Category Archives: Opportunities

The Harvard Undergraduate Science Olympiad will host its first Division B (middle school) invitational Science Olympiad on February 10. Middle schools must register teams by 11:59PM on October 31. Space is limited, and registration does not guarantee participation. Schools may register up to two teams, and each school’s first team will have priority over any school’s second team. Successful registrations will be confirmed within one week and a fee of $200 per team will be due two weeks after registration is confirmed. Each team must have two adult coaches, at least one of which must supervise an event at the tournament. Email div.b@harvardscioly.org for more information.

This Tuesday is the deadline to apply for a one-day Training Session in Synthetic Biology in a real, synthetic biology environment. It’s offered to students entering Grades 10-12 (ages 16 and older) by STEM Pathways — the synthetic biology outreach program of the Living Computing Project — and the DAMP (Design | Automation | Manufacturing | Prototyping) Lab.  It will be held 10AM-4PM on November 3 on the Boston University campus. Apply online by 8PM on October 23. Include the name, email, and phone number of a teacher, mentor, or coach as a reference. For more information, email connect@stempathways.org, or call Rohin at 617-299-0816.

Every other year, Northeastern University’s Center for STEM Education offers its one-day Building Bridges program to enable high-school students to explore Northeastern’s College of Engineering. Faculty and students from all the school’s departments explain various engineering disciplines, career paths, high-education opportunities, and research opportunities. Activities may include:

• Design and Test a Bridge
• Implantable Biomedical Devices
• Design and Build and Electronic Night Light
• Synthesize Slime
• Streamline a Sports Utility Vehicle
• Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing
• Computer chip Design and Fabrication
• Simulate an Earthquake

Parents and families are encouraged to explore the campus while students participate in the program. This year the event will be on November 30 from 9AM to 2:15PM. The cost is $15, including lunch. Registration is open now.

MIT’s Splash program runs each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving — this year, on November 17-18 (10AM-9PM on Saturday, and 9AM-6PM on Sunday).  Splash gives students in Grades 9-12 the opportunity to take a wide range of mini-courses and participate in walk-in activities.  BostonTechMom has this informative post recommending MIT Splash.  This year, over 300 courses will be offered in the areas of Science, Computers & Programming, Engineering, and Mathematics — plus other stuff. The cost is $40 regardless of the number of courses taken, and generous financial aid is available.

The first phase of registration is now open until October 27 for students to specify their preferences for classes.  Classes will then be filled by lottery, treating equally all those who register anytime in the first phase of registration.  Lottery results will be available by October 31. MIT notes, “To get a full schedule, we recommend ranking at least 3 classes and starring at least 10 classes per time block. All class choices will be entered into the lottery. This is not first-come first-served; classes will be assigned after student registration is closed, so take your time.”

Boston College will hold BC Splash on Sunday, November 4, 10AM-4PM.  Splash is a one-day, student-run program in which undergraduates and graduate students teach mini-courses for students in Grades 7-12. There’s also an optional one-hour session for groups of Splash students to talk with current BC undergraduates. There’s a $5.25 fee for the day, which includes a pizza lunch.  Registration is required, is first-come/first-served, and is open now until just before midnight on November 2. For more information, email bcsplash@gmail.com or call at 617-297-7524. STEM-related classes in the course catalog include:

• Fundamentals of Experimental Molecular Biology
• An Introduction to Einstein: The Special and General Theories of Relativity
• Egg Drop!
• Exploring all 2 METERS of your DNA: An Introduction to Genetics and Genomics
• The Big Bad World of Bats!
• Coding in Python: Where to Begin?

Each fall, NEPTUN (a Northeastern University student group) hosts Splash! (Waterfall), a free program for high-school students to take mini-classes led by Northeastern undergraduate and graduate students.  This year it will be held on two consecutive Saturdays, November 3 & 10, 10AM-3:20PM, in Ryder Hall (11 Leon Street, Boston).  Registration is first-come/first-served and requires setting up a free student account.  Bring your own lunch. For more information, contact nu.neptun@gmail.com. This year’s catalog includes these  STEM-related classes:

• Cookie Assembly Line
• Reverse Egg Drop
• Intro to Environmental Engineering
• Create Your Own Website
• Monte Carlo Simulations
• Science Squad:  Various Experiments
• Forensics:  How to Get Caught Being a (totally not) Russian Spy
• This is Your Brain on Drugs
• How the Brain Smooths Movement
• Psychiatric and Neurological Disorder
• How (not) to Die in a Chemistry Lab
• The Science to Science