting experience and want to develop and learn the skill required to do great improv acting, this may be a great place to start. In order to perform improv acting, there are several important structures that must be understood and rules that must be followed. The result of this is a framework where spontaneity and humor result. In spite of how it looks, improv acting is not at all a free form method of acting.

This class will cover topics in biology regularly covered in a college freshman course. Life chemistry, cells, respiration, photosynthesis, plant form and function, animal form and function, human physiology, ecology, evolution, hereditary and molecular genetics. This class will run in two ways:

Option A: One class per week: Students will come to class once a week for a 2.5 hr class. The class will cover all topics above in the format of lecture and discussion with one laboratory.

Option B: Two classes per week: Students will come to the class listed above and one additional class.

The history of flight and space travel is deeply embedded in the narrative of 20th Century political history and scientific progress. We will examine World War I, World War II, and the Cold War through the lens of aviation and rocketry, with particular emphasis on the US/Soviet "Space Race". We will also discuss the scientific achievements of space exploration and future space endeavors. Students will be challenged to construct their own interpretations from a variety of primary, secondary and digital sources and conduct their own research with the assistance of the instructor. We will learn

This class will give students a foundation in atomic structure, chemical reactions, states of matter and gas laws. Understanding pH, density, chromatography, enzyme activation and measuring molar volume will be evaluated and discussed using laboratories. Topics in biochemistry and environmental science will be introduced frequently to correlate class material with practical world and human biological applications.

Graduate students from Mass. College of Pharmaceutical Health Sciences will be assisting these classes and be available for tutoring at $10/hr with attendance to this class.

The science of unraveling crime! Students will practice and discuss aspects of observation and perception, as well as learn techniques in chemistry to work through a series of unsolved crimes. How do different witness perspectives change over  turmoil and time? What is DNA sequencing and how does finding hair or blood on a scene help forensic scientists come to more accurate conclusions on suspects? How do detectives collect evidence and determine actions and behaviors of victims before their time of death?

In this course we will build on the foundation begun in our first 14 weeks of Revolutions and Constitutions. Using The Story of the World, vol. 3 as a springboard we will examine the lives of the people and nations whose identities and national histories were formed between 1776 and 1812. Another very useful source for this period is The History of Us, vols. 2 & 3 by Joy Hakim, Oxford University Press. We will spend considerable time studying the American founding and learning about the form of government that is unique to our nation.