Monthly Archives: August 2016

NHL Hockey Online STEM Program — Free for Schools, Grades 4-7

For a second year, the NHL, NHL Players’ Association, and Boston Bruins are sponsoring an online STEM program, Future Goals, free for Massachusetts schools.  It’s recommended for Grades 4-7 and consists of 12 online modules of 15-20 minutes each.  See the demo video and curriculum guide (PDF).  Teachers, students, administrators, coaches, and community members are invited to fill out the contact form on the Future Goals site.

Envirothon: Newton North HS Places 1st in State, 7th in North America

Newton North High School’s Envirothon Team placed 7th overall in a field of 52 teams at the North American Environthon held during the last week in July in Ontario.  The 52 teams were champions of their respective state and provincial competitions, where they competed on knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management as well as environmental problem solving.  The NNHS team — captain Iris Liao, Bowen He, Amy Huang, Gregory Brumberg, and Lucy Lu, coached by NNHS science teacher Anndy Dannenberg — finished second in Aquatics and third in Forestry at the North American event.  Here’s the full team that won the Massachusetts competition in May, among 36 high schools competing:NNHS-Envirothon-2016

Highland Street Foundation: Free Fun Fridays

We’re just catching up with this summer’s Highland Street Foundation Free Fun Fridays, during which selected museums and cultural venues are open to everyone for free. The remaining STEM-oriented Free Fun Fridays this summer are:

  • August 12:  MIT Museum, Waterworks Museum
  • August 19:  Discovery Museums of Acton, EcoTarium, Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River
  • August 26:  Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

Sign Up for Empow Studios FIRST Lego League Teams

If you’re looking for a FIRST Lego League (FLL) team, Empow Studios in Lexington is forming teams (including an all-girls team) that will meet at Empow Studios for 90 minutes on Saturdays or Sundays, starting August 21.   It’s for ages 9-14, and Empow’s fee of $410 covers participation through December (with additional $30 per week after that for teams that qualify for competitions).  The details of this year’s FLL challenge — Animal Allies — will be announced worldwide at noon EDT on August 30. Register now.

Register Now for Destination Imagination

Destination Imagination in Newton is now open for registration for the 2016-2017 school year.  It’s a collaborative, creative, problem-solving STEAM competition for Grades K-12. It’s run by volunteers. Last year, Newton had 15 teams and 88 students from across the city.  The cost is $135 (or $95 for parent co-managing a team).  Register online.  For more information, contact Matthew Miller at matthew@newtondi.net.

MilliporeSigma in Bedford Offers Field Trips in Sept. for Grades 6, 7, 8, 9

MilliporeSigma (80 Ashby Road, Bedford) invites schools to apply online for two field-trip opportunities in September:

  • September 14, 9AM-1PM (Grades 6-8):  Water Filtration.  Work with scientists to design, build, and test a water filter.  Share lunch with them to discuss STEM careers.
  • September 29, 9AM-Noon (Grades 7-9):  DNA Analysis.  Students precipitate their own DNA.  Discuss STEM careers with scientists.