Modeled off the most popular class in Yale history, this class will explore how to use psychology to live the happiest life possible. We will discuss how our mind lies to us about what makes us happy, and we will discover what we can actually do to live our happiest lives.

Student Reviews:
"Thank you for such an awesome and impactful class! I've looked forward to all three weeks and it has definitely increased my happiness/well-being:)"

"This class by FAR was my favorite class @ Sprout and definitely had a HUGE impact on me. Inspirational."

Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside your brain that allows you to develop different emotions and thoughts while listening to music or playing an instrument? Are you also potentially interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare field? In this class, we will discuss the impact of music on the human brain, and more specifically, how it affects the brain during illness and injury- on both a psychological and biological level. You will also learn how important it is to treat a patient as a whole, or in other words, how to establish an emotional connection with people, something that is not taught directly in school. Through videos, group discussions, and interactive activities, you will learn how music positively impacts the brain, and how it exemplifies a critical method in not only being able to connect with others on a deep emotional level, but also, aid in the rate of recovery from illness or injury. In addition, you will be taught how to apply this information to your own everyday life, so that you can improve your future interactions with all people, whether or not you go into health care.

The first class in this workshop will cover some important questions: what is stress? what is mindfulness? how can mindfulness be used as a tool to overcome stress?

In the two follow-up classes, we will explore specifically how smartphones and social media are changing the way we think and making it more important than ever that we carve out space in our days to reflect, relax, and pay attention to the world around us. Through group discussion, fun exercises, and meditation, we will provide some helpful tools and tricks that you can all use to become more mindful digital citizens. Please join us if you are interested in learning more about the mind and media; this class if perfect for anyone looking to reduce stress, improve emotional well-being, and practice living in the present!

Public speaking is one of the most useful tools you can have—especially as a kid! Whether you need to convince your parents to let you hang out with friends or deliver a presentation in front of a class, knowing how to craft an argument and deliver a speech is key!

In this Sprout course, you will write speeches and become a skilled public speaker—like Martin Luther King Jr. or George Washington! We will learn about current events and debate issues that affect our society, such as healthcare and climate change. You'll learn how to speak eloquently about a whole range of topics—from basketball to your favorite pair of socks!

As computers play an ever-increasing role in our day-to-day lives, coding is becoming a more and more valuable skill to have. Coding has a very wide variety of applications in many different fields, and it's actually not as difficult to pick up as most people would think.

This class will introduce you to the easy and popular programming language of Python. We'll get you up to speed and writing programs as soon as possible, without worrying too much about the nitty gritty.


Prerequisites
None!

Does politics ever seem crazy to you? Do you overhear your parents, teachers, or celebrities talk about current events and not understand what's going on? In this class, we'll look at a range of topics being discussed in America in 2019, the facts at hand, and some of the (bad) arguments popular figures are making.

We'll explore logical fallacies, bad (but sometimes effective) arguing styles, as well as how to make a good argument. We'll also review what topics politicians are debating in New Haven, in Connecticut, and across the country.

When you leave this class, I hope you'll know a little bit more about the country, realize when someone is trying to trick you, and find an issue you're passionate about!

In this introductory course on moral philosophy, we'll look at ethics questions both in the abstract and through their real-life applications in politics, economics, and medicine. For example:

-Terrorists have kidnapped you and sentenced you to death by torture. Do you want your government to negotiate for your release?
-Your contributions to society are valued at $300,000/year while I am paid a mere $3,000 for mine. We both need the same organ transplant. Who should get it?
-I smoke cigarettes and shave 5 years off my lifespan. After I die, my friend quits smoking and lives an extra 6 years. Was my death worth it?
-Your close relative just blew up a building causing dozens of deaths. Do you turn them in to the police?

This class will be seminar-style, so get excited for a lively discussion and get ready to play the devil's advocate!

An eye for an eye? A head for an eye? Thirty years for an eye?

In this seminar-style class, we will look at the ways in which justice was served (or not served) at various points in history. We'll also consider hypothetical cases to explore some "side effects" of our judicial process. Some of the topics we'll be discussing:

-the Nuremberg trials and the idea of victor's justice
-Blackstone's formulation: "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer"
-incentive structures behind plea bargaining and "flipping"
-insanity, impossibility, lawful capacity, and lesser harm defenses
-trial by fire and systems of justice in pre-modern times
-societal functions of courts/prisons and their actors (lawyer, jury, executioner)

If there is anything else that particularly interests you, feel free to bring it up in class or email the teacher ahead of time!

Learn the basics of American Sign Language!

Should two suspects of a serious crime both stay silent or confess? If one person wants to go to see a movie, and the other wants to go to a concert, where should each go? Believe it or not, these real-world problems can be solved using simple math and strategy! The process by which these problems are solved is called Game Theory. Each of the games we will study has at least two players and can be anything from video games to competitions with friends. If you are interested in learning how to beat your opponents with the power of your very own mind, sign up for The World of Game Theory!


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of algebra is recommended.

Interested in entrepreneurship or business? Or simply want a unique perspective on challenges people face? This course focuses on some important skills and tools actually utilized by many entrepreneurs: the BMC, or the business model canvas, which effectively maps your business plan; human centered design thinking, which addresses the problem of engineering in a vacuum; and pitching through presenting on a hypothetical coffee startup.

The human body is amazingly complex. In this course, we will briefly explore the brain, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems to develop a better understanding of and appreciation for basic anatomy and physiology.


Prerequisites
Knowledge of general science

Why should you learn about chemical reactions? Simply because it is involved in every aspect of your daily life! You get your energy from food through chemical reactions, you bake through a reaction, and you start a fire again with a chemical reaction! This class will teach you all about chemistry using fun demos and interactive projects!

Are you in search of a way to relax, and embrace your creative side? Would you like to multitask while watching your favorite TV shows? Do need something to do to kill the time on long car rides? Consider picking up a new hobby: crocheting!

In this course, students will learn the very basics of crocheting: chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet. After we get the basics down, we will use these skills to make a cute crocheted infinity scarf. A pattern will be provided so that students can finish up their projects on their own. Prior crocheting experience is not required.


Prerequisites
No prior experience is necessary, as we will be going over the basics, but past experience will be helpful for completing the project.

Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside your brain that allows you to develop different emotions and thoughts while listening to music or playing an instrument? Are you also potentially interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare field? In this class, we will discuss the impact of music on the human brain, and more specifically, how it affects the brain during illness and injury- on both a psychological and biological level. You will also learn how important it is to treat a patient as a whole, or in other words, how to establish an emotional connection with people, something that is not taught directly in school. Through videos, group discussions, and interactive activities (you'll get to use an EEG, which is a device you put on your head to measure brain waves), you will learn how music positively impacts the brain, and how it exemplifies a critical method in not only being able to connect with others on a deep emotional level, but also, aid in the rate of recovery from illness or injury. In addition, you will be taught how to apply this information to your own everyday life, so that you can improve your future interactions with all people, whether or not you go into health care.

In response to the climate and plastic crisis worldwide, one of the first things we ask ourselves is "What can I do to help?" It can feel impossible to put an end to both of these challenges, but what if I told you it all starts with you? How do the little decisions we make every day contribute to the issues we're trying to solve?

This class will look at climate change, plastic pollution, and tips on what you can do to make a difference.

We will examine various studies related to the principle of linguistic relativity—that is, the notion that a language's structure and vocabulary affect how its speakers perceive the world. Ultimately, we will discuss how linguistic relativity is relevant to modern society.

Please visit: https://www.ryansandler.com/teaching/linguistic-relativity

"It really made me think about language and how it works in a way I didn't know existed. All of the studies were relevant and very interesting, and I left the classroom thinking in a different manner than I had before ... truly a great experience! Made me excited to go to college and take courses similar to this one!"

"The sheer amount of knowledge the instructor possessed on the topic at hand and all of the examples really helped to key into the broad topics which are very complex."

Learn simple folds and techniques for crafting origami figures!

What is archaeology? Why is it important today? These are the questions that people often ask when faced with the idea of archaeology. In this class, we will explore the basic concepts and foundations of archaeology and archaeological science. We'll talk about the history of archaeology, from it's very beginnings in antiquarianism in Europe to the science that it is today.

This course introduces the practice of using mindfulness to work through stress. Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, and students will be shown how utilize this process in the reduction of their stress as well as throughout their lives.


Prerequisites
none

Verbal, hands-on, or both at once?

These are the types of problems you'll face when you walk into this classroom—working collaboratively with your classmates, you'll be solving challenges ranging from building a tower that has to hold weight to naming as many things as you can that you can catch!

And speaking of catches, the catch with these problems is that you must be as creative as possible. The obvious answer isn't always the best one, so come and learn how to funnel your inner creativity into being spontaneous!

One of my favorite parts of going to see a new Pixar movie in theaters is always the short film that comes first. Poignant and full of creativity they capture some of life's most vibrant moments. In this class we will watch, compare, and discuss some of Disney's most famous Pixar short films, thinking about themes of identity and family and how they deliver these memorable moral lessons through the medium of short film.

We use computers every day, but most of us do not have any idea of how they actually work. Most people probably think they are too complicated to even try to understand. In reality, two fairly simple concepts account for 99 percent of what computers do!

We will cover these two concepts - binary numbers and logic operations - and explain the ways in which they are implemented in computers to store and manipulate information.


Prerequisites
None. We will be building all concepts from the ground up.

Take a whirlwind tour of the animal kingdom and learn about fascinating experiments that reveal how animals think and feel. You'll never look at octopi, bumblebees, dogs, or many other cool creatures the same way again.

Experience fruit as you've never experienced it before. This class will engage the senses to taste, draw, and write about fruits both new and familiar. Whether you love many fruits or none, come to learn about food and have some fun! Eating is NOT required, though you will have the option to eat if you so choose.

NOTE: Those with food allergies should email yalesprout@gmail.com before enrolling in this class.

Story time!
Come explore the wonderful world of German fairy tales and children's literature- from the Grimm Brothers to Heinrich Hoffmann. We'll read stories and try out writing a German fairy tale of our own!

Mental rigor! Bodily movement! Laughter!
In Brief: Everything you need to become acquainted with the joys of juggling. Instruction. Balloons. A complementary set of juggling balls.

In Philosophyspeak: Too often we pass the days doing, mindlessly, permutations of things we already know how to do. Walking. Talking. Reading. Interacting with our cellular devices. Does this sound familiar? If so, we invite you to break from this cycle by engaging with something completely unfamiliar: the world of juggling. It's a surprisingly meditative experience, sure to test the hardest mental faculties, and, more importantly, to give you the tools to introduce spontaneity and fun wherever you go.

Have you ever wondered what makes living things different from nonliving things? At what point does something stop being alive and become dead? This class will primarily focus on discussion of examples that reveal the ambiguity behind the seemingly obvious categories of alive and not alive. Examples will primarily be drawn from biology, especially microbiology, but will also include computer viruses.

The goal of this class is to allow students to think critically about the way categories are defined and what gets ignored during classification. Additionally, students will learn about some cool bacteria and viruses.

Come to learn about how Engineers Without Borders designs and implements projects to increase access to clean water around the world! Lesson includes hands-on demonstration of "contaminated" water, and a bridge building competition using marshmallows and pretzels.

School (and life!) can be challenging. What have psychologists found out about staying mentally healthy? What can you do in your day-to-day life to promote your happiness and flourishing? The growth of "positive psychology" since the late 1990s has given us invaluable insights into how to maximise our wellbeing and manage stress. In this class, we'll learn what science says about how to thrive. The goal is for you to walk away with tools to enjoy more good days and help you through bad ones. Life in middle school is, of course, about more than just grades and academics - your mental health matters too!


Prerequisites
No need to prepare - just come ready for some friendly and relaxed discussion.

We will discuss what are known as "The Seven Sins of Memory" in psychology.

Students will be introduced to a few key concepts of refugees in America, will use an online simulation to experience the life of a refugee, and will write letters to refugees registered with IRIS in New Haven.

We will use logic to figure out the winning strategies for some simple games. (...and the only obstacle to solving more complex games will be that there is insufficient time in a Sprout class)

Over 100 acres of tropical rainforest are destroyed every minute. Reckless deforestation threatens biodiversity, drives climate change, and violates the rights of indigenous peoples. Tropical ecosystems provide many services, such as trapping harmful air pollutants, producing oxygen, filtering water, serving as habitat for wildlife, and supporting the livelihoods of countless individuals. If society does not adopt a more sustainable approach to forest management, we will feel devastating consequences in the near future. This course will provide a survey of basic ecological concepts, modern forestry policy, sustainable alternatives, and international conservation efforts. Students will develop a strong appreciation for tropical forests and a greater awareness of the ecological devastation that is occurring around the world.

Strategies for looking on the bright side, reducing stress and remaining optimistic. We will talk through different practices like thank you-note writing, positivity journaling and cognitive behavioral therapy that can increase the tranquility in your life. We will also have fun activities like yoga, dance and meditation. Growing up can be tough but with some reframing, you can make the most of it!

Bitcoin is an electronic currency based on math. We will give a brief overview of its history and purpose, then discuss how the technology works.

For example, we'll discuss:
- the philosophy of money
- hashing
- digital signatures
- Bitcoin mining

How and why are the rhinoceros species decreasing worldwide? Not only will students learn foundational facts about the giant animal but they will also learn why poaching occurs. Current solutions and conservation initatives will be described, as well as misconceptions regarding the crisis.

Students will become rhino experts by the end of the class, able to confidently proclaim "rhiNO to poaching!" The class will be taught by a first-year Yalie who conducted research on dehorned rhinos in a South African rhino reserve.


Prerequisites
If you cannot handle a FEW pictures of poached/dead rhinos/animals, you are not advised to take this class. Other than that, EAGERNESS and an open mind is recomended! Animal lovers are especially encouraged to enroll!

Have you ever wondered about what part of the brain your memory is in? Have you ever wondered where your emotions come from? The brain controls every move you make, every breath you take, and everything you see, hear and touch. It is the most complex and important organ in the body, but one of the least understood. This class will cover many of the different areas of the brain and their functions. We will talk about how you come to see, hear, feel and remember things. Hopefully through this class, students will begin to understand how the entire world that they perceive around them is represented in their own heads.

This course is about Latin language, Roman history, and how they show up in our world. We have tons of words that come from Latin, and Roman culture has influenced Western culture in so many ways.


Prerequisites
None

In the United States, we have an incredibly complex system of voting for the highest office in the nation. The Electoral College was created by the founders with certain intentions, but has a troubled and sometimes confusing history.

In this class, I will explain *exactly* what the Electoral College is and the times it has delivered a strange outcome. We'll discuss some practical and ideological problems with it in 2019 as well as proposed solutions. You'll leave this class with a firm understanding of how we vote for President (which most Americans don't have!) as well as a greater appreciation for the Constitution and our democracy.

I am keeping the class size small so that this confusing topic can be explained thoroughly. Beginners and those with no understanding of politics are welcome!

Come listen to catchy Bollywood tunes and try out some fun dance moves! We'll be learning basic Bollywood dance moves and putting them into practice as we learn a dance from start to finish! Mango Lassi served as a refreshment! Everyone is welcome, no experience needed.

PLEASE NOTE: This class will start 15 minutes early (at 9:45am) to allow for time to walk to the dance studio. If you enroll, please arrive to sign in no later than 9:30am and please meet in the classroom that will be listed on your schedule no later than 9:45am.


Prerequisites
Wear clothes that you can easily and comfortably dance in.

This course combines math, history/social studies, and maybe even music to tell the story of the tradition of the birthday celebration. Why do we celebrate them, and how did birthday traditions originate in different cultures? Also, your two instructors have the same birthday! What are the odds? This is a mathematical (probability-related) problem called The Birthday Problem, and we will also show you what it is and why we can predict the likelihood of sharing a birthday with someone in a random group of people.

Together, we will briefly look at the pantheon of Greek gods, each of whom has a unique personality, and then see how ancient Greeks' belief in the gods differs from our own ideas and experience of religion.

This course uses comic books, movies, and video games in order to explain the fundamentals of science.

Meet one the lesser-known heroes of Iceland's Viking Age: Finnbogi the Mighty. Abandoned at birth, Finnbogi survives to become one of the strongest men in Iceland. Follow him on his path to greatness as he wrestles magical monsters, feuds with one of Iceland's most powerful families, and single-handedly reduces the bear population of Norway. Will Finnbogi's feats of superhuman strength earn him the fame and fortune that the saga's author thinks he deserves? Or will the schemes of lesser men bring our hero down? Find out as we cover the Saga of Finnbogi the Mighty!

Join us as we tell the tale of a crafty Icelandic viking, Ref the Sly. Follow our hero as he outwits sinister agents of the Norwegian king. Will his cunning plans and ingenious inventions be enough to thwart his enemies? Find out as we cover the Saga of Ref the Sly!

In this class, we'll walk through the creation of electronic dance music using topics in physics and math. The course will explore the ways in which concepts from science drive music production, building off of a single sample to create the different elements which make up a song.

Come learn about the history and culture of the islands of Hawaii. We will discuss geography, language, traditions, and anything else you're interested in! We will also learn a little bit about the hula, the traditional dance of the Hawaiian people. Aloha!


Prerequisites
Positive attitude and open mindedness!

Do you want to see the future? I'll teach you how! In this class, we'll think through some fun "thought experiments" involving super fast trains, falling elevators, and traveling to faraway planets. Through our experiments, we'll learn about the wacky nature of time and space -- and the fundamental concepts of relativity as discovered by Einstein.


Prerequisites
No prior physics experience required! However, you should be familiar with the Pythagorean theorem.

This class will be an introduction to the a capella genre of singing. As well as learning about the history and different styles of a cappella music around the country and at Yale,—how we got from the chapel to Pitch Perfect—we'll go over some tips and tricks for singing and break up into parts to learn a whole a capella arrangement together.


Prerequisites
Musical experience is preferred, but not required. No need to know how to read sheet music.

What makes America the most violent developed country in the world? What role is played by the ease of access to guns? Why have certain gun policy proposals gained the support of over 90% of Americans, but failed to pass in Congress?

This is a crash course in gun policy that will touch on topics in public policy, criminology, and sociology. Students will be encouraged to discuss problems and propose solutions, and will be taught to critically examine data and their own preconceptions.

What is entropy? Is it disorder? Information? Randomness? Heat? The answer depends on who you ask. But it also depends on what you're asking about! If you’ve ever wondered why your eggs never unscramble, or why you’ve never found yourself breathless as all the air never spontaneously moves to one side of the room, this is a great class for you! The laws of physics can run backwards and forwards, but time only marches one way. In this class, we will gain insight into “irreversibility” by understanding how time disfavors the improbable! Through discussion and demonstrations, we will gain insight into the many applications of the concept of entropy, and clarify the different notions of this idea which arise in different areas of physics and chemistry. The class will work to introduce concepts. Comfort with mathematical ideas (logarithms, summation, and factorials, for example) is useful for deeper understanding, though not necessary.

This will be a qualitative introduction to relativity. We'll start by discussing some of the experiments that motivated Einstein to develop this theory, and then move on to the implications of special and general relativity, including time dilation, length contraction, the equivalence principle, and the curvature of spacetime. Beware: while there will be very little math (if any) in this course, the concepts discuss will be quite complicated and potentially confusing.

What do you know about Islam?
What do Muslims believe?
What is the Qur'an?
In this class, we will have a basic knowledge of Islam and Muslims, the world's second largest religious group. We will learn the major tenets and themes of Islam in the historical context.

Want to improve your writing? Ever wonder how something you've read just seems to flow like your favorite song? In this class we won't talk about perfecting your writing but about the art of writing: how to make sentences into songs through syntax and clever word choice. We'll debate the purpose of writing and what the goal of a good writer should be.

Nope- it's not the kind of graph you're thinking of. Interested in math? Computer science? Just really curious as to what kind of graph I could possibly be talking about? Come learn some graph theory! Absolutely no special math or computer science experience required. Math isn't all computation: it's beautiful pictures and elegant solutions. Or really, it's just a game of connect the dots.

The mission of this class is to provide the tools for participants to create positive atmospheres of peace, and bring what they learned back to their own schools and local communities. This course will be an engaging discussion-based conversation, in which we will focus on what the ideas of peace, positivity, and empathy mean to us, and think about the everyday strategies we can use to feel empowered and understand how we can use the powerful talents we already possess. By empowering ourselves as students, we can frame our interactions with others in a way that focuses on respect, inclusivity, and joy for the larger communities we share. Through a variety of interactive activities, we will share our diversity of experiences and opinions to build strategies for how we can make all of our futures more positive and peaceful.

Many adults in schools do not offer their students a space to discuss difficult topics like safety, injustice, racism, and prejudice and students' experiences with them. This course runs like a college-level seminar with focus on student-driven dialogue rooted in the historical and current context of exclusion and inclusion in American public schools.

Recently, the US has observed a new recognition for student-driven activism and solutions to challenging problems adults still cannot solve. In this elective, students will work in teams to brainstorm challenges they or their fellow peers in school face. Most importantly, they will generate a solution and pitch it (like a business presentation) to the rest of the class.

Want to know how to win your fantasy league? Want to learn how to analyze sports like the pros at ESPN? In this course, we will teach some of the basics of stats to help give you a better understanding of how the numbers and stats of your favorite teams can be used to understand and predict their performance.

Come learn about diverse sexual and romantic orientations in an interactive format! We will talk about about a range of sexualities/romantic orientations, discuss stereotypes and misconceptions, and learn about how to be a better ally. Individuals of all identities/orientations are welcome to attend!**NOTE--This class requires a permission form signed by a parent or guardian in order to enroll. Extra permission forms will be available at the help desk during sign in for students wanting to class change into the class**

Humans have done a good job setting our climate up for disaster—it's up to our generation to try and fix things.

A 2018 study found that there is a 95% probability human-produced greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming over the past 50 years. To counteract the damage, we have to turn to cleaner energy sources, namely wind and solar. In this course we'll go over how solar panels and wind turbines give us energy and what we do with it. Students will team up and argue for which energy source they think is best.

If we have time, we'll take a look at nuclear energy and electric vehicles.

What is global warming? Why is it a problem? Why is it an opportunity? And how can we solve it? Come find out!

What do you think of when you hear the word “comedy”? While most people immediately think of a shallow and lighthearted medium, there is much more to the genre. Explore with us the nuances of comedy through short films, discussions, and interactive activities!

This workshop introduces students to the concept of gender as an identity and to several genderqueer identities. It introduces students to how cisgender people are oftentimes incorrectly viewed as the norm and teaches them how to be a good ally to their genderqueer peers.

**NOTE--This class requires a permission form signed by a parent or guardian in order to enroll. Extra permission forms will be available at the help desk during sign in for students wanting to class change into the class**

Black Panther! Spider Man! Captain Marvel! Wonder Woman! Sherlock Holmes? Odysseus? Come and learn about your favorite Superheroes! We'll talk about the Hero's Journey, the history of epic, heroic literature, what makes a hero, and how comic books got started! You'll leave with a whole new appreciation of all your favorite Marvel and DC characters!


Prerequisites
A love for superheroes and a love for learning!