Rainstorm Summer 2026 Course Catalog

Calling anyone who aspires to write beautiful poetry!

It's a tricky field, isn't it? Famously, anything CAN be a poem-- there are no rules, and sometimes, the strangest things seem to work, or don't work.

In this creative writing seminar, Classics PhD & poet Dr. AC Gray will guide you through some of the ways Ancient Greek & Latin authors grappled with writing poems, some of their techniques, tricks, and still-fresh ideas. We will then take a look at ways to apply some of these concepts to our writing.

Knowing how other authors in extremely different cultural settings have expressed themselves is incredibly useful for developing your own voice. The goal here is not to write like a Roman, but to experiment, think critically about different poetic techniques, and come away with a clearer understanding of your own style.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Have written a brief (max 10 line) poem which you are comfortable sharing with the class for discussion, analysis, and feedback. Topic is entirely up to you, but please avoid anything overly sensitive for the sake of this class.

Have you ever wanted to try acting? Do you enjoy silly games, puns, and clever wordplay? Do you want to learn how to talk in rhymes and meter? If so, sign up for Shakespeare on Your Feet!

This workshop is led by the Stanford Shakespeare Company, a student theatre group at Stanford University. We will try our hands at acting in Shakespearean context: exploring how to communicate character status and emotion through physicality, vocal changes, expression, and more. We'll also cover how to read Shakespeare, how to take a production from text to stage, and why Shakespeare is still relevant today.

This workshop is for anyone with any level of experience acting, from those just starting out to those already on Broadway. We look forward to seeing you in class!


Class Style
Activity

Bitsy is a game engine for making small, cozy games. In this class we'll learn how to navigate the software and create our own little (16x16 pixel) pixel art drawings and animations.


Class Style
Activity

One of the most famous things about the Roman Empire is that it fell. We've all heard about the Fall of Rome. We've all heard it invoked, too, by different commentators and politicians--but they all seem to point to a different cause. In this course, Cambridge University Classics PhD Dr. Gray explores several centuries of Roman history, including the "Crisis of the 3rd Century", the Tetrarchy, and the various sacks of the city. We'll also look at the colorful world of Late Antiquity and try to answer the question, so, what DID actually happen to Rome?


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
A bit of ancient history would be nice -- basic familiarity with the arc of Roman history. Nothing too intense.

Oftentimes, we look back on our earliest years in a distorted manner -- from idealization to amnesia, there are a lot of gaps in our knowledge about children and how they contribute to culture more broadly. In this class, we'll analyze literature created by children and how their words subverted (or continue to subvert!) society's expectations for them. The last quarter of class will have student discussion of the (short) excerpts shown during lecture.


Class Style
Lecture

How did Rick Riordan come up with Percy Jackson? How did JRR Tolkien construct Middle Earth? What sparked the brilliant minds to create Team Avatar? Whether you've been reading/watching fantasy all your life or have just picked up your first book or show, isn't it astounding how it seems that you've been transported into an alternate universe? In this class, I'll be breaking down some of the history of fantasy, how worldbuilding influences other elements of writing, and share resources for aspiring fantasy writers (or aspiring Dungeon Masters)!!!


Class Style
Seminar

What is shared between lexical distance maps -- which show the relationships between different languages -- and highway systems? Between power grids and neural networks? To a mathematician, all of these structures might look a little like graphs: collections of vertices connected by lines, or edges.

The world of graphs is vast and extensively studied; in this class, we'll take a panoramic view, zooming in to some interesting problems (especially concerning graph colorings!), some exciting applications, and even some open questions. You'll solve graph puzzles, brainstorm proofs in small groups, and much, much more!


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
The main mathematical prerequisite is Algebra I; some geometry might come in handy, but is not required.

How are gene therapies for sickle cell anemia designed? How do current researchers create the cell lines they need? Currently, it's by using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit the genome!

In this class, we'll learn about the history behind how such an important part of biotechnology was discovered. We will also talk about other important concepts in understanding the mammalian and human genome, 98.5% of which does not encode for protein. Lastly, we will discuss the ethics of gene editing and controversies surrounding its existence.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of biology (i.e. what is a nucleotide)

We will dive into a fascinating but sometimes overlooked group of plants: the hornworts. As well as their unique shape, featuring a long 'horn' containing their spores, hornworts have a special way of doing photosynthesis. We will learn how photosynthesis can be done in different ways and how some plants, like hornworts can do it better than others! Finally, we will learn how to recognize these hard-to-spot plants in the wild.


Class Style
Seminar

Ever woke up to the birds singing? Every looked out into the backyard to marvel at the vibrant birds pecking at your feather? If you have, then you're in the right place! Welcome to birding where we can give you the tips and tricks to learning how to identify birds. Disclaimer: There are over 11,000 species of birds in the world so we can't show you all of them, but we can show you how to get started!


Class Style
Activity

Explore the elegant, invisible logic that dictates how the natural world grows and thrives. This session bridges the gap between the "dirt-under-the-fingernails" reality of gardening and the mathematical rules of evolutionary efficiency. Participants will learn that nature’s regularities—from the petals on a flower to the branching of a tree—are not random but are designed to optimize light capture, seed packing, and structural integrity.

Key Learning Modules:
The Fibonacci Sequence & Phyllotaxis: Discover the "Law of Addition" (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8...) and how plants use the Golden Angle (approximately 137.5°) to arrange leaves so new growth never shades the old
. We will practice calculating phylotactic ratios (t/n) for common trees like Oak and Apple
.
Fractals and Infinite Branching: Understand the concept of self-similarity, where patterns repeat at every scale
. Explore how fractal geometry allows trees and root systems to create massive surface areas for efficient nutrient transport and gas exchange
.
Voronoi Patterns & Hexagonal Efficiency: Examine how nature partitions space based on the Law of Proximity
. Learn why the hexagon is the most mechanically stable shape for building structures like honeycombs and pineapple skin while using the least amount of material
.
Symmetry and Edibility: Study bilateral and radial symmetry in animals and plants
. We will explore the "five-petal rule," noting that almost all edible plants possess flowers with pentagonal geometry linked to the Phi ratio (1.618)
.
Practical Master Gardener Applications: Learn to use mathematical patterns as a diagnostic tool; "glitches" in a plant's geometry can signal environmental stressors like pests, drought, or soil deficiencies
. Additionally, discover how to apply the Golden Ratio to landscape design to create visually balanced and "natural" proportions
.
Course Requirements This class is designed for a sophisticated, plant-loving audience and stays at a high conceptual level without requiring advanced calculation skills
. Participants are encouraged to bring pinecones or sunflowers for hands-on "Garden Lab" activities to find hidden sequences in real time.

For a "Garden Lab" session tailored to Master Gardeners, you can include several interactive activities that move from abstract mathematical theory into tangible, hands-on discovery.
1. The Pinecone Count (Phyllotaxis in Action)
This activity demonstrates how plants follow the Fibonacci sequence to optimize space
.
The Task: Participants use large pinecones (such as Sugar Pine or Ponderosa) and markers to trace the spirals winding up the cone
. They should count the number of spirals winding clockwise and then the number winding counter-clockwise
.
The Reveal: Almost every pinecone will display two consecutive Fibonacci numbers, such as 8 spirals going one way and 13 going the other
.
2. The Golden Ratio Caliper Test
This exercise helps gardeners understand why certain plant proportions are visually pleasing and how the Golden Ratio (ϕ) manifests in individual plants
.
The Task: Using rulers or specialized "Golden Mean" calipers, participants measure the width of a leaf versus the length of its stem, or the diameter of a flower’s center versus its total diameter
.
The Goal: Gardeners can see how close these natural proportions come to the ratio of 1.618, providing a mathematical basis for landscape aesthetics
.
3. Fractal Branching Mapping
By observing the self-similarity in trees, gardeners can better understand how a plant will respond to pruning
.
The Task: Using dried branches from different species (such as Oak, Maple, or Forsythia), participants create paper-and-charcoal "rubbings" or simplified sketches of the branching patterns
.
The Goal: Participants observe how the branching angle of the main stem is repeated at smaller scales in the twigs
. This reveals the fractal logic the tree uses for efficient nutrient transport
.
4. The "Golden Angle" Perspective
This simple observation task illustrates how plants maximize sunlight capture
.
The Task: Participants look straight down the stem of a succulent or a young sunflower
.
The Goal: They can visually verify the "Golden Angle" (approximately 137.5°) by noticing how the leaves spiral to fill every available "gap" of light, ensuring that new leaves do not perfectly shade the ones directly below them
.
5. The Petal Count Challenge
This is a quick visual diagnostic tool to identify common garden patterns
.
The Task: Provide a variety of local blooms—such as Lilies, Buttercups, Delphiniums, and Daisies—and have participants count the petals
.
The Goal: Participants will find that most flowers possess a Fibonacci number of petals (e.g., 3, 5, 8, or 13), reinforcing the idea that these patterns are nature's "perfect plan" for regenerative growth


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
N/A

The federal government collects and spends trillions of dollars every year. Where does all that money come from? What is it spent on? And how are those decisions made?

This course will provide a nonpartisan overview of the process (both in theory and reality) of creating the federal budget. The 2025 budget will be used as a deep dive to explore the national revenues, expenses, and debts. By the end, you will know why government shutdowns happen, what the debt ceiling is for, and who the most powerful congressmen in Washington are (and why you probably haven't heard of them).


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the three branches of government.

We know the technical changes needed for a relatively safe climate future: reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and reduce CO2 in the air below 350 ppm by 2100. The cheapest, fairest, and most comprehensive way to address the underlying climate pollution problem is to fix the market's failure to account for the costs of pollution in prices with a solution called Carbon Fee and Dividend. The fee makes it powerful, the dividend makes it fair, and associated border adjustments will push a strong carbon price around the world. Congress can move us halfway to achieving our 1.5˚C warming limit goal and make the remaining work easier with this single beneficial piece of legislation.

This will fundamentally change the US economy, so there is strong resistance from those who profit from the status quo of using fossil fuels. Is it possible to break the logjam and save ourselves? Can any of us do anything to help address the most significant crisis human civilization has ever faced? Yes, together we can!

We can take effective action in this pivotal moment in history, just as people in past generations achieved women's suffrage, civil rights, and same-sex marriage through collective action movements. Ordinary people advocating together for change is our last, best hope to avoid climate catastrophe. Your part in creating the political will for a livable world begins here!


Class Style
Lecture

By the end of this session, students will be able to describe the role of an event planner, explain the impact of AI on the events industry, identify the human-centered skills that remain essential, and evaluate event planning as a potential career path or entrepreneurial opportunity.


Class Style
Lecture