Science Electives

Electives are prioritized for Class 11 and Class 12, but some are available to all students based on schedule availability. Electives must be taken in addition to core courses each year.

STEM: Engineering I

Full-year laboratory course

For students in Classes 9-12

Prerequisites: none

Almost everything we own, wear, and use was designed by engineers. In this hands-on, introductory course, students use professional tools and techniques to design and build their own projects. This is a full year, lab-based course with many projects, completed both individually and in teams. Students will be working with clients to provide engineering solutions. They will be describing their work in verbal and written forms and preparing documents to display their work to others. Topics include engineering record-keeping methods, engineering communications by drawings and technical reports, 3D spatial reasoning skills, the engineering profession and career paths in engineering, engineering Design and Reverse Engineering, and client communications and management.

STEM: Engineering II

Full-year laboratory course

Prerequisites: STEM: Engineering Design or department approval

This is a course for those who want to apply science and mathematics to real-world problems. This is a full year, lab-based course with many projects, completed both individually and in teams. Students will be working with clients to provide engineering solutions. They will be describing their work in verbal and written forms and preparing documents to display their work to others. This course will reinforce and expand on the skills taught in Engineering I. Emphasis will be on developing analytical and measurement skills. Topics include: data analysis and statistics, materials, forces such as energy, work, and power, structures, machines, and an introduction to electrical engineering.

STEM: Coding for Apps

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

For students in Classes 9-12

Prerequisites: department approval

The App Store and Google Play are full of millions of apps, many of them written by individuals working for themselves. In this course, students learn basic programming while building your own first series of apps. Learning is an iterative process, and it’s likely our first prototypes won’t fly far. Students reflect on mistakes and improve with the next project. In the process students gain an understanding of iOS and Android app development while developing our skills with languages such as Xcode and Swift code or game engines such as Unity and Unreal. You may not strike it rich with a Killer App, but you will gain coding skills that make you more marketable when applying for internships and jobs.

STEM: 3D Design

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

For students in Class 9-12

Prerequisites: department approval

This is a foundational course in designing and making 3D objects. Starting with sketches in notebooks, students design and make a variety of objects. Multiple techniques and exercises for thinking in three dimensions are employed. Project materials include paper, wood, and plastic. Emphasis is given both to functionality and esthetics. By the end of the course, students design and make 3D objects to keep.

STEM: Maker Lab

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

For students in Class 9-12

Prerequisites: department approval

This is a foundational course that allows students to unleash their inner maker. At its core, making is about rediscovering our pleasure in creating things. Making is about the freedom to play, to share, to build, and to pursue our own interests. The Maker Lab is a project-based studio class in which students learn how to solder, cut vinyl, sew, bake, and 3D print. Students keep a log of their successes, setbacks, and inspirations. The culmination of the course is a presentation of student projects.

Marine Biology: Vertebrate Zoology

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course

This course is designed to establish an understanding and appreciation for marine organisms, as the students will take an in-depth look into the evolution of these animals within the marine environment. Students will comparatively study the physiology, behavior, and adaptions of marine vertebrates—marine fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals—drawing connections among the adaptations and the types of habitats in which they thrive. Topics include evolution, physiology, anatomy, animal behavior, and ecology.

Marine Biology: Oceanography and Marine Ecosystems

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course

This course will explore the motion and distribution of variables within the marine environment. Students will study the physical properties of the ocean – salinity and temperature, ocean circulation through waves and tides, nutrient cycling, and plate tectonics. Students will also study major marine ecosystems by describing the interactions between these physical and biological factors and will draw connections to the current impacts that are threatening these areas. Topics include biology, ecology, physics, chemistry, and geology.

Environmental Science

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course and a chemistry course

This course establishes an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and precise functioning of the natural world around us. The course alternates between discussion, lecture, and debate. With an in-depth study of major topics within the field of environmental science, students will focus on mastering information on human population growth, food production, water resources, the atmosphere, pollution, waste management, and energy. Connections are made between environmental issues and human impacts in order to raise awareness and promote stewardship and better sustainability practices.

AP Environmental Science

Full-year Laboratory course

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

The goal of this course is to establish an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and precise functioning of the natural world around us. The course alternates between research and debate, discussion, lecture, and field investigation. With an in-depth study of major topics within the field of environmental science, students focus on mastering information on ecosystems, soils, and agriculture, water resources, the atmosphere, pollution, and energy. Connections are made between environmental issues and human impacts in order to raise awareness and equip students to become part of a solution, and to take responsibility for stewardship and sustainability of the planet. The challenge of understanding and maintaining a sense of sustainable development in society today may be the single most pressing scientific issue that confront our students throughout their lives. This course aims to establish a strong foundational knowledge of the interaction of humans and the biosphere and serves to prepare them for the AP Environmental Science examination in May. Students are required to take the AP exam in May.

Immunology Honors

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

The immune system encompasses a broad, highly interactive network of cells, tissues, and anatomical structures that protects us from infection and cancer, yet can also induce autoimmune disease. The course will explore the genetics, cell biology, and physiology that govern both our resistance to infection and the induction of autoimmune disease and allergy. Distinctions between the innate/natural immune system and the adaptive immune system will be discussed. The role of intestinal microbiota, inflammatory reactions, and vaccines will be also studied. Central to the discussions will be the role of cellular subsets (B cells, T cells, macrophages), serum proteins (immunoglobulins and complement), and cell surface receptors whose coordinated activities comprise the immune response. Specific immune pathologies or deficiencies associated with human disease will be also highlighted.

Neuroscience Honors

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

Behavioral Neuroscience surveys the role of the brain and nervous system in behavior, psychological functioning, and neurophysiological processes that underlie human development. Students are able to identify the brain’s neuroanatomy and its functions throughout the nervous system to understand behavior and mental processes; use the human sensory system to understand the biology of sleep and the role of the visual system, and the functions of sustaining life; use an understanding of neurophysiology principles to associate the effects of psychopharmacology on human development and, pathological behavior; evaluate and understand the role of brain functioning in the development, diagnosis, and treatment of brain-based disorders; apply an understanding of brain functioning to the conduct of one’s own life; apply this knowledge to abilities including attention, learning, perception of others and decision making.

Forensics

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course

Forensics is a cooperative, hands-on course that addresses the science of forensics. This will include basic principles of forensic science, meeting professionals directly involved in the field of forensics, and highlight cases involving evidence studied in class. Topics covered in this course include observation skills, crimescene investigation and evidence collection, hair and fiber analysis, fingerprinting, DNA profiling, blood and blood spatter, forensic psychology, forensic anthropology, forensic toxicology, impression evidence, and how they relate to the dynamics of Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. This course focuses on the scientific methods of collecting and processing possible evidence. Analytical skills, laboratory methods and problemsolving techniques will be emphasized in this course. Students will learn about careers involved with forensic science and will play mock roles as experts in the field to solve crimes. Students in this course are expected to be self-motivated, enthusiastic, have good attendance and have a strong interest in the field.

Cyber Crimes Seminar

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

Prerequisites: none

As our world becomes increasingly dependent on technology, cybersecurity is a topic of growing importance. It is crucial that companies and individuals take precautions to protect themselves from the growing threat of cyberattacks. This course prepares students with crucial skills to be responsible citizens in a digital future. Students will learn the foundational cybersecurity topics including networking fundamentals, software security, risk assessment, cyber defense, and the basics of programming and cryptography. Utilizing a blend of web-based and physical activities, student will investigate cyber related topics, modify text-based programs in HTML, JavaScript, and simulate shell commands. Foundations of Cybersecurity also offers simulated cyber-attacks on safe sites in order to learn how to mitigate cyber-attacks. They will be able to document their processes and discuss best practices for preventing cyber-attacks. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to meet professionals working in the cybersecurity field and learn about their experiences in this line of work.

Astronomy

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course and a chemistry course

This introductory course begins with a brief overview of the development of astronomy from ancient times to the present. This course covers major topics in modern astronomy, including telescopes, the solar system, stellar evolution, galaxies, the large-scale structure of the universe, and cosmology. Astronomical observation is an integral part of the course, and students use the Clay Center Observatory’s telescopes on selected evenings to augment classroom instruction. The coursework includes basic physics and mathematics, which are needed to understand the astronomy concepts.

Astrobiology

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? Are there other planets in our Solar System or in planetary systems around other stars where life originated and survived? How much like Earth do planets have to be in order to support life? Are they common or rare? In this class, we will consider these and related questions from a variety of perspectives, with an emphasis on evidence supplied by astronomical observations and theories. The scientific study of these questions is now commonly referred to as astrobiology, a new and rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field. Course content will include the overall scale and organization of structure in the Universe, the formation of stars and planets, the nature and history of life on Earth, the physical processes that affect the habitability of planets, the current efforts to detect planets around other stars, and the prospect of interstellar travel.

Advanced Astronomy Honors

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

Prerequisites: Astronomy and department approval

This advanced course approaches Astronomy from the research perspective. First, instructor and students select the specific topic to be researched, then the research method is applied in its entirety, from the design of the observations, passing through the acquisition of data, data reduction, analysis, and interpretation of results. This course is designed to provide a complete scientific experience. The coursework includes basic physics, astronomy, and mathematics, which are needed to understand the research concepts.

MEDscience Honors

Semester course

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

MEDscience is an innovative high school science program that combines hands-on clinical cases and classroom lessons. The curriculum is based on the idea that the science in medicine is more than biology. It is the chemistry of membrane and molecules, it is the physics of cardiac vectors, surface tension and tensile strength and the sociology and anthropology underlying the social determents of disease. The MEDscience curriculum brings all these sciences together showing the student the integrated complexity of human life and inspiring them to find their place in the mystery! Topics covered include the respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. Curriculum requires students to travel to Harvard Medical School weekly and participate in ER-simulated case studies.

Copyright 2015 Harvard Medical School, MEDscience Program

MEDscience LAB Honors

Semester laboratory course

Prerequisites: a biology course, a chemistry course, and department approval

The MEDscience LAB program will be an experience-based education program designed as a natural progression of the current MEDscience curriculum. The aim of this class is to explore and broaden MEDscience through a molecular, cellular and genetic discovery while equipping the students with immediate employable research and laboratory skills. Each laboratory activity is connected to a deeper understanding of human health/disease and is focused on topics that complement MEDscience. The program will continue to immerse novice high school students into the real world of sophisticated experimental lab research and medicine, foster in them an intense interest in life sciences, and develop a foundation for critical thinking, self-reflection, and effective communication. Students will work in collaboration with Harvard Medical School instructors.

Copyright 2018 Harvard Medical School, MEDscience LAB Program

Scientific Research Methods Seminar

Semester course

Prerequisites: department approval

The fall semester course is designed for students to explore the world of scientific research and ultimately create their own, authentic research proposal. Students learn the components of scientific research, including properly formulating a question, investigating preliminary research, developing hypotheses, and designing experiments. Students apply these skills in various settings, including the critical review of current literature and understanding and presenting recent findings in science. As part of the course, students identify areas of scientific interest, develop their understanding of the topic, and work toward creating their own research proposals. Students are given the option to submit these proposals to MSEF (Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair). In January, after the completion of the course, those students interested in moving forward with their proposal is given space and support to do so, with the intention of participating in the MSEF Regional Science Fair in March.

Nutritional Science

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

Prerequisites: a biology course and a chemistry course

Nutritional Science examines the connection between diet and health through the biology and physiology of human nutrition. This course will provide an in-depth look at how food is metabolized, as well as a thorough review of macronutrients and micronutrients required for human growth, development, and maintenance. Students learn about common diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. Students also gain an understanding of different dietary needs throughout the human life cycle.

BioEthics Honors

Semester course; not offered 2023-2024

Prerequisites: Biology Accelerated or Biology Honors

Arguably the most important unit of Biology, students explore and analyze issues using scientific facts, ethical principles, and reasoned judgment. Students review biological concepts studied during Biology and applying them to real life scenarios. Students read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to promote conversation. In addition, students complete case studies, conducting research, and using decision-making frameworks and stake holder role-play in order to investigate historical and current bioethical issues in society. Topics may include, but are not limited to, genetic editing, clinical research selection, childhood sport participation, stem cell research, and vaccinations.