Monthly Archives: March 2018

Boston Society of Architects: Events for Kids, Teens & Adult Volunteers

Events, Opportunities

The Boston Society of Architects will host the following events at BSA Space (290 Congress Street, Boston):

Adults can sign up to volunteer by March 30 for Kids Build! events on April 6, 7, 8, and 15, as well as for the Family Design Days on May 19 and June 16.

Newton Conservators Nature Walks: Mar. 31, Apr. 1 & 21

Events

Newton’s land trust, the Newton Conservators, will lead the following nature walks, free and open to the public:

  • The Hidden Life of Vernal Pools: Forest and Vernal Pool Exploration at Webster Woods: March 31 and April 1, 1PM. Meet rain or shine at end of Warren Street, on the western edge of Webster Conservation Area.
  • A Walk Around Hammond Pond and Nearby Plant Communities: April 21, 10:30AM. Meet at the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center parking lot at Hammond Pond by the informational kiosk. Canceled if raining at 9:30AM.

‘Science on State Street’ Festival in Framingham, Apr. 21

Events

Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center will hold its fourth annual Science on State Street festival on April 21, 10AM-3PM, in the parking lot of FSU’s O’Connor Hall (map).  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, over 30 exhibiting organizations, and planetarium programs. The keynote event, Exploring Mars’ Past, will be at noon. For more information, see these FAQs or email cmc@framingham.edu.

Mass. STEM Summit, Nov. 14: Call for Presenters and Exhibits, by May 4

Opportunities

The 15th annual Massachusetts STEM Summit will be held at DCU Center (40 Foster Street in Worcester) on Tuesday, November 14, 8AM-4PM, focusing on the theme, Pipelines to Prosperity.  Proposals are sought for breakout sessions and resource exhibits for any of these strands:  Early Education, K-12 Education, Higher Education, and Workforce/Business. Proposal forms and guidelines, for both sessions and exhibits, are available on this page. Proposals are due May 4.

Mass. Science Olympiad Results: Newton North 2nd, Newton South 3rd

Accomplishments

Congratulations to the Science Teams of Newton North HS and Newton South HS for placing 2nd and 3rd respectively among 51 high school teams in the preliminary results of this year’s Massachusetts Science Olympiad held at Framingham State University. Each team competed in 25 events throughout the all-day event.Acton-Boxborough placed first, as it has since 2009, when Newton North last came out on top.

LigerBots Compete and Receive Awards at North Shore Event

Accomplishments

The Newton LigerBots participated in their first 2018 district competition this weekend, the North Shore District Event at Reading Memorial HS.  During the opening ceremonies, the team’s award-winning Safety Award Animation was shown, and on the second day of competition team CTO Cam played the national anthem on his trumpet. The LigerBots participated in competitions for FIRST awards as well as the FIRST Power Up competition. At the end of regular competition matches, the team was ranked 10th.  The LigerBots were selected by the Bionics from Billerica to be on Alliance 6, joined by Terminal Velocity from Burlington. The LigerBots also scored a record-setting high score of 861 for this game.

The LigerBots were recognized with several awards:

  • The team received recognition for winning the 2018 FIRST Safety Animation Award, sponsored by UL, for the team’s Safety Animation video, which will be played at 160 FRC competitions worldwide this year.
  • Team mentor Igor Tepermeister was named a Woody Flowers Nominee at this competition, advancing to the next level of competition. This award recognizes an outstanding individual motivator for excellence in communicating and challenging students to communicate clearly and succinctly.
  • The team received the Imagery Award, given in honor of Jack Kamen, Dean’s father, for his dedication to art and illustration and his devotion to FIRST. This award celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance. The judges said, “This award rewards [the LigerBots’] ability to do hard work, great design, and agility. Their planning is professional, and their presence is essential. For these reasons and their elegant bots, the Imagery Award goes to Team 2877, the LigerBots.”

The LigerBots’ next competition will be at the Greater Boston District Event on April 7-8 at Revere HS (101 School St., Revere), and the events on the final day are free, open to the public, and a blast to see.

Newton Free Library: Urban Search and Rescue Robotics Challenge, Mar. 22

Events

The Newton Free Library will host the Urban Search and Rescue Robotics Challenge on Thursday, March 22, 4-8PM. It’s a robotics challenge for Grades 11-12 presented by the Massachusetts Army National Guard and is based on real-life scenarios involving search-and-rescue robots. The event challenges competitors to engineer a robot that can navigate a unique obstacle course to locate and remove an object within a specified time, using heavy-duty, aircraft-grade aluminum elements, powerful drive motors, and wireless cameras. Online registration is required.