Category Archives: Summer

Harvard Museum of Natural History: Summer Science Weeks

Registration is open for Summer Science Weeks at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (26 Oxford Street, Cambridge):

Ocean STEAM Powered Women Fellowship: Info session Mar. 5

Applications are open until April 4 for young women in Grades 10-11 to apply for a 2024 O-STEAM Fellowship, sponsored by WHOI Sea Grant at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Sea Education Association. This fellowship will run August 11-17 and aims to promote diversity and expose young women to a variety of careers in STEAM.

Register for the online Info Session on March 5 at 6PM.

O-STEAM student fellows will work with a predominantly female team of researchers to explore a variety of STEAM-related activities. The team will explore challenges that are unique to women in science. In seeing themselves represented, our teens can gain a sense of belonging. The program is available to students who are in Grades 10-11 in Massachusetts and who are interested in being in a female-identified space. No experience is required.

There is no cost. The fellowship award includes travel to and from Woods Hole, food, and accommodations. See the program flyer. Apply on the O-STEAM webpage by April 4. Notifications will be made by May 2024. For more information, email Grace Simpkins, gsimpkins@whoi.edu.

AI Academy offering spring & summer introductions to AI

This spring and summer, AI Academy is offering a hands-on introduction to AI for Grades 6-12, in two levels: beginner cohorts for students with no past experience, and advanced cohorts for experienced students. Student-teacher ratios are kept to 5:1. Instructors are experienced student researchers (see bios).

Students will learn Python coding and AI fundamentals and build an AI project applying these skills to a real-world problem based on their interest in Art, Finance, Healthcare or Robotics. Example projects include applying AI to self-driving cars, stock market indicator prediction, and music recommendations.

The spring session runs from March 17 to May 26. For more information, contact AI Academy.

Penguin Coding School in Newton Centre

Penguin Coding School, with locations in Acton, Lexington, and Brooklyn, opened last spring at in Newton Centre, a 1223 Centre Street, next to Tatte. It offers coding and robotics programs for ages 5-18 with afterschool and weekend classes in Lego Robotics, Minecraft, Python, Scratch and Roblox. Applications are open until February 26 for the Winter Semester (through April 7).

Summer full-day sessions are available by the week – “a fun filled week of coding, robotics, 3D printing and wacky science experiments” –  from June 24 through August 30. (Use code lovetocode24 for a $100 discount.)

Newton teens may apply to be teaching assistants or instructors, or work on capstone projects with a Penguin Coding mentor.

Free trial classes are available February 19-23, or request a free trial on a different date.

Science Research Academy in Lexington coaches middle-school students: Budding researchers and science fair contestants

Science Research Academy in Lexington offers hands-on scientific exploration to middle school students (ages 11-16), teaching them how to build their own unique scientific research projects from the ground up. It currently offers three programs:

  • Summer Research Sprint: August 7-11, 8:30AM-Noon, in person at Grace Chapel in Lexington, for motivated and curious students entering Grades 6-10 who want to learn about scientific research, build their own projects, and explore a subject more deeply than what is offered in school.
  • Science Fair: January-April, at times determined by participants’ availability. A program 12 classes to prepare 5-10 students of all skill levels (who are entering Grades 7 and higher) for the Massachusetts Science Fair, using a step-by-step process from creating a research idea to presenting at the fair. Expect to also spend multiple hours outside of class working independently on your project. The program includes 12 weekly Zoom meetings, guest speakers, 1-on-1 meetings at least monthly, unlimited access to instructors by email, and an in-person dry run of each student’s presentation with feedback from multiple judges.
  • Independent Research Program: September-November. A 12-week program for 5-10 students (entering Grades 7 and higher) to break down research projects into bite-sized steps with coaching. Each student completes a research project with a project write-up, self-directed.

The founder of the academy, Parth Kocheta, graduated recently from Lexington High School and won the Massachusetts State Science Fair in 2022. The academy’s faculty of experienced student researchers has already guided over 25 students, and this year many of them secured various prizes at the Massachusetts State Science Fair, with 85% of its students advancing from the Regional Fair to the Massachusetts State Fair and several first-time students wining  2nd, 3rd, or Honorable Mention prizes at the State Fair.

Edge on Science: Full and partial scholarships available for summer STEM programs

Edge on Science reports that an anonymous benefactor is providing up to 14 partial to full scholarships for families who would like to send their children to a summer STEM program. Over the remaining four weeks of Edge on Science STEM programs at Lasell University (Newton) and Endicott College (Beverly) this summer, there are nine different week-long STEM adventures to choose from. All are led by an engineer, scientist, inventor, and/or scholar. Programs are available for students entering Grades 3-12 in the fall, and there are positions for Counselor in Training (CIT) too. To inquire, families should call Edge on Science at 315-773-5673.

Register by June 27 for MIT’s Virtual HSSP — Sundays in Summer for Grades 7-12+

MIT’s Summer HSSP is a weekend academic program (July 9-August 13) for students entering Grades 7-12 (plus those who just graduated high school). Courses are run virtually on Zoom by volunteers on Sundays at various times between 1PM and 4PM. Registration is now open until June 27 on a lottery basis, with equal consideration given to all applicants registering by that deadline. The cost is $50 regardless of the number of courses taken, and generous financial aid is available.  For more information, email summer-hssp@mit.edu.  The course catalog for this summer contains these 17 STEM courses:

  • StudentS’ STEM (S3) — an approach empowering students
  • How to Make a Dragon: Introduction to Synthetic Biology
  • Introduction to Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • DIY: Mini Magnetically-Levitated Trains
  • Circuits Analysis 101
  • Modeling Mechanics and Circuits via Differential Equations and JavaScript
  • Introduction to Computational Statistics
  • More Than One Variable? – An Introduction to Multivariable Calculus
  • Developmental Immunology
  • Cancer Warriors: Unleashing the Power of Your Immune System against Cancer
  • From Earth to Space: Introduction to Space Medicine
  • Electrifying Biochemistry
  • Saving the World with the Science of Sustainability!
  • Nuclear Reactors: Science and Operation
  • How the Earth Moves Below the Sea: An Intro to Conducting Marine Geophysical Research
  • Relativity and Black Holes
  •  Everything they don’t tell you about Mathematics

UMass Amherst Summer Pre-College Programs at Newton’s Mt. Ida Campus

UMass Amherst is offering four summer pre-college programs for students in Grades 10-12 at its Mt. Ida campus in Newton. Students can experience college-level academics, explore their interests, and get a feel for campus life. All programs meet Monday-Friday, 9AM-4PM, are taught by UMass faculty and advanced graduate students, and feature hands-on, project-based learning. Residential and commuter options are available. Applications are considered on a rolling basis through mid-June.

  • Building & Construction Technology: CityLab, July 23-August 5
  • Summer Design Academy: June 25-July 15
  • Veterinary Technology, July 9-22 (full)
  • Wildlife Veterinary Medicine & Reproduction:  June 25-July 8 (Full)

Newton Summer Science Program: NSHS Science Team offers STEM classes for grades 6-9

This summer, the Newton South HS Science Team is running its 4th annual Newton Summer Science Program (NSSP) for middle schoolers and rising 9th graders. NSSP is a series of week-long, free science classes taught by qualified and passionate NSHS Science Team members to help prepare students for high school science classes in a fun and interactive environment. All classes are free, and the Science Team greatly appreciates any donations to support its work. Register here.

This year, NSSP will offer these classes (details here):

  • Genetics: Uncovering the Blueprint For Life (*)
  • Cell Biology: Let’s Dive Into Life Science! (*)
  • Psychology
  • Code-cracking
  • Brain, Body, and Behavior (*)
  • Forestry: An Adventure In The Trees (*)
  • Fluids: From Motion Graphics to Airplanes!
  • Organic Chemistry: Unlocking the Power of Carbon
  • Journey into Chemistry: Catalyzing Change
  • Anatomy & Physiology: Immune System
  • Intro to Python
  • Intro to 3D Modeling

(*) Most classes are online this year, but those marked (*) will be running in-person at Newton South High School.