Monthly Archives: March 2020

Tumblehome: Free STEM Books If You Review Them

March 29, 2020Opportunitiesnewtonstem

Tumblehome Books, a non-profit STEM book publishing company in greater Boston, is offering a series of free STEM books (shipping included) in its Read-Review-Repeat program. Select a book from their list, read it, review it on Amazon (good, bad, or indifferent), and then repeat with another book on the list. Here are some of the books:

Sometimes We Do by Omo Moses
I Just Keep Wondering by Larry Scheckel
Engineering Bridges by Pendred Noyce
ResQ and the Baby Orangutan by Eva Pell
Remarkable Minds by Pendred Noyce
Inventors, Makers, Barrier Breakers by Pendred Noyce
Microplastics and Me by Anna Du

Christa McAuliffe Center Offers Online Learning Resources

March 29, 2020Resources, Virtual/Onlinenewtonstem

The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University offers teachers and caregivers these STEM resources for Grades PreK-12:

ISS Image of the Week from the International Space Station
DIY Universe to develop an understanding of how the universe works
STEM At Home: A curated collection of online learning resources
Sustainable Space, Sustainable Earth: Videos of speaker presentations and panel discussions from the Moon Landing in Context symposium
Smithsonian Distance Learning Resources

Boston Tech Mom Catalogs Instructor-Led Online STEM Courses

March 29, 2020Resources, Virtual/Onlinenewtonstem

Boston Tech Mom has gathered information about several instructor-led online STEM courses.

STEM Offerings Moving Rapidly to Online, In-Home Learning

March 22, 2020Accomplishments, Resources, Virtual/Onlinenewtonstem

Providers of STEM education and enrichment have moved rapidly to create online versions of their in-person programs for use during the COVID-19 pandemic:

The Innovation Institute has moved all of its spring-term courses online. Classes are starting just now, and some spaces are still available. An initial review from a parent of Grades K and 2 said her kids’ first classes were “a smashing success.” Additional courses will be added soon for Grades 8-12.
Mad Science offers its Loop Lab mail-order science curriculum (with a free lab coat if you use code LABCOAT19). It’s also offering daily 60-minute live online classroom sessions, available for single sessions or by the week.
Code Ninjas has created (and will be updating) a list of at-home STEM activity resources and is offering an at-home Hack-a-thon, tutorial videos, and daily LIVE YouTube videos. Details here.
Empow Studios is offering live, virtual online classes in coding, robotics, film and animation, Minecraft, and engineering.
The John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club has moved its Curiosity Club, Keystone Club, and Torch club meetings online and will host coding and other STEM activities for elementary and middle school kids via MyFuture.net.
Within the next week, the Russian School of Math will have temporarily moved all of its in-person classes online, simulating in-person classes as much as possible and drawing on its seven years of experience in online learning.
CSRecitations has moved all of its in-person classes online, including a new summer online course in Java for Grades 8+. Class sizes are limited to five students.

More Resources for At-Home STEM Education

March 22, 2020Resources, Virtual/Onlinenewtonstem

In addition to last week’s post, Online Resources for STEM-Related Exploration at Home, here are some more:

Boston Tech Mom has published an extensive list of online learning activities for kids.
The Newton Free Library has compiled a list of online resources including this extensive list of STEM resources.
PBS Kids has started a free weekday newsletter for parents to share activities and tips for keeping kids playing and learning at home.
The Winchester HS STEM Education Club has created a website of more than 30 (and growing) at-home, hands-on STEAM activities for elementary students based on curricula the club originally developed for classrooms. Each lesson has an age range, description, and learning objective and includes materials, worksheets, activities, and relevant website links. The club was formed in 2018 by Winchester HS girls and their district STEM coordinator. The curricula are developed based on interviews of HS students about what they found most memorable, effective, and entertaining from their own elementary education.
Tufts CEEO Design and Engineering Workshops is posting design challenges on its Facebook page.
SciFun: Home Experiments compiled by a University of Wisconsin professor.

Ensuring Internet Access for All

March 22, 2020Resourcesnewtonstem

During the self isolation and shelter-at-home that is necessary to ensure our common health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet access becomes even more essential. Low-income families may receive low-cost Internet access from these providers:

Comcast’s Internet Essentials (“affordable Internet at Home for Eligible Households”) offers the first two months free, and after that it’s $9.95 per month plus tax.
Verizon’s Lifeline Discount offers broadband Internet for $9.25 per month plus tax (details in English, Spanish).

You may be well connected; please spread the word so that others are, too.

Cancellations, Postponements, and Closures to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus/COVID-19

March 15, 2020Great ideasnewtonstem

Drastically minimizing in-person social contact, particularly in large groups, is essential to #flattenthecurve and slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it causes. This is not just to protect ourselves from the disease but more importantly to support the network effect of limiting the speed of its growth so that it does not overwhelm our health care facilities and resources. For that overriding purpose, here are local STEM-related cancellations, postponements, and closures:

Cancellations

MIT Spark is cancelled.
Northeastern Splash is cancelled.
Boston College Splash is cancelled.
Framingham State University’s Science on State Street is cancelled.
FIRST Robotics season is cancelled.
National Science Teachers Association annual conference is cancelled, and alternatives are being considered.
SET in the City is cancelled.
Expeditions to STEM is cancelled.
Framingham State University Planetarium March 20 show cancelled.
Mass Audubon has cancelled all programs through March 31.
New England SciTech has cancelled all workshops, classes, and events through at least March 26.
Mad Science of North Boston has cancelled all events.

Postponements

Massachusetts STEM Summit has been postponed.
You-Do-It Electronics Arduino Day has been postponed.
Science Club for Girls’ Catalyst Awards Night has been postponed.
Lincoln Labs’ April 4 Science on Saturday has been postponed, perhaps to October.
Girls STEM Summit has been postponed until June.

Closures

Harvard Museum of Natural History is closed indefinitely.
Boston’s Museum of Science is closed through at least April 3.
Worcester’s EcoTarium will close through April 6.
The MIT Museum is closed until further notice.
New England Aquarium is closed for a minimum of three weeks.
The Discovery Museum in Acton is closed until March 30.
Mass Audubon has closed all sanctuaries and trails.

Online Resources for STEM-Related Exploration at Home

March 15, 2020Resources, Virtual/Onlinenewtonstem

While your family is at home, here are some online STEM resources to explore:

Khan Academy‘s comprehensive online learning site for science, computing, and math, with support for remote learning during school closures
444 online science exhibits, compiled by Google
62 Google StreetView visits to Science Museums around the world
PBS Learning Media videos, lesson plans, and interactive tools for science, engineering & technology, and math
Harvard Museum of Natural History‘s online lecture videos
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History‘s online virtual tour
Scientific American’s Bring Science Home series of activities for kids 6-12 years old
The Exploratorium‘s site on the science of cooking
Optics4kids.org activities, optical illusions, and resources for kids of all ages
AmazingEducationalResources.com‘s catalog of over 400 online learning sites offering free programming during the COVID-19 pandemic

Talking with Kids about Coronavirus and COVID-19

March 15, 2020Resourcesnewtonstem

Area museums have compiled this list of age-appropriate, online resources for learning about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, as presented by the Discovery Museum:

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers: Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and Children, from the CDC.
Cover Your Cough and Sneeze! How to Teach Kids to Cough/Sneeze into Their Sleeves, from Boston Children’s Museum.
Small people can have big feelings when they hear about scary information on the news. Here is a great article from Huffington Post on how to talk to them about coronavirus from experts.
Talking To Kids About the Coronavirus, from the Child Mind Institute
Just for Kids, a comic exploring the new Coronavirus, from NPR
A video to teach your children how hand washing helps prevents the spread of Coronavirus from Nanogirl.
With the shortage of hand sanitizer, now is a great time to do a little science at home. Here is a recipe from Popular Science for making homemade hand sanitizer, an activity you can do with your child.
And for older kids, Transmissions: Gone Viral, by the New York Hall of Science, an interactive comic book on the topic of viruses the scientific process–how to collect evidence and draw conclusions.

Register for Boston College Splash!, Mar. 29

March 8, 2020Eventsnewtonstem

Boston College will hold BC Splash on Sunday, March 29, 10AM-4PM. Splash is a one-day, student-run program in which undergraduates and graduate students teach mini-courses for students in Grades 7-12. There’s also an optional Parent Program for learning about Boston College, student life, and admissions. Registration is required, is first-come/first-served, and is open until March 27. There’s a $5 fee for the day, which includes a pizza lunch. Registrants will receive an online link for payment one week before the event. For more information, email bcsplash@gmail.com or call at 617-297-7524. STEM-related classes in the course catalog include:

Poker Master: Introduction to Probability Theory
The Art of Integration
Jumping Genes: Mechanism and Implications
Paper Chromatography of Inks: A Forensic Investigation
Introduction to Genetics
Straws and Turtles: Our Global Plastic Pollution Problem
Just the Basics: Intro to Acid/Base Chemistry
Organic Chemistry in 50 Minutes

NewtonSTEM

STEM education events & resources for Newton, MA students, parents, teachers, and volunteers — in and out of school