science

New Outschool Class:  Gravity Falls Inspired Game- Crack the Codes and Beat the Cypher!  

| astronut1

Greetings mystery lovers! This project started out as a labor of love to keep my own children entertained, but since they loved it so much, I thought I’d adapt it for my own students over Outschool. Get ready to take a trip to the wild and mysterious town known as Gravity Falls!

  1. Concept: To create a fun, informative program on astronomical subjects for children ages 8-12 
  1. Student Description: Save the Mystery Shack from Bill Cypher, and learn about secret codes!
  1. Parent Description  Using self-paced online activities, and a helpful handout, your child(ren) will learn about secret codes and cyphers as they defeat Bill, the villain from the popular Disney show Gravity Falls. The class will cover the basics of codes, cyphers, and computer coding.
  2. The goal of the class is to introduce young people to codes and ciphers, with a little introduction to computer coding as well. Students will learn by translating the coded messages, learning about computer code, and practicing it in online games. 

Class Experience Outline

The class is organized into 5 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period). When you sign up for the class, I will send you a link to a website, (powered by Google Sites), that will feature embedded YouTube videos and Google slides that you can complete at your own pace. Some pages require you to search for a picture and click on it to advance (a sort of I-spy game). If you are confused, a handout will be provided that gives helpful hints and answers the questions.

  1. Part I: Introduction to Bill and Ciphers
    1. The class will begin with a short YouTube video embedded into a Google Slide where the evil  Bill Cipher appears and demands that the learner must solve his puzzles and codes. The learner will get a background on codes via a video starring Waddles the Pig. The next few slides will introduce the concept of a cipher- a code where a number, letter, or symbol represents a letter of the alphabet. You will be given the real cipher used in the show and use it to translate Bill’s cryptic poem. 
  1. Unlock the Ciphers– You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
  2. Find the Tokens To stop Bill, you need to trap him using 8 magical tokens. You’ll find these tokens by finding and clicking them within the pages of the Google Sites website. Each one is inspired by a prop from the show- a hat, an image on a sweater, etc. While you are there, you will play a series of mini-games to test your knowledge and introduce you to the world of computer coding. The final activity introduces you to the website Scratch, a website that teaches children the basics of computer coding. Using a handout and the Scratch website, you will create a short animation using computer code! You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
  3. IV. Home Activity: Dipper’s Guide to Everyday Weirdness
    1. You will be provided with a handout that teaches you how to spot a conspiracy, how to research online safely, and a hidden secret code that answers one of the show’s biggest mysteries!
  4. Conclusion: Fight BIll! In an animation, you will trap Bill within a book using the tokens! As a reward for your bravery and intelligence, the heroes of the show will give you a few more special handouts and printables to help you continue your fight against evil. Stay curious and STAY WEIRD!

Learning Goals

Students will learn about the science of cryptology by practicing their code-breaking skills. This in turn will develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The course also touches on the science of optical illusion and computer coding, which helps students understand how their brains work and how computer programmers create their favorite games. Finally, the course teaches about the concept of conspiracies and how important it is to use verified legitimate sources when looking at information, especially on the internet.

Share this class with a friend — new users will get $20 USD off!

You’ll also get $20 USD when they sign up with your link and take their first class!

https://outschool.com/classes/gravity-falls-inspired-game-crack-the-codes-and-beat-the-cypher-IvpT5sea?usid=MaRDyJ13&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

Great classes are available December 1st.

Image | | astronut1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K_1XlPPAmM

Scehdule

Trailer for Basics of Stage Combat.

Class Descriptions:

Basics Of Stage Combat:  Students will learn the basics of safely enacting a fight onstage, in preparation for a Shakespeare play. We will also learn about the history of sword fighting in the military and the duel.

Trailer for Basics of Stage Combat.

My daughter really enjoyed taking this class. She was actually able to use her sabre and try out her routine on her father. Paul is quite knowledgeable about Shakespeare and made the class really fun by teaching a fight scene from Romeo and Juliet. It is amazing watching her practice with Paul over Zoom. I hope Paul will have. more combat classes, it is a different way to learn Shakespeare.

IB, Parent

An Interactive Guide To Shakespeare’s London (New Class)

A virtual tour of Shakespeare’s London will get kids to interact with the culture of Elizabethan England.

Class Experience

To teach kids about the Elizabethan era and the background of Romeo and Juliet, The Instructor will interact with the class (via pre-recorded videos), pretending to be Shakespeare. The class, pretending to be actors in Romeo and Juliet, will get a virtual tour of The Globe Theater, Hampton Court Palace, and a virtual visit to an Elizabethan doctor's office. This activity is an immersive way for them to learn about the period, how it relates to the world of the play, and how Shakespeare changed theater.

The class will take the form of a guided WebQuest activity.  First, the students will get a worksheet that has a series of fill-in-the-blanks about Elizabethan society (below). The students will fill out this worksheet based on a Nearpod and in conjunction with a website I’ve made, https://sites.google.com/nebobcats.org/visit-to-elizabethan-london/home?authuser=0 
Both the Nearpod and each webpage will have a virtual tour, a video, and text explaining some aspects of Elizabethan life. Before they go to each location, I will give a short introduction via prerecorded video:

Wizard Science

In this one-hour course, your child will discover the enchanting world of science through a series of magical experiments. Learn about such topics as Astronomy, Static Electricity, chemistry, and optical illusions.

What was Christmas like For Shakespeare?

In this one-hour course, students will learn and play games that will explore the history behind Christmas traditions. We will also discuss the themes, characters, and famous quotes from Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night.”

Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Hamlet

| astronut1

If you’ve never seen the show

Mystery Science Theater 3000 has been on the air for over 20 years. The show originally aired in 1988 on KTMA TV in Eden Prairie MN. Since then it’s spawned over 13 seasons, (still going strong on Netflix), a huge cult following, and countless parodies in many versions of pop culture.The premise is that three guys watch bad movies and make sarcastic comments about the acting, sets, costumes, etc. The show thrives on meta-commentary, obscure references, and satirizing anything and anyone.

Crow T. Robot (Bill Corbit) trying to play the ghost of Mike’s father (Michael J. Nelson)

Full circle for the show

Kevin Murphy (right), as Fortinbras, who makes a brief appearance at the end of the episode, along with Bill Corbit and Mary Jo Pehl.

Kevin Murphy, one of the show’s creators actually had reservations of even doing the episode, as he is a big Shakespeare fan. This makes sense as I would argue that the very premise of the show lies in Shakespeare, and in particular, Hamlet. As I said in the last paragraph, the show thrives on reference humor, meta-commentary, and satire, and one person who loves that kind of humor is in fact, Shakespeare’s own drama critic- Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

In Act III, Scene ii of Hamlet, there is a play within a play, where Hamlet sits back and makes sarcastic comments about how bad the production is:

Enter Prologue.

Hamlet. We shall know by this fellow. The players cannot keep counsel;
they’ll tell all.
Ophelia. Will he tell us what this show meant?2035
Hamlet. Ay, or any show that you’ll show him. Be not you asham’d to
show, he’ll not shame to tell you what it means.
Ophelia. You are naught, you are naught! I’ll mark the play.
Pro. For us, and for our tragedy,
Here stooping to your clemency,
We beg your hearing patiently. [Exit.]
Hamlet. Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring?
Ophelia. ‘Tis brief, my lord.
Hamlet. As woman’s love.

Hamlet, Act III, Scene ii

If Hamlet had two robot companions, he’d essentially be doing an episode of the show!

Begin Murderer! Pox! Leave thy damnable faces and begin!

Hamlet, Act III, Scene ii.

So it’s an interesting kind of irony that after 13 years, MST3K finally got around to review the very source of their humor. Not only is Hamlet highly meta and satirical, Many educators, myself included, say that teaching Shakespeare with a healthy dose of irreverence is a good way to draw in new students and get them interested in the play:

Mystery Science Theater 3000’s “Hamlet ” episode reveals a common reaction to Hamlet that often goes unspoken by high school and college students too afraid to sound anti-intellectual. Despite this irreverent tone, however, this unique appropriation of Shakespeare adds to our understanding of a play that today very few read and even fewer see performed. As an author who reveled in making serious, yet sometimes playful, fun at human weakness, I think this respectful irreverence would have delighted the Bard were able to see it.

Dan Mills. “Mystery Science Theater 3000, Shakespeare, and Postmodern Canonization,” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, 17.2 (2015): 206-227.

3. Divisive episode

Poster for "Hamlet" 1961, starring Maxamillian Schell.
Original film artwork for “Hamlet”, 1961

This episode is somewhat controversial among the MST3K fandom. While almost everyone agrees it was a good idea for Mike and the bots to do Shakespeare, many fans question the choice to do this Shakespeare. The 1961 film was produced for German TV, and starred Maximillian Schell, (who would later win an Oscar for his performance in “Judgement at Nuremberg).”

First of all, the film is very slow and badly paced with no distinctive production choices. The sets and costumes are generic, (except for the Liberace-looking ghost), and the cinematography is competent but dull. Finally it’s Hamlet; the play that even Mike Nelson called “The greatest work of fiction ever written.” Even with the dreary set, the bad dubbing, and nonexistent pacing, it’s still a good story with magnificent dialogue, and the cast is still pretty good. Perhaps the ultimate backhanded compliment Mike Nelson and company could have handled is that even the worst production of Hamlet is very difficult to riff. Still, when the jokes land, they hit extremely well. Here are some of my favorites:

C’mon, man. We’ve seen like eight ghosts, none of ’em have been even close to my dad.
MIKE NELSON

Rap artist, The Notorious K.I.N.G.”

Hamlet: To die: to sleep.
Crow: Yeah, that’s what we’re doing right now, Bub.

Hamlet: TO BE OR NOT TO BE…. and lose the name of action.

Mike: So I’m a chicken for not stabbing myself—that’s all you needed to say!

[Having stabbed an intruder behind Gertrude’s tapestry, Hamlet discovers it is not the King, but Polonius.]
Hamlet: Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool!
Crow [as Polonius]: Oh, right, it’s my fault you killed me.

My reaction

On the one hand, it’s great to watch the MST3K guys look at a piece of classic theater, especially since the show owes a lot to Shakespeare. That said, they never acknowledge this, not even during the play within a play scene. In addition, the critics are right that the film is so dreary it’s hard to make fun of. I would love to see how the bots and Mike riff on Branaugh or Gibson! Finally, maybe part of the problem was that Hamlet has already been riffed and mocked before. As the clip above from The Reduced Shakespeare Company shows, gently ribbing on the plot and characters of Hamlet has been done before. Once something becomes famous as the best or the worst, it becomes a target for mockery. I was hoping that my favorite riffers would have more fun riffing on the play that helped create their art form. That said, this show is a classic comedy series, and this episode always makes me smile.