Boston College’s iDESIGNS Institute will host a two-week summer program in which 20 U.S. students entering Grades 10-12 will learn and collaborate with students from the JinLing High School (Nanjing, China) in designing and developing hydroponics systems. The program will be held in twice (July 10-21 and July 24-August 4), and the cost is $1000 per two-week session. Each day will include coursework 9AM-3:30PM and supervised free time in makerspace and science lab 3:30-5:30PM. The focus will be on learning about engineering design, hydroponics, coding, and Chinese culture. Applications are due April 24. For more information, contact program manager Rajeev Rupani at rupanir@bc.edu.
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Clay Center Observatory: Public Telescope Nights Through June 6
The Clay Center Observatory, on the campus of Dexter Southfield School (20 Newton Street in Brookline; 5th floor), holds Public Telescope Nights on most Tuesdays in the spring and fall, from 8PM to 9PM. They’ll be open from through June 6. Register in advance. Events are canceled if weather is rainy or overcast: Call 617-454-2795 one hour before the event for a recorded message. The Clay Center offers a range of Outreach Programs for community groups. Check the Center’s calendar for future events.
Ten Days of the Cambridge Science Festival, Apr. 14-23
The Cambridge Science Festival is the national leader in its field, with over 160 activities and events spanning 10 days, April 14-23. You can filter this year’s online schedule of events by date or by age (family/teens/adults) — and browse the list of recurring programs and events, Museum of Science activities and exhibits, and week-long youth workshops. Some events require pre-registration or tickets, and most are free, including:
- The opening-night symposium on April 14, 7:30-9:30PM at Harvard’s Sanders Theater: Are We Alone? Exploring the Possibility of OTher Intelligent Life in the Universe
- The Science Carnival and Robot Zoo on Saturday, April 15, 12-4PM at the Cambridge Public Library and Rindge & Latin High School
It’s too much to keep in your head. You can print out the 30-page program (PDF) or use the guidebook app for your iPhone or Android device.
STEM Events at Leventhal Map Center at Boston Public Library, Apr. 18-19
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library will host several free STEM-related events during April school break, to accompany the Center’s exhibition, Regions and Seasons: Mapping Climate Through History:
More Info on the March for Science – Boston, Apr. 22
The March for Science Boston will held on Boston Common on April 22, 1-4PM. Speakers have been announced for both the kids’ event (1-2PM, followed by interactive science activities 2-4PM) and the main event (2-4PM). Register for free to help the managers plan for the event and follow up afterwards. Tax-deductible donations are accepted here and official T-shirts are sold here to fund the event.
Newton Community Ed: Marine Biology Summer Program, Grades 9-12
A stand-out among the summer STEM programs offered by Newton Community Education is a for-credit course in Marine Biology for students entering Grades 9-12. It includes classroom and lab work and four full-day field trips: Massachusetts Bay aboard a UMass research vessel, inter-tidal ecosystem in Nahant, shorebird ecology at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and Sandy Point Reservation in Plum Island, and salt-marsh ecology Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Falmouth. The course runs 8:30-11AM, June 29 – July 28 at Newton North HS. Register here.
BU Seeks Rocketry Teacher for U-Design Summer Workshop, July 17-21
Registration is full for Boston University College of Engineering’s U-Design summer workshops for students in Grades 6-9. The program is looking for an instructor for one of its workshops: Flight School 101, July 17-21 (8:30AM-4PM), to run a hands-on workshop for 20 students, with undergraduate assistants, to design and build balsa wood propeller planes, water bottle rockets, and Estes rockets. Applicants need a basic knowledge of aeronautics and rocketry, as well as experience teaching Grades 7-9. Contact Saadiya Mutawakil, STEM Outreach Coordinator, at sum1@bu.edu.
Einstein’s Workshop: Saturday Classes in Newton Centre Start Apr. 29
Einstein’s Workshop in Lexington will again offer weekly classes on Saturdays in Newton Centre (Davis Hall, Andover Newton Theological Seminary, 210 Herrick Road). The first round of classes will run April 29-June 10 (except May 20 & 27). The Workshop is also continuing a promotion: If you mention the name of your Newton elementary school PTO in the registration comments section, then Einstein’s Workshop will donate $10 to that PTO (per student registered with that PTO designation). Classes in Newton include:
- Creating 3D Prints with BlockCAD, Grades 4-6
- Introduction to Robotics with LEGO WeDO, Grades K-2
- Scratch Programming, Grades 2-5
- Minecraft Club, Grades 2-5
- Learn to Code: Java Minecraft Modding, Grades 6-9
Partners HealthCare: Free Career Forum for High-School Students, May 3
On May 3, 7AM-12:30PM, high-school students may attend for free the final day of the World Medical Innovation Forum hosted by Partners HealthCare at the Westin Copley hotel in Boston, May 1-3. Students can attend seven panel discussions and fireside cats to explore learn about diagnosing, treating, and managing cardiovascular and cardio metabolic disease (see agenda). Continental breakfast is included. Students must register with this link for free admission. For more information, contact Richard Fountain, Director of Strategic Marketing and Innovation for Partners Healthcare at RAFOUNTAIN@PARTNERS.ORG or 617-535-6556.
A Very Successful Bowen Elementary Science Day!
At Bowen Elementary School today, 200 students in Grades K-5, on 125 teams, presented amazing projects at their Science Day. The PTO provided posterboard, online resources, encouragement in the weeks beforehand, and a low-stress, cooperative environment for exploration, inquiry, and presentation. Parent scientists visited with each team to engage them in the results of their work, and each exhibit had comment forms for visitors. Also exhibiting were the LigerBots, Green Newton, Destination Imagination, Cambridge Science Festival, Bowen’s BASCP after-school program. Congratulations and thanks to the PTO organizers and school staff. This is what STEM events can be.