The Cambridge Science Festival celebrates and showcases the leading edge in a wide range of STEM fields. There’s a huge schedule of over 130 events for adults, teens, and kids throughout Cambridge and greater Boston (interative map) from April 12 through 21.
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Cambridge Science Carnival and Robot Zoo, April 13
On Saturday, April 13, to celebrate National Robotics Week, the first Robotics Zoo will be available for family fun. Sponsored by MassTLC, iRobot, and the Cambridge Science Fair, it will feature the robots, activities, and achievements of over 30 companies, entrepreneurs, and universities. It will be held at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, from noon til 4PM.
North/South Science Teams Excel at State Olympiad
Newton’s high-school science teams continue to excel. Last Saturday, Newton North placed 2nd and Newton South placed 3rd overall in the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad at Framingham State University, competing with more than 40 school teams across the state.
Newton North’s 20-member Science Team placed an average of 6th in all 21 of its events, medaling 1st in studying events for Materials Science, Rocks and Minerals, and Forestry. The team also placed in the top 5 in all of the Olympiad building events: Maglev, Gravity Vehicle, Boomilever, and Robot Arm. In its Trial Events, it also placed well, setting a good standard for future years. North Science teacher Tatyana Osipenko, the team advisor, proctored the Experimental Design event, in which Newton North came in 13th. The team plans to participate in MIT Trivia and the MA Envirothon, and it will organize the Science Initiatives Competition in the upcoming weeks.
Newton South‘s team, with more than 40 active members, averaged between 6th and 7th place, claiming Top Three in 10 out of 21 total events. The members received gold medals for Maglev and Robotic Arm, silver medals in Forensics, Thermodynamics, Rocks and Minerals, and Water Quality, and also received bronze medals in Material Science, Physics Lab, and Technical Problem Solving Material Science. In 8 additional events, the team ranked within the Top 10. South Science teacher Dr. Jordan Kraus, the team advisor, organized the event Anatomy and Physiology, in which Newton South placed 2nd. South’s trial team, consisting of young and growing members of the team, placed 3rd in the event Endangered and Exotic Animals.
MassBioEd Launches STEM Education Website
The MassBioEd Foundation has launched a new website, massbioed.org, to support STEM education in Massachusetts through school programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning. The site invites:
- STEM professionals to volunteer to be classroom speakers
- Schools to find STEM speakers
- Companies to volunteer for a Job Shadow Day
- Employees to enroll in professional development courses
- Students and teachers to find online learning resources
MIT’s Junction: Summer Program for Advanced High-School Students
Applications are now being accepted for Junction, an MIT non-residential program for advanced high school students in the Boston area, typically grades 10-12. Each year, 100-130 motivated students meet weekday evenings, July 8 – August 15, on MIT’s main campus to learn advanced subjects, meet new friends, and enjoy an academic challenge in a fun environment. The courses are college-level, requiring significant time outside of class. Applications are considered equally until April 10, after which students will be admitted on a rolling basis as space allows. Email junction@mit.edu for more info.
Junction is run by MIT’s Educational Studies Program. ESP’s other summer program, Summer HSSP, meets once a week on weekends and is open to grades 7-12. Information for it will be available in May.
Come See NNHS InvenTeam’s Life-Saving Invention, March 28
Come see what Newton can invent — and see how you can help! The NewtonSTEM community is invited to Newton North HS at 5PM on March 28 for the InvenTeam’s presentation of its invention — a Pedestrian Alert System to save lives in Ethiopia. The team is one of 16 nationwide to win a grant of $10,000 for experimenting and prototyping for its invention. The team now seeks local sponsors to help fund actual fabrication. (You can donate online to help the team meet its goal.) The event will be held in Room 121 (Design & Visual Communications Technology Lab) of Newton North HS, 457 Walnut Street, Newtonville, MA.
Achievements of North HS and South HS Science Teams
Blue Lobster Bowl: On March 3, Newton North sent three teams to the Blue Lobster Bowl, Massachusetts’ regional marine sciences quiz bowl at MIT. The full-day competition covers chemistry, biology, engineering, history, ecology, climate change, and weather. North’s A team placed 3rd of 16 teams, and its B team placed 7th. The C team entered in a non-official bracket and placed 2nd. Newton South’s team placed 8th.
West Suburban Science League: Newton South’s Science Team placed first in the West Suburban Science League. At one of the five West Suburban meets, the team tied its best single-meet score, with three first-place events and one second. Newton North placed 4th with 302 points, its best score since 2007.
National Science Bowl: Newton South’s team recently traveled to Connecticut and placed 5th of thirty-two at the regional event of the general science competition, the National Science Bowl. Newton North’s team tied for 9th place.
Achievements of North HS and South HS Math Teams
Both the North HS and South HS Math Teams have qualified for the upcoming competition of the Massachusetts Association of Mathematics Leagues. This required consistently high performance in the five monthly Greater Boston Mathematics League meets. The North Math Team is currently ranked second in the Greater Boston Math League, and its A team won the last meet, in Canton.
At the Harvard-MIT November Tournament, a state-wide competition, North’s team placed 6th and South’s team placed 10th. South’s team placed 2nd in a high-stakes speed round at the end of the tournament.
Several members of both the North and South teams did well in the American Mathematics Competitions and will go on to compete at the state level.
Steve Siegel: On Being a Newton School Volunteer
For the past three years I have been working as an elementary school math tutor in cooperation with the Newton School Volunteers (NSV). I am a STEM professional and have always been comfortable helping my own kids (now in 8th and 11th grades) with their math. I realized that the curriculum knowledge and teaching techniques I developed would be of use to other young children struggling with their math, so I reached out to the NSV and offered to tutor at my neighborhood school. Continue reading Steve Siegel: On Being a Newton School Volunteer
NNHS to Host Boston-Area Science Competition, May 18
Newton North High School will host its own Science Initiatives Competition (SIC 2013) for high school students in the Boston area at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston’s Prudential Center on Saturday, May 18, 9:30AM-4:30PM. Registration for this student-run event is now open until April 10 at http://sic-sciinit.webs.com. E-mail sciinit@gmail.com with any questions or comments. Continue reading NNHS to Host Boston-Area Science Competition, May 18