Boston’s Museum of Science will host a free panel discussion, EmPowered by AI: The Future of Intelligence, on April 25, 6PM-7PM, moderated by Kara Miller of the Boston Globe. Register for in-person or virtual attendance.
Monthly Archives: April 2022
Summer Pre-College STEM Programs at UMass Mt. Ida in Newton
UMass Amherst offers summer pre-college, residential programs for high school students at its Amherst campus as well as its Mt. Ida campus in Newton. Local Newton students can participate on a commuter basis for these STEM programs at Mt. Ida:
- Building & Construction Technology: CityLab, July 10-23
- Combatting the Climate Crisis with Neighborhood Trees, July 24-30
- Veterinary Technology, July 10-16 and July 17-23
Harvard Museum of Natural History: Summer Science Weeks, Grades 1-8
Harvard’s Museum of Natural History offers Summer Science Weeks for students entering various grades next fall. All sessions run Monday-Friday, 9:30AM-Noon.
- July 11-15: Ancient Archaeology Adventures, Grades 2-4
- July 18-22: Earth Explorers, Grades 1-3
- July 18-22: Ins and Outs of Skeletons, Grades 4-6
- July 25-29: Super Scientists, Grades 2-3
- July 25-29: Invertebrate Investigators, Grades 4-6
- August 1-5: Amazing Animals, Grades 1-3
- August 1-5: Tools of a Scientist, Grades 6-8
- August 8-12: Space!, Grades 1-3
- August 8-12: Nature’s Designs, Grades 4-6
MIT’s You Go Girl! Summer Program for 9th Grade Girls, July 5-8
Registration is open for You GO Girl!, the MIT Edgerton Center’s summer introduction to science and engineering for girls entering Grade 9. This non-residential program for 24 girls in the greater Boston area will return in-person July 5-8, 8:30AM-2:30PM. A suggested donation of $100 for materials is requested. Applications begin with confirmation of Covid vaccination. For more information, contact Amy Fitzgerald at 617-253-7931 or amyfitz@mit.edu.
Science Club For Girls: Successful Catalyst Awards Event
Science Club for Girls held its annual Catalyst Awards fundraising event online on April 5, raising over $280,000 to support its mission of fostering excitement, confidence, and literacy in STEM for girls and young women from underrepresented communities in the Boston metro area. You can view a video of the event here and donate to help SCFG get across its $285,000 goal line to serve 500 participants next year.
Blue Hill Observatory Webinar: A Winter Retrospective, Apr. 28
Just as spring begins to appear, the Blue Hill Observatory is offering a free webinar, A Winter Retrospective, on April 28 at 12PM featuring Dr. Judah Cohen of Atmospheric and Environmental Research and Harvey Leonard, Meteorologist at WCVB TV reviewing actual results vs their predictions for this last winter. The webinar will be hosted by 30-year meteorologist Tim Kelley. Register at the link above.
BU’s U-Design Summer STEM Workshops for Grades 6-9, July 18-22
The Technology Innovation Scholars Program (TISP) at Boston University’s College of Engineering will offer three U-Design summer STEM workshops for students entering these grades next fall:
- Robo-Alley (Grades 7-9)
- Electrical & Mechanical Gizmos (Grades 6-8)
- Flight School 101 (Grades 6-9)
The workshops will run July 18-22, 8:30AM-4PM Monday-Thursday and 8:30AM-6PM on Friday. Registration is limited to 20 students per session. Cost is $450 ($425 for additional student registrations), and limited scholarships may be available for those in need. For more information, e-mail u-design@bu.edu.
CSRecitations: In-Person and Online Summer Programs
CSRecititations (5 Michigan Drive in Natick) will offer in-person classes as well as private and semi-private online options this summer. Contact them for online options or register here for these in-person classes:
- Introduction to Python: Grades 4-5. July 18-29, Mon/Wed/Fri, 3PM-4:30PM
- Advanced Scratch: Grades 6+. July 6-15, Mon/Wed/Fri, 3PM-4:30PM
- Short Course in JavaScript: Grades 7-8, July 11-22, Mon/Wed/Fri, 4:45PM-6:45PM
LigerBots Qualify for the New England District Championships!
Congratulations to Newton’s dual-high-school robotics team, the LigerBots! The team competed well in its two regional qualifiers, securing a spot in the upcoming New England District Championships to be held in Springfield, April 13-16.
Last week, at the Greater Boston Qualifier held at Revere High School, the LigerBots received the Engineering Inspiration Award, recognizing the team’s excellence in rookie training and community outreach events. Previously, the team had won FRC’s Gracious Professionalism Award. In both Regional Qualifiers, the team made it to playoffs but lost in the semi-finals — but nevertheless accumulated enough points overall to secure a spot at District Championships. More photos here.
The Ligerbots team does so much for STEM in Newton through its many community outreach programs — mentoring FIRST LEGO League teams, hosting FLL competitions, and participating enthusiastically in a wide variety of local STEM events. The Newton community now has a wonderful opportunity to return the favor: This team needs to raise funds to support its multi-day trip to Springfield for the District Championships. You can help the Ligerbots continue to succeed by donating here! Thank you!
7th Annual Bowen Science Day: 2nd Time Online, Once Again a Big Success
Today the Bowen Elementary School PTO held its 7th annual Science Day, an event that usually takes over the school gym but for the second year was held — very successfully — on Zoom. About 100 students presented the results of their science projects, undertook engineering challenges, and conducted experiments together online in six half-hour sessions. The students’ projects are available to the Bowen community on Flipgrid for the next week.
Bowen parent Diane Gomez was part of the founding committee that created Science Day seven years ago and has recruited and developed a terrific team to carry on as her daughter moves on to middle school next year. Along with Diane, Betty Wang, David Walend, Elizabeth Stover, Janna Greene, Lena Smolensky, Michelle Manne, and Young Lim organized the event — and thanks to Melanie Hildebrandt and Larissa Gordon for facilitating today. The team has curated a helpful list of online resources. Also contributing to today’s success were:
- LigerBots team members, who served as moderators,
- Visiting scientists from the Journal of Emerging Investigators, who attended and reviewed the students’ presentations,
- Members of the Newton North HS STEMentors club, formed to inspire elementary students in STEM, who led sessions with science games, experiments, and hands-on engineering projects, and
- Principal Guzzi, who viewed each student’s FlipGrid presentation before the event and spoke in a brief keynote highlighting the students’ curiosity, engagement, and sharing
The organizers encourage other Newton PTOs to host Science Days, and their advice: “Start small, keep the rules loose, and don’t formally judge it. Encourage kids to be excited and curious about science and feel empowered to share that curiosity with their community. We are so proud of every single one of these students. It takes so much courage to share your work!” For more information or advice, contact scienceday@bowenpto.org.