The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair is for students from all Massachusetts public, private/parochial, and home schools. Each school may send two outstanding student projects directly to the State Fair — one individual project and/or one team project (2 or 3 students per team). Winners from each school Science Fair can also qualify for a Regional Fair, and the winners of the Regional Fairs may also enter the State Fair. Continue reading Mass State Science & Engineering Fair Dates & Registration
Monthly Archives: December 2011
New NPS Deputy Superintendent is Strong on STEM
Dr. Ann Koufman-Frederick has joined Newton Public Schools as the system’s first Deputy Superintendent for Teaching & Learning. We’re fortunate to have an educator with a strong background and interest in STEM in this new position overseeing Newton’s K-12 curriculum and professional development. Here’s a bit of her background in STEM: Continue reading New NPS Deputy Superintendent is Strong on STEM
Grant Opportunity: Clean Energy Education & Workforce Development
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center released a Workforce Development Request for Qualifications (PDF) on December 12: “Workforce Capacity Building and Youth Pipeline Opportunities.” It seeks proposals that, in the aggregate, will: Continue reading Grant Opportunity: Clean Energy Education & Workforce Development
Eric Olson’s Recommendations for a STEMmy Holiday
Brandeis Professor Eric Olson offers these ideas for holiday activities:
Make an Electric Motor: Start with this YouTube video because it
explains (briefly) how it works, and then consider following the instructions in this video or this one, which has a much shorter parts list.
Experiment with a Mini Wind Turbine: The PicoTurbine company started with this windmill kit and branched out to numerous other renewable energy kits.
Watch NASA Videos about Curiosity: NASA has published two amazing videos about Curiosity, the rover that’s on its way to Mars — one on the launch and one on a simulation of its landing on Mars after less than 9 months traveling at 57,000 MPH.
More STEM Gifts and Activities for the Holidays
Newton teacher Sarah Nitsche recommends these websites for great STEM-related holiday gift ideas:
- GreatSchools.org has videos about their Best STEM Toys for ages 3-5, ages 6-8, and ages 9+.
- STEMfinity.com is an online store selling hands-on kits in a range of STEM fields for grades pre-K through 12.
And Worcester Polytechnic Institute maintains an online list of STEM resources for educators, parents, and K-12 students — for use during holiday breaks or anytime.
Holiday Recommendations for Elementary-School STEM Books
Many thanks to Horace Mann school librarian Patti Karam for compiling the following holiday booklist of twelve STEM-related recommendations for elementary-school students, in response to our request for ideas for STEM holiday gifts. (Note: The ones marked OSTB are Outstanding Science Trade Books noted by the National Science Teachers Association, which maintains a broad catalog of recommendations at www.nsta.org/recommends/) Here’s Patti Karam’s booklist: Continue reading Holiday Recommendations for Elementary-School STEM Books
Holiday STEM Ideas for Gadgeteers and Makers
We asked Newton parent and engineer Kevin Osborn for his ideas for STEM holiday gifts and activities during the holiday break. He responded with these ideas for gadgeteers of all ages (more details on his blog):
Instructables.com has thousands of cool projects, from the outrageous to the absurd — much of which is doable with kids and full of STEM. Continue reading Holiday STEM Ideas for Gadgeteers and Makers
FLL RoboNautica Championship, Dec. 17 in Worcester
The official Massachusetts FIRST Lego League robotics championship tournament – RoboNautica – will be held on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Saturday, December 17. The following Newton FLL teams qualified for the event at the Newton Qualifier on November 19: caBOTS, Legoctopi, RoboNewts, and LigerCubs, with BOTS-u-lysm awarded a spot on the waiting list. RoboNautica is free, open to the public, and a lot of fun. Come wander among the pits and ask the teams about their work, then cheer the teams, watch the robot matches, and learn about their research on this year’s FLL topic, food safety. Here are directions. The schedule is:
- 8:45 AM – Opening Ceremonies
- 9:10 AM – Matches Begin
- 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Lunch Break
- 2:30 PM – Playoff Matches Begin
- 4:30 PM – Awards Ceremony
Congratulations to the following Newton-based FLL teams that won awards at the Newton Qualifier at NNHS on November 19:
- Programming Award: RoboNewts
- Innovative Solution Award: Giant Sticky Notes
- Research Award: Legoctopi
- Inspiration Award: MegaOHMS 2
- Teamwork Award: caBOTS
- Judge’s Award: Ligercubs
- FLL Idol: RoboNewts