From November 28 to January 17, Google is sponsoring Google Code-In, a global, online contest in which students ages 13-17 complete bite-sized tasks of coding (see examples) in a community of open-source development under the guidance of mentors from participating organizations. Students search for a task and claim it, and then have 3 days in which to complete it and submit it to mentors for review. Prizes are available.
All posts by newtonstem
National Science Teachers: Best STEM Books of 2017
The National Science Teachers Association has prepared its first-ever list of Best STEM Books for the year, following a year of study using criteria described here. Each of the 31 recommended books for 2017 (pdf) “reinforces STEM thinking — modeling innovation, demonstrating authentic problem-solving and assimilation of new ideas — all while exploring solutions that show progressive change or improvement.”
Museum of Science: 50% Off on Fridays, Dec. 8 & 15
Boston’s Museum of Science is offering a 50% discount on admission to its exhibit halls, 3PM-9PM on these Fridays: December 8 and 15.
Boston Tech Mom: Tech Events for Kids in December
Boston Tech Mom (“a parent’s guide to raising a future techie”) is a great resource for all things STEM around Boston — including her monthly posts about free or low-cost STEM Events for Kids in Boston. Here’s her December list of STEM events.
Empow Studios Adds Summer Programs, Extends 15% Discount to Dec. 5
Empow Studios has extended until December 5 its 15% discount on registrations for vacation and summer camps in 2018. This includes an expanded 10 weeks of summer programs at two locations in Newton: the Leventhal JCC and Empow Studios’ new location at 180 Needham Street.
Computer Science Education Week Webinar, Nov. 28
To prepare for Computer Science Education Week (December 4-10), the Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education (CAITE) and Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council Education Foundation (MassTLC) will host a free webinar at 7PM on November 28. It will cover how to host an Hour of Code, lesson plans for classrooms or home use, and information on workshops and other resources. Register here.
Newton FLL Team Raises Awareness of Lead in Drinking Water
As part of its research for this year’s FIRST LEGO League (FLL) theme of Hydro Dynamics, an FLL team of 6th graders at Brown Middle School — the Hydro Dragons — has created a website to raise awareness of the problem of lead in drinking water. Take a look. If you have questions, ask them on the site’s blog, and the team will attempt to answer them.
‘Sound Ideas’ — Teen Science Cafe at MIT Museum, Dec. 2
The MIT Museum will host its next Teen Science Cafe for high-school students on December 2, 6-8:30PM, focused on the science of sound and music. Admission is free and dinner will be provided. Seating is limited and registration is required. Doors will open at 5:45PM and no one will be admitted after 7PM. The event will include a musical performance by Newton South HS’s Crescendo acapella group and these talks:
- Converting Sound to Neural Signals
- Musician and Mega-Machine: Compositions Driven by Real-Time Particle Collision Data from the ATLAS Detector
- Using Sound Waves to Separate Cancer Cells from the Blood
- Fabric Keyboard – Multimodal Textile as an Expressive and Deformable Musical Interface
MassBay STEM Expo, Dec. 13
MassBay Community College will host its bi-annual STEM Expo, 11AM-Noon on December 13 at its Wellesley Hills campus cafeteria (50 Oakland Street) to showcase the accomplishments of students and faculty. It’s free and open to the public. Topics include Engineering Design, Robotics, Game Programming, Cyber Security, Protein Purification, Biotechnology, and Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning.
MITS: 2018 STEM Professional Development Seminars
The Museum Institute for Teaching Science will hold a series of professional-development seminars at Clark University in Worcester for staff, volunteers, and other museum professionals, as well as teachers. The cost is $40 per day, with discounts for multiple days. Register and pay online. Dates are topics are:
January 24
- Extreme Events and Climate Change: What We Know and Some Ideas About What to Do About It
- How We Know What We Know: Using Real-World Data to Explore Key Climate Concepts
February 14
- Developing a Taste for Molecular Biology
- Sharing Science: Connecting Scientists and Engineers with the Public
March 28
- Dig In: Strengthening Sustainability Learning Through Farm-to-School Connections
April 24
- The Technology, Data and People Behind Forecasting in the National Weather Service
- Engaging Students with Weather & Climate Through Media