Bigelow MS’s year-end competition to design and build a remote-controlled Bionic Arm shows one facet of how STEM is being taught in Newton’s middle schools. Students were challenged to design and build a prosthetic arm that would lift and place an object. Each arm is entirely remote-controlled by 4 hydraulic pistons – one to control each axis to make the arm lift, reach, grab, and rotate. In the year-end challenge, 4 teams of 4 students in each class competed in a tournament to “shoot hoops” with the robotic arms they created.
Continue reading Bigelow Middle School Holds Final Bionic Arm Competition
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Robotics is Under Way at Oak Hill Middle School!
This spring, Oak Hill MS formed a new after-school Robotics Club, the MegaOHMS. About 20 students from all three grades joined together each Monday afternoon to plan, design, build, and program Lego robots to tackle the season’s challenge —navigating the tricky “Oak Hill Harbor”, avoiding many obstacles while deploying buoys and positioning life boats. 
Continue reading Robotics is Under Way at Oak Hill Middle School!
Summer Math Program, July 18-22 in Newton Highlands
Planet Kids in Newton Highlands is hosting a summer math program led by Christine Moynihan, Ph.D., an educational consultant and former principal of Williams School in Newton. Two programs will run July 18-22: Grades 2 – 5 from 8:30AM to 11:30AM, and Grades 4-7 from 1PM to 4PM, on the air-conditioned second floor of Green Planet Kids, 22 Lincoln Street in Newton. The aim is to show kids that math can be fun, exciting, and relevant to their lives. Using games, puzzles, and other materials, kids will cover number sense and theory, geometry, measurement, statistics, and patterns, all within a problem-solving context. Tuition is $275 plus $50 materials fee. Visit www.summermathforall.com.
Paid Summer Internship in Science Education
Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (G.E.M.S.) is a one-week, paid, extracurricular, science education internship program, new this summer. Aiming to allow students to experience science in a real laboratory setting, it seeks highly motivated:
- Middle School students (grades 6-8) to serve as aspiring research participants
- College & High School students to serve as Near-Peer Mentors (stipend)
- Middle or high school Science Teachers to serve as an Instructor (stipend) Continue reading Paid Summer Internship in Science Education
Khan Academy: Free, Online STEM Education Videos
Salman Khan has created a growing library of over 2000 engaging educational videos — all free on YouTube — in arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, statistics, calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, history, finance, economics. See www.khanacademy.org for the entire library, including 9-minute video overview of all of it.
Sal’s recent 20-minute TED talk (video) explains how he aims to revolutionize and invert education (i.e., lectures will be at home via video, and what was once homework will be done in school), with each student progressing at his/her own pace and teachers coaching individuals and small groups. Continue reading Khan Academy: Free, Online STEM Education Videos
TenMarks: Online Math Education Resource
TenMarks (www.tenmarks.com) is on online math education resource “to help students achieve their potential in math, and supplement and enrich their classroom learning.” Its co-founder, Andrew Joseph, is a Newton parent featured in the “Newton person of the week” interview in last week’s Newton TAB. From the interview: Continue reading TenMarks: Online Math Education Resource
DIGITS Launches in All Four Newton Middle Schools
Newton has become the latest site for DIGITS, a statewide program offered free to middle schools to increase 6th graders’ interest in STEM and knowledge of STEM-related careers. DIGITS pairs volunteer STEM Ambassadors — professionals in STEM-related fields who are trained in the DIGITS program — with classrooms to inspire and motivate students and explain the importance of math and science in their careers. Continue reading DIGITS Launches in All Four Newton Middle Schools