The Clay Center Observatory, on the campus of Dexter Southfield School (20 Newton Street in Brookline; 5th floor), holds Public Telescope Nights on most Tuesdays in the spring and fall, from 8PM to 9PM.  This spring, they continue through May.  Register in advance (and sign up for the Center’s email list).  These events are canceled if weather is rainy or overcast:  Call 617-454-2795 one hour before the event for a recorded message.  The Clay Center offers a range of Outreach Programs for community groups.  Check the Center’s calendar for future events.

The observatory contains a 25-inch telescope with optically perfect mirrors — similar in optical design to the Hubble Space Telescope.  It’s protected by two airlocks, a dome powered by solar cells and wind turbine, and its own foundation that is completely isolated from the foundation of the surrounding building.  The telescope and dome are computerized and can be operated through the Internet by researchers anywhere in the world.

On Saturday, May 21, the Latino STEM Alliance will hold its annual Robotics Competition & Science Activities Fair from 10AM to 2PM at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 650 Dudley Street in Boston.   Besides a Boston-wide robotics competition (with 20 teams representing 12 Boston schools and community centers), this free event will feature fun, hands-on science and engineering activities for the whole family offered by partners from SIM Boston, KRONOS, National Grid, and other sponsoring organizations.  Here’s a short video of last year’s event.  Register online to help the event organizers plan.  To apply to be an exhibitor, complete this form.

The Latino STEM Alliance works with host schools to offer after-school robotics programs in Boston to foster leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, persistence, and communication skills.  Its curriculum includes computer programming, the engineering process, and basic physics, dynamics, and geometry.  Newton’s Chuck Hurwitz is a long-time member of its leadership team.  Tax-deductible donations are appreciated.  For more information, contact Event Coordinator Tariana Little (TarianaVLittle@live.com) or Executive Director Amanda Martinez (Amanda.Martinez@latinostem.org).

Any team of 1-10 students (Grades 4-12) with an adult coach (parent, teacher) may enter the KidWind Challenge in an attempt to create the most efficient, functional, and innovative wind turbine.  Register for free.  Plan, build, and test your design. Then bring it to Challenge Day at UMass Lowell, April 30, 9AM-3PM to run it in the wind tunnel and compete for prizes and a chance to be invited to the nationals.

Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center will hold its second annual Science on State Street festival on April 23, 10AM-2PM, on its campus (directions).  It’s free and open to all ages, with hands-on activities (in biology, chemistry, physics, food science, robotics and engineering), presentations by FSU faculty and invited scientists, conversations and performances that explore the interaction between science and the arts, and planetarium programs.  There will be a live sky planetarium presentation at 10AM for children 5 and younger, a do-it-yourself Rube Goldberg machine, and opportunities to build a battery, program a robot, interact with exotic insects, explore chemistry, and meet the author of “The Secret Case of the Space Station Stowaways.”

At the annual meeting of the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers, on Saturday, April 30 at 9AM at Wellesley College, there will be two featured talks:

• “Making STEM learning relevant, stimulating, and visible through customized curriculum“ – Dr. Didem Vardar-Ulu (Boston University)
• “Using Green Chemistry Principles to Improve Production of Plexiglas: Exploration of Catalysts for Cyanohydrin Hydration” – Dr. Emma Downs (Fitchburg State University)

The talks are aimed at chemistry teachers.  Admission is free, and membership in NEACT is encouraged.  RSVP to Leslie Bishop (leslie.bishop@regiscollege.edu) by April 24.