Organic chemistry is aesthetically unique among the physical sciences because it demands an artist's creativity and a scientist's logic to create vast arrays of complex and beautiful molecular structures from a set of simple chemical building blocks. Like math with pictures, organic chem challenges us to combine knowledge of physical laws with spatial reasoning to solve complex problems like designing drugs, plastics, explosives, and other surprising molecules we come in contact with every day. This class will cover the basics of organic chem from drawing Lewis structures to sketching perfect benzene hexagons and chair conformations, stereochemistry, arrow-pushing mechanisms, nucleophilic substitution/addition syntheses, cool stuff with electrophilic aromatic substitution, and more! By the end of the class, students will be able to use forward and retrosynthetic techniques to plan the synthesis of cool molecules like TNT, caffeine, and common drugs from a toolbox of standard organic molecules. Additionally, we will look at how creative syntheses can make targets more efficiently and compare some of the most beautiful organic molecules to famous works of art. Students should be familiar with general chemistry and enjoy puzzle solving and art. We may have craft sessions with painting and do some in-class molecule building with toothpicks and gumdrops, plus other games and activities to improve our spatial reasoning and chemical intuition!

Ever wonder how astronomers came up with the Big Bang Theory? Or how we can predict how the universe will end? Everything we know about space comes from electromagnetic radiation - aka light! We'll start from the basics of what light is, how it works, and how spectroscopy lets astronomers experiment on supermassive objects billions of miles away. Then we'll talk about what we've learned so far: how the universe began, how stars die, and how planets are born. Come learn how a rainbow lets us see inside the sun, look back in time, and fast forward into the future!