All posts by newtonstem

Discovery Museum: Play testing with toys designed by MIT class, Mar. 12

Events

On March 12, 10AM-4PM, the Discovery Museums (177 Main Street, Acton)  will invite the public to play with and test new toy designs created by MIT’s Toy Product Design class. Students from the class will be there with interactive posters to present their ideas and to  gather feedback from the public about their designs and which should move forward to production. Have some fun being part of the engineering design process!

Grades 7-8: Register Now for MIT SPARK, Mar. 18-19

Events

Run by MIT undergraduate and graduate students, SPARK offers students in Grades 7 and 8 a variety of short, interesting classes on the MIT campus over one weekend, March 18-19 (10AM-5PM on Saturday, 9AM-5PM on Sunday). The registration lottery is open now through 5PM on March 4, and until that deadline all course preferences will be treated equally in the lottery. After that, any remaining seats will be open first-come/first-served. Students may choose from over 70 courses and must register on their own. To fill your schedule, rank your top 3 classes and star at least 10 classes per time block. A $50 fee covers two days of classes and lunch and lots of walk-in activities. Generous financial aid is available. For more information not covered here, email spark@mit.edu. Here are STEM courses offered:

Computer Science

  • Can a computer solve it? P vs NP
  • Intro to JavaScript & Web Development
  • A brief history of computer science

Engineering

  • Build Your Own Solar Powered Car
  • How to Run an Airline
  • Crystals and Crystallography
  • CAD 101
  • Create your own board game
  • How to build a space mission

Mathematics

  • Fun with math: puzzles, games and a bit of history
  • Can you draw a house without lifting your pen? What about a computer network?
  • The Magic of Higher Powers
  • Cut & Reassemble: From a cat to a bird
  • Game Theory and Chomping Monsters
  • Pretty Patterns in Pascal’s Triangle

Science

  • Take Flight!
  • Let’s Talk about the Weather
  • Incarcerated Rights to Healthcare
  • Light: The coolest thing in the world
  • Climate Change and the Future of Human Health
  • Microbiology: Microbe Biology
  • What’s in a Nuclear Reactor?
  • Make Your Own Metamaterial
  • Minerals Lab: Earth’s Materials
  • Underwater Earthquake Science: An Intro to Performing Research on Ships as a Marine Geophysicist
  • Herbal Medicine: Not Just Essential Oils!

HMSC free, public, hybrid lecture: When Evolution Hurts, Mar. 2

Events

Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will host a free public lecture — When Evolutions Hurts — on March 2, 6PM-7PM. It will take place both in-person (Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge) and online. In either case, registration is required. Harvard Professor Terence D. Capellini will discuss genetic research that is helping scientists better understand the relationship between bipedalism and our risk of developing knee osteoarthritis—a degenerative disease that afflicts at least 250 million people worldwide. By understanding the evolutionary history and genetics of this condition, preventive screenings and potential treatments may be developed.

MIT STEMVAULT: STEM videos for Grades 6-8, April 8

Events

STEMVAULT* is an MIT student video competition that aims to make STEM exciting, understandable, and fun for middle school students. On April 8, 9AM-1PM, all in Grades 6-8 are invited to gather for a symposium to view the results and get informed and inspired. Sign up here to learn more.

*Yes, STEMVAULT stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Videos for Accessible Understanding of “Locked” Topics! It’s organized by MIT’s School of Engineering, MITES, and MIT students Malik and Miles. Here’s their video of guidelines for MIT student creators and a sample video they created.

Empow Studios: Registration is open for Spring classes and Summer camps

After School, Summer
Registration is open now for Empow Studios’ spring classes and summer camps for ages 7-15. Kids can explore STEM,  find their passion, and accelerate learning in Digital Art & Design, Minecraft, Coding, Robotics, and Video Game Design — from beginner to advanced projects. Classes and camps are at seven locations in the Boston area, including 180 Needham Street in Newton Upper Falls and 80 Crescent Street in Newton Centre — as well as online.

Earthwatch Girls in Science Fellowships, Aug. 6-12 — Apply by Mar. 24

Summer

Earthwatch is offering fully funded Girls in Science Fellowships to Massachusetts students who are currently in Grades 10-11 (ages 15-18) and identify as female or nonbinary. August 6-12, the Fellows will study the ecology and behavior of dolphins on the expedition Marine Mammal Bioacoustics and Conservation at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution expedition, in partnership with Woods Hole Sea Grant. Food and accommodations will be provided. Register here for an online information session on Tuesday, February 28 at 6PM. Apply by March 24. For more information, email gis@earthwatch.org.

LLRISE: MIT Lincoln Laboratory Summer Radar Program for Rising High-School Seniors, Apply by Mar. 10

Summer

MIT Lincoln Laboratory offers the Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers (LLRISE), a two-week, residential, summer workshop for 18 rising high-school seniors to build small radar systems. It’s free and will be held July 9-22 on the MIT Campus with activities also at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington. Students from a wide range of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Apply online by 10PM on March 10, including uploading of essays, transcripts, standardized test scores, and math and science teacher recommendations. For more information, contact LLRISE@LL.mit.edu.