Today is the last day to apply for the Biogen-MIT BioTech in Action virtual fall program. It’s a free, 9-week, virtual program for Grades 10-12. Students will use virtual labs, online learning and conferencing software, and online conversations with BioGen and MIT employees to learn about biotechnology and invention, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease. Apply here by September 26. Priority will be given to students from low-income households and groups historically underrepresented in science. The program will have a two-day kickoff 2PM-5PM on October 9-10 and then meet on Saturdays, 2PM-5PM, October 16-December 11 (not November 27).
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Newton Free Library Online: Animal Antics, Ages 3-6, Sept. 27
The Newton Free Library will host an online session of its Animal Antics program, for ages 3-6 and their caregivers, on September 27, 10:30AM-11AM. Each session focuses on a different class/order of animals.
New England Aquarium Virtual Lecture: Achieving Drawdown: A Hopeful, Science-Based Approach to Address Climate Change, Sept. 29
The New England Aquarium‘s next public lecture, supported by the Lowell Institute, will be Achieving Drawdown: A Hopeful, Science-Based Approach to Address Climate Change, on September 29, 6:30PM-7:30PM on Zoom. Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown, will speak about a set of practical solutions to fix the world’s energy, food, and material systems to help stop climate change. Register here.
Science Club for Girls: Volunteers Needed to Pack STEM Kits, Sept. 29-30
Science Club for Girls seeks 25 mask-wearing volunteers to help finish assembling 500 STEM kits for their remote Fall Science Clubs. Email Evelyn Gonzalez at egonzalez@scienceclubforgirls.
HMSC Online: Animal Encounters — Radical Reptiles, Oct. 5
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will host another free, online session of Animal Encounters called Radical Reptiles on October 5, 4PM-4:45PM. Register here at least 30 minutes prior to the event.
HMSC Online Lecture: Did We Evolve to Exercise?, Oct. 13
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will host a free, online lecture, Did We Evolve to Exercise?, by Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman on October 13, 6PM-7:15PM. Register here at least 30 minutes prior to the event.
MassRobotics JumpStart Fellowship Program: Apply by Nov. 1
MassRobotics invites female students in Grades 11-12 with a passion for robotics and technology — and especially those who are Black/Latinx living in Boston — to apply for its paid JumpStart Fellowships that will provide training (3D Modeling/CAD, programming, fabrication and prototyping), industry exposure and networking, and opportunities leading to a career in engineering. This will be the second year of the program. The program will meet on Saturdays, January 8 to May 14, as well as 9AM-4PM daily during the school break February 21-25. Fellows will be eligible to apply for paid internships for summer of 2022. Attend a Google Meet session on October 2 at 10AM or October 19 at 5:30PM. Apply by November 1 with a letter of recommendation from a teacher or other trusted adult.
Mass. STEM Week Design Challenges
For Massachusetts STEM Week, October 18-22, several organizations have contributed Design Challenges for students and educators to explore at no cost.
Science Club for Girls: Registration Open for Online Clubs, Grades K-12
Registration is now open for Science Club for Girls Fall Virtual Science Clubs, which will be held online for 8 weeks starting in October. All girls and those who identify with girlhood in the greater Boston area in Grades K-12 are welcome to apply to be a Participant (Grades K-8) or Junior Mentor (Grades 8-12). Choose a one-hour time slot from among these: 4PM-5PM on Mondays OR Tuesdays OR Fridays (starting the week of October 4), OR 10:30AM-11:30AM Saturdays (starting October 16). A total of 350 places are available, and priority will be given to those who are underrepresented in STEM (i.e., those of color, demonstrating economic need, and/or are first generation college bound). Participants need to have a smart phone, tablet, or computer with Internet access, and all other club materials will be provided free of charge.
SCFG also seeks adults who are studying or working in STEM fields to apply to be Volunteer Mentors for Science Clubs — either the virtual clubs described above or SCFG’s in-person clubs, which are at locations with closed registrations. Mentors commit to teaching hands-on explorations in STEM in Grades K-8, for two hours a week over 8 weeks, in collaboration with Junior Mentors who are in Grades 8-12..
Volunteer in the ‘Future City’ Middle-School Civil Engineering Program
Future City is a four-month civil-engineering program for middle-school students, culminating in an annual design competition in January. The program seeks professional engineers (and others with relevant technical backgrounds) to volunteer as:
- Mentors to work with educators and share their real-life STEM experience, offer technical guidance, and introduce students to engineering and city design; and.
- Judges to evaluate the student teams’ work: Off-line evaluations of city essays, city models, project plans, and related materials OR on-line evaluation of presentations and Q&A sessions.
Volunteers can be working professionals, retirees, or college/graduate students with experience in STEM, urban planning, architecture, or related fields. Apply here. The New England region is sponsored by the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section. In the annual competition, student teams led by an educator and a volunteer mentor spend the fall researching and designing a solution to a city-wide issue, using SimCity. This year’s theme: A Waste-Free Future.