Monthly Archives: December 2021

LigerBots Host FIRST LEGO League Eastern Mass. Championship

Accomplishments, Events

Many thanks to the LigerBots, Newton’s high-school robotics team, for again hosting the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Massachusetts Eastern Championship yesterday. This year’s event featured the 24 FLL teams in Grades 4-8 that qualified for the event from across eastern Massachusetts, including three teams from Newton: The Selfless Shellfish, Lazer Robotics, and Fuego LEGO. Teams competed in robot matches and in their presentations of both their robot designs and their research-based innovation design projects.  All activities were based on this year’s transportation-focused FLL theme, Cargo Connect (see video and overview).

At yesterday’s championship, Lazer Robotics received the award for achieving the highest score in the robot matches.

Team Fuego LEGO — all 7th graders at Oak Hill MS — have been together for three years, having started at Bowen Elementary. They have been working on their robot since this summer and qualified for this event by winning the Core Values Award at an FLL competition in Springfield earlier this month, which was featured in the local TV news.

The Selfless Shellfish — also 7th graders at Oak Hill MS — started at Zervas Elementary. They did very well yesterday, coming close to high score in the robot matches and working more smoothly than their “nail-biter” performance at the recent qualifying competition in Easton. They programmed their robot in Python, a more challenging language than Scratch, and together they built a library of code for robot maneuvers that all team members could share.

And mentor Greer Tan Swiston won the Outstanding Volunteer award.

Due to Covid, this year’s championship was not open to the public, and the Ligerbots were not able to host the wonderful STEM fair that has accompanied the event in earlier years.

Join NewtonSTEM in Supporting Diversity in STEM: LEAH Project and Science Club for Girls

Opportunities

NewtonSTEM is supporting the LEAH Project and Science Club for Girls — two excellent programs that provide STEM education, inspiration, and mentoring for girls and young women from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM fields. Please click the bold links below to join in and make your contribution, too.

The LEAH Project has proven successful in empowering Boston-area youth — low-income, of color, and/or first generation college — to diversify STEM fields and succeed in them. Guided by its parent organization, Health Resources in Action, the LEAH Project offers paid STEM internships, college and career readiness programs, and leadership opportunities to build confidence and provide skills and connections that youth need to thrive. Join NewtonSTEM in supporting the LEAH Project with your donation of any amount.

Science Club for Girls is a non-profit that does a terrific job fostering excitement, confidence, and literacy in STEM for girls and young women from underrepresented communities in the Boston metro area. This fall, SCFG has expanded by 40% to reach 350 youth with 83 mentors in its Science Clubs — four in-person clubs and 30 virtual. There are still 230 girls on its waiting list, and SCFG aims to raise $50,000 by December 31 to extend its reach to meet this need and will match contributions (up to a total of $30,000) toward this goal. Join NewtonSTEM in supporting SCFG with your donation of any amount. 

James Webb Space Telescope: Launch Rescheduled for Dec. 24

Events

The James Webb Space Telescope — 3 times larger than the Hubble and 100 times more powerful — has been under development for 25 years and is now scheduled to launch at 7:22AM on December 24.  It’s designed to see if there’s life on exoplanets and also to peer back to see the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Framingham State University’s McAuliffe Center will host an online celebration of the launch (free) at that time

McAuliffe Center: In-Person Holiday Program Dec. 17-18 & Online Celebration of James Webb Space Telescope Launch, Dec. 24

Events

The James Webb Space Telescope — 3 times larger than the Hubble and 100 times more powerful — has been under development for 25 years and is now scheduled to launch at 7:22AM on December 22.  It’s designed to see if there’s life on exoplanets and also to peer back to see the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Framingham State University’s McAuliffe Center will host an online celebration of the launch (free) at that time and also invites everyone to celebrate ahead of time, in-person at its Holiday Program, December 17 & 18, 4PM-7PM ($5 per person). At the in-person Holiday Program, there will be showings of the new full-dome planetarium film, Big Astronomy, at 4:00PM, 4:45PM, 5:30PM, and 6:15PM, as well as hands-on activities and stargazing throughout the event. Purchase tickets here. For further information, email cmc@framingham.edu.

Register Now for Technovation Girls — 3 Divisions: Ages 8-12, 13-15, 16-18

Opportunities

The Technovation Challenge is a free, worldwide, technology entrepreneurship competition in which each teams of up to five girls (in three divisions by age:  8-12, 13-15, 16-18 years old) identify problems in their local communities, build prototype applications for them (AI or mobile apps), develop business plans, and pitch the plans to potential investors. Teams meet January-April for 3-4 hours weekly with mentors from the tech/business community in preparation for regional and worldwide events in May and June. Sign up here. The MassTLC Education Foundation, which hosts the program in the Boston area, seeks volunteer mentors with expertise in coding, design, marketing, or finance. Email Sara Fraim at sara@masstlc.org for more information.

MIT Women in Technology Summer Program for Grade 11, Apply by Jan. 15

Summer

MIT’s Women’s Technology Program is an intensive, four-week summer academic program for girls currently in Grade 11 to explore engineering through classes, labs, and projects (see video). It’s traditionally been a residential program, but in 2021 it was held online. In 2022, it will be held June 25 – July 23, either online (10AM-5PM weekdays) or in-person (not clear which yet), but not hybrid. There is no fee to apply or attend. Separate programs are available for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (20 students) and Mechanical Engineering (20 students).  Applicants must have strong curiosity about one of these fields (but no direct experience in it yet) and also excel in math and science. Students with backgrounds underrepresented in STEM and/or few other opportunities to explore these fields are especially encouraged to apply. Applications are now available online and are due January 15. For more information, first check the program’s FAQ and then email wtp@mit.edu. See also their Resources page for additional ways to learn about engineering.

Grade 11: Apply for Broad Summer Scholars Program by Jan. 21

Summer

Applications are now open for the Broad Institute’s Summer Scholars Program for highly motivated, rising high-school seniors in the greater Boston area who have a strong interest in science. BSSP is planning for an in-person program next summer but may need to shift to a virtual program. In any case, students are matched with Broad scientists for six weeks (June 27-August 5) conducting original research and will have opportunities to explore careers in science, attend a college fair, present their work to Broad scientists in a poster session, and participate in social events. There’s no cost to apply or attend, and there is a stipend and partial reimbursement of travel costs. Excitement for science is required, but no previous experience is needed. Students from communities or situations underrepresented in STEM are particularly encouraged to apply. Apply by January 21. For more information, see this FAQ page or email bssp@broadinstitute.org.

Harvard Holiday Lecture, Online: A Festival About Fluids, Dec. 11

Events, Virtual/Online

Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will again hold its Holiday Lecture virtually this year, on December 11 at 1PM. This year’s topic is Go With the Flow: A Festival About Fluids. Before the webinar, please register here and also visit this page to submit photos and words to be combined into a word cloud about fluids. That page will also soon have lists of household materials to gather for use in demonstrations during the webinar, as well as experiments you can do at home.

Newton Free Library: Little Lab Coats — Landforms, Ages 6-9, Dec. 14

Events, Virtual/Online

The Newton Free Library will host a session of Little Lab Coats to explore Landforms on Tuesday, December 14, 6PM-7PM, for ages 6-9. The topic includes mountains, canyons, glaciers, waterfalls, plateaus, plains, valleys, islands, and more.  Registration is required and opens at 8:30AM on December 6. Space is limited.  A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the program.