Coached by percussionist and bandleader Eguie Castrillo, the MIT Afro-Latin Ensemble will perform music by El Gran Combo, Ray Barretto, Irakere, Batacumbele and many others.

Two sessions on Awe & Wonder for IAP 2025:Music & Neuroscience: the ordinary and extraordinary ways that music literally rewires our brains. Featuring pianist Dr. Mia Chung-Yee and neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman, author of Every Brain Needs Music.Beauty and Formation through the Lens of Rembrandt: For MIT students in 2025, a seventeenth-century Dutch painter may be an unexpected source of wisdom. Dr. Karen E. Bohlin will guide students to glean practical wisdom — everyday tools for discernment and growth — through the lens of Rembrandt’s extraordinary paintings.

Do you love cute stuffed animals and crochet? Want to learn a new skill over IAP? Sign up for a 3-day crochet workshop and learn to crochet your own amigurumi duck keychain! No crochet experience necessary. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures. This workshop will teach you everything you need to know to make your own amigurumi duck keychain; materials will be provided. You’ll learn to single crochet in the round, change yarn colors, name your new stuffed best friend, and more. Workshops will include instruction and time to crochet; each workshop will cover a different aspect of the project, from learning the basics of crochet to creating the duck keychain.This workshop with run in two sections, each meeting three times:Section 1: Tues (1/21), Wed (1/23), Sat (1/25) 2-4 PM Section 2: Tues (1/28), Wed (1/30), Sat (2/1) 2-4 PMSpots are limited to 20 and will be decided by lottery if necessary. Register by 5pm on Saturday, January 11.

Ten minutes for your mind@2:50 every day at 2:50 pm in multiple time zones:Europa@2:50, EET, Athens, Helsinki (UTC+2) (7:50 am EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88298032734Atlantica@2:50, EST, New York, Toronto (UTC-4) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85349851047Pacifica@2:50, PST, Los Angeles, Vancouver (UTC=7) (5:50 pm EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85743543699Almost everything works better again if you unplug it for a bit, including your mind. Stop by and unplug. Get the benefits of mindfulness without the fuss.@2:50 meets at the same time every single day for ten minutes of quiet together.No pre-requisite, no registration needed.Visit the website to view all @2:50 time zones each day.at250.org or at250.mit.edu

We know you have missed our emails and our events, but we have good news: HSA is back and ready to kick off the New Year in the most delicious way— with our annual Vasilopita Cutting!Who will find the hidden coin and claim their good luck for the year? Surprise prizes await the lucky winners!Come join us for a festive start to 2025, filled with good vibes, good company, and good cake. 🎉In the meantime, we wish you all a fantastic new year, full of happiness, success, and HSA events (potentially all at once)!

Kick off the new year by learning a new style of latin dance: Cuban casino.What is casino? It’s a style of partner dance (with a lead and follow) that originated in Cuba in the 1950s. It can be danced with a partner, or in a big circle called a “rueda”. Casino is similar to salsa, and is often called “Cuban salsa”, though there are important differences that we can discuss during the course. Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoulZ35X6RIWhat to expectThis course is intended to take you from being an absolute beginner to having the skills and confidence to go out there and have an enjoyable dance with a stranger in a social setting. We’ll heavily focus on technique, so you’re likely to learn something even if you already have experience with rueda de casino or even casino itself. The course is also focused on partner dancing, not rueda.No prior experience necessary. No partner necessary. Open to everyone.Because each class builds on the previous one, we strongly encourage attendance to all sessions.Who’s teaching?The class will be led by MIT alum Rodrigo (myself) and Diana Ruiz. We’ve both been dancing and teaching in San Francisco and/or Boston for 10+ years.Location and TimeClasses will be on Saturdays during IAP from 5pm-6:30pm at the Student Center (W20-491).How to join?Please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/oWYh6HdtqkRRPMXQAQuestions? Email me at ipince@alum.mit.edu