This is a mini-course with short identical week-long course sessions that will give you a firsthand experience on how microscopic single celled organism can propel themselves through water and detect light - and then ultimately swim towards or away from this light source. At the same time you will lean and practice the key components of the scientific method.
The goals of these course sessions are three fold:
(1) Become fascinated by the wonders of these small organisms and the world they live in - features that are usually hidden from the naked eye.
(2) Gain a quantitative understanding of how a microscopic cell can propel through water, how to detect light, and how these activities are enabled by some building blocks ("organelles") of the the cell. You will also explore interactive models that help you understand how all these parts work together to achieve robust light response behavior.
(3) Be (or become) a scientist and practice the essential components of the scientific method! Explore yourself - perform your own experiments, observations, analyses - and draw your own conclusions. These skills translate to many other scientific projects you may undertake in the future
