Monthly Archives: November 2016

MIT Women’s Summer Technology Program for High-School Juniors

Summer

Applications are now being accepted until January 15 for the MIT Women’s Technology Program — a rigorous, four-week summer program (June 24-July 22) for female high-school students entering Senior year next fall.  The program is designed for those who love and excel at math and science but have no prior experience (or very little) in engineering or computer science.  It’s full of hands-on classes, labs, and team-based projects (see the video) in either of two tracks:

The fee is $3,500 and financial assistance is available based on family income. If you have questions after reading the FAQ, then email wtp@mit.edu.

Companies and Graduates: Mass. Clean Energy Internship Program

Opportunities

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is accepting applications for Clean Energy internships with local businesses this spring.  It’s open to those who recently graduated from a Massachusetts college or university and to Massachusetts residents who graduated recently from out-of-state schools.  MassCEC’s available funding for these internships will be allocated to employers in the order that they register, perform eligibility checks, and submit all required materials to MassCEC.  No additional internships will be available after this funding has been committed. Potential interns should apply here.  Companies interested in offering internships should apply here.  Students are encouraged to reach out to clean-energy companies that might be interested, including these companies that have participated in the past.  Employers’ offer letters must be sent to students, signed by students, returned to the employer, and submitted to MassCEC by January 31.  The internships will run from then until May 15. For more information, email internships@masscec.com.

LigerBots Host Another Successful FLL Qualifying Tournament!

Accomplishments, Events

fllnove2016Yesterday the LigerBots, Newton’s high-school FIRST Robotics team, hosted the Newton Qualifier, a FIRST LEGO League (“FLL”) competition, in which 31 teams of students in Grades 4-8 from 14 communities across the state were challenged to think like real-life scientists and engineers. Six teams participated from Newton: The Snowy Owls, Tacocats, Roaming Rover, Kattattak, Day Dragons, and Atomic-Bots.  Congratulations to the Day Dragons for being one of nine teams to advance to the Eastern Massachusetts State Tournament!  (That tournament, with 48 qualifying teams, will also be hosted by the LigerBots, on December 17 at Newton North HS.)

For yesterday’s event, each team defined and solved a real-world problem around this year’s theme, Animal Allies. At the event, the teams presented their research and competed to solve a set of robot game missions using autonomous robots they had built, tested, and programmed.

Yesterday’s event also included an exciting Maker Fair of demonstrations and hands-on activities, including 3D Printing & Artbotics by the LigerBots, Einstein’s Workshop, iRobot, Microsoft, Newton North Greengineering, Russian School of Math, Made@MassChallenge, Kevin Osborn (Maker),  Newton Free Library, Woobo, Empow Studios and Destination Imagination.

Many thanks to all teams, judges, and exhibitors — and congratulations to the LigerBots for their community contribution of careful planning, promotion, and execution of yet another successful event. #MoreThanRobots

MIT ‘Friday After Thanksgiving’ Chain Reaction, Nov. 25

Events

Each year, on the Friday After Thanksgiving, the MIT Museum hosts a hugely collaborative Chain Reaction in which simple or complex contraptions built by participating teams are joined into one massive Rube-Goldberg-esque chain reaction viewed by over 1500 attendees.  (See videos from 2013 and 2014.)  This year, the 19th annual F.A.T. Chain Reaction will be on November 25, 1-4PM, and will be based on the theme “Symmetry.”  The public can view contraptions and talk with teams 1PM-3PM, and the chain reaction will start at 3:30PM.  Buy tickets online through November 24, or in person on November 25 at the MIT Museum (starting at 10AM) or Rockwell Cage (starting at 1PM).  There’s still time to register a team to participate by building a link in the chain.

Teen Coding Meet-ups at Newton Free Library

Opportunities

The all-volunteer Newton Girls Who Code Club is hosting free Teen Coding Meet-ups at the Newton Free Library.  No registration is required, so just drop in when you can, on occasional Sunday afternoons, 2:30-4:30PM.  The schedule is approximately biweekly, with the next sessions on December 4 and 18.  Teens of all genders are welcome.  All you need is a basic understanding of coding.  Some computers will be available, but bring a laptop if you can.  You can bring your own projects or work on Girls Who Code Extended Activity Sets.  Newton GWC staff will not present formal instruction but will mentor and assist.  For more information, contact David Miller of Newton GWC at david@newtongwc.org or Liz Rowland of the Newton Free Library at lrowland@minlib.net.  Many thanks to them for making this happen!

Clay Center Observatory: Public Telescope Nights Resume Nov. 29

Events, Opportunities

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.  They’ll take a break this week and be back November 29 for a short time before closing for the winter, then back open from March 28 through May 30. Register in advance.  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.

GEMS Grants to Start or Expand Science Fairs: Deadline Nov. 30

Opportunities

Gelfand Endeavor in Massachusetts Schools (GEMS) is offering mini grants of up to $1,000 for middle schools and high schools to start or expand annual Science/Engineering Fairs, and up to $4,000 for a sustainable, three-year program.  The grants include tuition scholarships for teachers to enroll in Curious Minds Institute courses to help them bring science and engineering practices into their classrooms.  Apply online by November 30.  For more information, email gems@scifair.com.