Massachusetts STEM Week, Oct. 21-25

October 21-25 is Massachusetts STEM Week. Events scheduled for the MetroWest area include:

Webinars for High Schoolers: Intellectual Property — What is it? Who is it for?

Lemelson-MIT is presenting three webinars for high-school students to explore Intellectual Property (IP) — how to protect ideas. The webinars are useful for debate clubs to learn more about this year’s national debate topic on IP but are open to all. Register here.

  • Orientation to the intellectual property system: September 11 (recording available here)
  • Hot topics regarding U.S. IP laws & careers in IP: October 24, 8:30PM-10:30PM ET
  • Deep dive into arguments for/against strengthening U.S. intellectual property protections: November 20, 8PM-9:15PM ET.  This Includes individualized coaching and Q&A for teams who pre-register.

National Fossil Day at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Oct. 13

The Harvard Museum of Natural History (26 Oxford Street, Cambridge) is celebrating National Fossil Day on Sunday, October 13, 1-4PM. Harvard paleontologists will present their research and favorite fossils through short talks and table-top presentations. All ages are welcome, and regular museum admission rates apply. Free event parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

The following talks are recommended for ages 10 and up.

  • 1:30-2PM – So You Found a Fossil… What Next?
  • 2:15-2:45PM – Beyond Bones: The Secrets of Soft-Tissue Fossils 
  • 3-3:30PM – Tardigrades Through Time

There will also be a Fossil Story Time, recommended for ages 3-9.

NASA TechRise Student Challenge: Submissions due Nov. 1

The NASA TechRise Student Challenge is a national contest to design an experiment to be tested on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon. Teams must include at least four students in grades 6-12 and one school employee. Sixty winning teams will each be given $1500 to build the experiment, support from mentors, and a spot for their experiment on a flight. Submissions are due on November 1, and winners will be announced January 21. 

Massachusetts STEM Week, Oct. 21-25

Massachusetts STEM Week — an annual statewide celebration of STEM consisting of free community events and design challenges — takes place October 21-25. This year’s events include planetarium shows, a STEM fair, career panels, kids-friendly activities, and more. The week’s design challenges are:

  • Extreme Zoo Makeover: A STEM Approach to Habitat Design (Grades 5-8)
  • STEM Goes Green: The STEM Challenge (Elementary and Middle School Students)
  • “I Am STEM” Lesson Library: Problem-Solving in Books (Grades PK-7)
  • Engineering Plastic Filters (Ages 8-12)
  • Carbon Busters: Redesigning Schools to be Energy-Efficient (Grades K-12)