The best fantasy worlds are those with the best magic systems. But have you ever thought more carefully about what goes into creating—and writing a story about—one of them? This class will move through some well-known examples of magical fantasy from Harry Potter to the works of Brandon Sanderson, and culminate in students designing their own magical worlds based on what they learn. Come with ideas, but most importantly come with a sense of wonder!

"The Mediterranean World" and "The Atlantic World"— these are common ways to describe geographical features and historical events that center around key areas of trade, cultural exchange, and conflict. But the Pacific Ocean is almost twice the size of the Atlantic, and has a very different history because of it. This class will examine how key elements of Pacific geography—its massive size, and the 25,000 islands dotting its landscape—influenced the history of colonialism and capitalism in the modern world. We will move from the earliest European explorers to modern-day international trade in a rapid-fire survey of an under-appreciated side of the globe.

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!

1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808. Those are the odds of someone predicting a perfect bracket in the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. From learning how sports analytics works, to analyzing specific examples in the current March Madness tournament, this course will help you get that 1 perfect bracket. Come join us during the Final Four to talk about your brackets, predictions, and the madness of March. Once you sign up for the class, we'll send you a link to a bracket group and as long as you make one before the tournament starts on March 19th we can have a group for our class!

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!