SATURDAY FALL 2012 CLASSES

Math, Writing, Science, and Dance Classes

The Robinson Center will offer a full slate of math classes from K/1 (including one with parents) to Grade 11; creative writing classes for grades 4-8; and, NEW THIS TERM, an exciting astrophysics class for grades 6-8 and a dance and movement class to nurture both brain and body. These classes are intended to provide intellectually ambitious students with challenge, inspiration, and fun, in a collaborative, supportive learning environment.

Students should register for the course according to their CURRENT grade in school.Placement is determined by grade, not age. Class size is limited, and so it is first come/first served; waitlists will be established if necessary.

Tuition is $225 for our 50 minute classes and $425 for our 100 minute classes. There is a $25 registration fee for all classes. Tuition is to be paid in full when the student registers for the course. Go to the Robinson Center website for more about how to register for the classes.

Limited financial assistance is available for Saturday classes. Students who receive Free or Reduced Lunch in their school district may receive reduced tuition. Please find more information on the federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced price lunch here.

Parking is available for free on the University of Washington campus as of 12:00 noon on Saturdays. Before noon, we recommend the W14 lot near Gould Hall and across 15th Avenue from the Robinson Center. Go to the 40th Street gate entrance to campus for your $5.00 parking pass for W14.

Important Dates

SEPTEMBER 17: REGISTRATION BEGINS (online registration via our Robinson Center website)
OCTOBER 6: CLASSES BEGIN
NOVEMBER 24: NO CLASS
DECEMBER 8: LAST DAY OF CLASSES

Apply Now!

Grades K-1 and Parents
Nurturing the Math Instinct: A Parent-Child Adventure in Mathematics

We are all born with the capacity to love mathematics. This class explores how to cultivate a child’s innate interest in mathematics by creating a culture of mathematics at home. Through puzzles and games that capture the quality of play in math, we’ll learn how to think creatively, support each other, and keep the spark of joy alive and well in our mathematical lives. This class is designed to engage both kids and parents. Each child will register and attend with one or two parents, and the classes will be divided between discussions with the parents about how to encourage their child’s interest in mathematics, and time spent learning new games and puzzles that can be played at home.

Time: 10:00-10:50 am
Instructor: Dan Finkel

Grades K-1
Games, Puzzles, and Play

In this course, we will explore games and puzzles, both new and old, that tap into mathematical ways of thinking. The emphasis will be on creative play and adapting games and puzzles to players’ interests. We will play group games, ask questions, play with ideas, and have fun!

Time: 11:00-11:50 am
Instructor: Dan Finkel

Grades 2-3
The Mod Squad

You’ve probably heard of a number line, but have you ever thought about number circles? The math that comes from working in circular—or modular—arithmetic challenges our assumptions of what must be true and also proves to be remarkably useful. (We call this kind of arithmetic mods for short.) Working in different mods, we’ll see that 5+5 can equal 3, that we can win eeny-meeny-miny-moe every time, and that we can figure out what day our birthday will fall on next year… or next century.

Though modular arithmetic often isn’t taught until college, it is a fun and accessible topic for any kid who is comfortable with addition and subtraction and wants to take on the challenge of building a new kind of arithmetic from scratch.

Section A
Time: 10:00-10:50 am
Instructor: Katherine Cook

Section B
Time: 1:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: Dan Finkel

Grades 4-5
Moving Minds

What does it mean to think? Do we think only with our brains or can we think with our bodies too? This class will be similar in design to a typical dance class, but in addition to common dance exercises we will use structured improvisation and movement puzzles to explore how the body helps us understand ourselves and the world around us.

Time: 10:00-10:50 am
Instructor: Matthew Henley

Finding Your Voice

In this creative writing workshop we’ll explore the idea of voice—that hard-to-pin-down quality that makes a writer’s work unique. We’ll read examples to see how different authors make their voices come alive, and each week we’ll try a new experiment in poetry or prose that emphasizes imagination and innovation. We’ll also practice using our actual voices to captivate audiences when we read aloud, and students will take turns reading their work and listening to classmates read. During the final class period, families and friends will be invited to join us to hear each student present a favorite piece of writing from the workshop.

Time: 11:00-11:50 am
Instructor: Chelsea Jennings

Paradoxes of Infinity, from Zeno to Cantor

Twenty-five hundred years ago, a philosopher named Zeno made a stunning observation: when an arrow is shot at a tree, it has to travel halfway to the tree before it hits it, then half the remaining distance, then half the remaining distance, and so on for infinity. But how can infinitely many parts fit inside a finite distance? Zeno’s paradox remained a thorn in the side of philosophers and mathematicians for centuries to come. Starting with Zeno, we will progress through paradoxes of infinity, developing a framework that will help us understand just how strange and beautiful infinity is, and how much more there is to it than we could have possibly suspected.

Prerequisites: Students should have exposure to multiplication, division, and fractions.

Section A (Girls Only)
Time: 12:30-1:20 pm
Instructor: Katherine Cook

Section B
Time: 1:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: Katherine Cook

The Deep Structure of Mods

Modular arithmetic is one of the great topics in math, thanks to the amazing patterns that emerge when you look at numbers on a circle rather than a line. In this class, we’ll establish the basic rules of mods, then study the mind-blowing structure that emerges when we multiply and raise numbers to powers in a modular context. We’ll see how mods allow us to determine divisibility rules and deal with numbers so big they make a
googol plex look small. Comfort with multiplication and division is recommended.

Time: 2:30-3:20 pm
Instructor: Dan Finkel

Grades 6-8
Looking Inside and Looking Out

In this creative writing workshop we’ll practice “looking inside” at emotions, memories, beliefs, and dreams, as well as “looking out” at the people, places, and objects around us. Each week we’ll try a new writing technique that involves looking inside, looking out, or both. Because the best writers write for themselves as well as others, we’ll also strive to balance expressing ourselves with engaging our audience. To help develop a sense of audience, we’ll devote time in each class period to sharing and responding to one another’s work. We’ll experiment with a variety of genres, so poets, storywriters, and essayists are all welcome to join us in exploring inner and outer worlds through writing.

Time: 12:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: Chelsea Jennings

Black Holes, Time Travel, and GPS Satellites: Applications of Einstein’s Theory of
Relativity

What would happen if you were driving a car at 99% the speed of light, and then turned on the head lights? Do clocks on the ground tick at the same rate as clocks on the International Space Station? What would happen if you fell into a black hole? These are just some of the thought experiments we will discuss in this exciting class about Einstein’s famous theory of relativity. We will learn about how Einstein developed his theory, how it applies to both exotic and everyday situations, and what current experiments are being conducted to test the validity of relativity. Some exposure to algebra will be helpful, but is not required.

Time: 12:30-1:20 pm
Instructor: Breanna Binder

The Secret Lives of Pi

Who says that pi exists only for circles? In this class, we’ll see that squares have their own version of pi, as do triangles. These examples suggest a way to define pi for any shape; at the same time, these new values of pi have very interesting mathematical properties that are worth exploring in their own right. Despite their irrationality, we’ll see that there is some beautiful structure we can exploit to work with them, and which can help us better understand the classic version of pi for circles.

Exposure to algebra is recommended.

Section A (Girls Only)
Time: 2:30-3:20 pm
Instructor: Katherine Cook

Section B
Time: 11:00-11:50 am
Instructor: Katherine Cook

Grades 9-11
Complex Numbers: A Survey

As attached as we can sometimes be to reality, sometimes adding in the imaginary gives a fuller picture of how things work. That’s certainly the case with complex numbers, which consist of both real and imaginary numbers: for many areas in mathematics, you have only a partial picture of how things work until you look through a complex lens. We’ll begin by establishing the fundamental interplay between arithmetic of complex numbers and geometry in the complex plane, and go from there. The theory of complex numbers is enormous, so student interest will affect how the course unfolds.

Possible topics include:

Gaussian Integers and Complex Primes Complex Numbers as Vectors
Roots of Unity
Roots of Polynomials

Facility with algebra is required.

Time: 12:30-1:20 pm
Instructor: Dan Finkel
Instructors
Breanna Binder is a doctoral candidate in the University of Washington Astronomy Department. She has a master’s degree in Astronomy from the University of Washington and an undergraduate degree in Physics/Astrophysics from the University of California, San Diego. In her free time, she likes to run, play with her dog, and craft.

Katherine Cook has been teaching math for years, to students ranging in ages from 5 to 55. A joyful mathematician who values curiosity and the art of asking good questions, she taught mathematics and physics at The Evergreen State College and the University of Washington, and has worked extensively in the Seattle area with K-5 public schools developing math curriculum. She is currently co-director of Math for Love.

Dan Finkel is a passionate mathematician and experienced math instructor, with a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Washington, where he received an Excellence in Teaching Award in 2005. He has taught math to a wide variety of students, from 4th-12th graders in Brooklyn to UW undergraduates here in Seattle. He has also taught in the Robinson Center’s Summer Stretch Program. He is currently the co-director of Math for Love.

Matthew Henley received his B.A. with a major in religious studies and B.F.A. with a major in dance at the University of Arizona where he studied with Dr. John M. Wilson. While in Tucson, Matt worked with Orts Theater of Dance, an aerial company. After graduating in 2001 he began working with Randy James Dance Works for whom he taught extensively throughout the NJ and NY public school systems. In 2004 Matt became a member of the Sean Curran Company where he danced until moving to Seattle in 2008. In 2010 he completed the M.F.A. in dance at the University of Washington. Matt is currently a Ph.D. student in Educational Psychology: Learning Sciences at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the relationship between movement and the brain, and role of the body in cognition and idea expression.

Chelsea Jennings is a lifelong reader and writer who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, where she is currently a PhD candidate in English. Chelsea has taught Composition and Creative Writing at UW since 2006, and spent two years serving as an Assistant Director of the Expository Writing Program. Having worked with students ranging from kindergarteners to adults, Chelsea is excited to talk to fellow writers of all ages about their writing projects and process. Her poetry has appeared in the Boston Review, the Madison Review, Black Warrior Review, Poet Lore, Best New Poets 2007, and elsewhere.