Genes in Space invites students in Grades 7-12 to a contest to design DNA experiments for space. Five finalist teams will receive mentoring by Harvard/MIT scientists and present at the International Space Station R&D Conference for a chance at the national award. Winners will attend Space Biology Camp and send their experiment into space. Applications are due April 20. The contest is free and does not require equipment. Proposals will be judged solely on their creative and scientific merit.
Monthly Archives: January 2018
MIT Museum Seeks Summer Teachers-in-Residence
The MIT Museum is seeking middle- or high-school STEM educators as Teachers-in-Residence to teach established science and technology workshops in an informal education environment, in collaboration with the Museum’s work Education & Public Programs team. Teachers will also develop and implement an independent project that augments current workshops at the MIT Museum. They will also gain a behind-the-scene perspective of the Museum, explore current science and technology research at MIT, share their classroom expertise with Museum staff, and serve as a liaison between the Museum and their schools. These positions are temporary, full-time, July 2-August 10 (plus 1-2 days prior for orientation and training). To apply, send resume and cover letter to edsearch@mit.edu.
New England Aquarium Summer Camps
The New England Aquarium runs a series of one- and two-week summer day camps. Registration has started for members and will open to the general public on February 5. Applications for scholarships will be accepted until March 2.
Grades 4-5
- New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Maniacs (July 23-27)
- Fishellaneous (July 30 – August 3)
- Tidepool Trekker (August 20-24)
Grades 6-7
- Harbor Island Hopper (July 9-13)
- Mysterious Ocean (July 16-20)
- Coastal Quest (August 6-10)
- Vibrant Vertebrates (August 13-17)
Grades 8-9
- Coastal Zone Studies (July 9-13)
- Marine Mammal Mentors (July 30 – August 3)
- Aquarist in Training (August 20-24)
Grades 8-10 (two-week camps)
- Marine Science 101 (week 1: July 16-20; week 2: July 23-27)
- Field Expedition (week 1: August 6-10; week 2: August 13-17)
Newton Free Library: STEM Events in February
The Newton Free Library will host the following STEM event(s) in February (not including the Girls Who Code club or the Crazy 8s Math club, for which registration has ended):
- February 1: Scratch Club, 7-8PM, Grades 3-4. Space is limited. Pick up tickets 15 minutes beforehand at the Children’s Desk.
Boston Tech Mom: Tech Events for Kids in February
Boston Tech Mom (“a parent’s guide to raising a future techie”) is a great resource for all things STEM around Boston — including her monthly posts about free or low-cost STEM Events for Kids in Boston. Here’s her February list of STEM events.
Newton Community Ed: Early-Release Science Days
Newton Community Education is partnering with Wicked Cool for Kids to offer Early Release Science Days for Grades 1-4 at Horace Mann, Underwood, Cabot at Carr, and Bowen elementary schools on days when Newton Public Schools are released early. The cost is $65 per session, and you can save $15 by registering for all three sessions.
- Wednesday, February 7: Squishy Circuits: Combine make-your-own play-dough with electronics to build circuits. Concoct colored conductive and insulating dough, and integrate batteries and LEDs to make creations with light-up components.
- Thursday, March 8: Slime Time: Create six amazing slime samples. Make glow-in-the-dark slime and super smelly putty. Whip up some polka-dot slime and concoct color explosion goop. Finish up with undersea slime and a bouncy-ball formula.
- Thursday, May 3: Space Base: Travel into deep space and construct a human habitat. Determine what you’ll need to terraform a planet. Decide how you’ll grow food, where to live, and how to communicate with Earth. Construct buildings and landscapes for the survival of humankind.
BioBuilder February Break Workshop for Ages 10-14, Feb. 20-22
BioBuilder Learning Lab is hosting SynBIO: Fiction vs. Reality, a February break workshop for 10-14-year-old students interested in synthetic biology and getting hands-on time in a biology lab with a trained scientist. It will be held February 20-22, 9AM-3PM, at BioBuilder Lab Central (700 Main Street, Cambridge). Cost is $600. Register here. For more information, email info@biobuilder.org.
MIT Museum FebFest over School Vacation, Feb. 19-24
Over the February school vacation, February 19-24, the MIT Museum will host its annual Feb Fest. This year’s theme is Big Data, inspired by the Museum’s exhibition, Big Bang Data. Except as noted, the cost of all of the following events is included in the charge for museum admission:
Workshops for middle-school students (9:30AM-3:30PM), including trips to the MIT campus: Pre-registration is required for each of the following (cost $85):
- February 20: Environmental Data Art
- February 21: Using Data to Build Better Bridges
- February 22: Building Robots that Use Data
- February 23: Let’s Do Science: Using Crowd-Sourced Data
Showcases (daily 10AM-Noon), with topics changing daily. Drop-in; registration not required.
- February 19: Chain Reaction Construction with Data
- February 20: Data for Energy & Our Environment
- February 21: Data for Health & Wellness
- February 22: Data Communication & Visualization
- February 23: The Internet and Machine Learning
Idea Hub (daily 12:30-2PM) to explore programming in Scratch. On-site sign-up for 30-minute sessions.
Gallery Tours (daily 2-2:30PM) for ages 14+. Tickets available for up to 25 participants starting 30 minutes before each tour.
- February 20, 22, 23: Big Bang Data
- February 21: CAVS 50, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies
Finale (February 24, 1-4PM): Citizen Science Fair: Public participation in data collection, analysis, and reporting.
NSHS Seeks Furniture and Tools for a New Maker Space
The Newton South HS Science Department is creating a “maker-space” for science classes and related student activities. They are seeking donations of (and can arrange transportation for) the following:
- One or more full-height storage cabinets (wood, metal, or heavy plastic) that either have locks or to which a hasp and padlock could be attached;
- Work stools, fire-compliant chairs, or a small sofa;
- Hand tools and small power tools of any type.
Check out this catalog of school furniture to start creating a supportive modern learning environment.
To donate any of these, please contact Jordan Krause at dr.ljkraus@gmail.com.
Marine Genomics & Career Workshop for Girls in Nahant, Feb. 20-21
Girls in Grades 10-12 are invited Northeastern University’s free Marine Genomics and Career Workshop at the university’s Marine Science Center in Nahant, February 20-21. It’s an opportunity to explore the ocean, science, and math while meeting scientists, educators, and new friends. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until February 2 or until the workshop is filled. Preference will be given to girls from economically disadvantaged families. There’s a daily shuttle from Boston to the Center. For more information, contact Val Perini at v.perini@northeastern.edu or 781-581-7370 x373.