For all three of the Python tutorials this year we will be using the Anaconda Python distribution. The Anaconda distribution contains the latest version of Python, a large number of useful libraries for scientific programming, and other useful tools.
To download the installer for Anaconda, go to www.anaconda.com/download/ and click the button to download the Python 3.6 version.
The installation process will create an Anaconda folder on your hard drive. The bin folder in that Anaconda folder contains a Python interpreter.
To work with Jupyter notebooks, you must start the Jupyter server. To do this, open a terminal window on OS X or the Anaconda Prompt on Windows. Type the command
jupyter notebook
to start the Jupyter notebook server. That will start the server, launch a browser, and display the Jupyter welcome page. On that page you will be able to navigate to the notebook file you want to open, or else create a new notebook page.
When you are done using Jupyter, make sure to save any notebooks you have been working on and then just close the browser window. To shut down the Jupyter server, go back to the terminal window you launched the server from and press the control-C key combination.