Empow Studios in Lexington offers one-day Nano-Camps for Grades 2-8 on most days that school is closed for holidays and breaks. Kids complete a project — e.g., an animated film, a video game, or an interactive robot — in one day, 8:30AM-4PM with extended day available until 5:30PM. Register from this list of sessions.
All posts by newtonstem
Newton Boys & Girls Club Visits Elmwood Aquaponics Farm
Last week, several students from the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club visited Elmwood Farm in Hopkinton to learn about its aquaponics and energy sustainability. The students learned how aquaponics combines aquaculture (raising fish in tanks) with hydroponics (growing plants in water) in a symbiotic balance as excrement from fish becomes nutrients for plants, which filter the fish environment. They also earned about Elmwood Farm’s total solar energy self-sufficiency. They met cows and sheep and participated in farming operations — feeding chickens, collecting eggs, planting and harvesting vegetables. The Club’s Education Director, Tamara Brogan, arranged the after-school field trip.
Register Now for UMass Amherst Women in Engineering and Computing Career Day, Oct. 24
The University of Massachusetts Amherst will host its annual Women in Engineering and Computing Career Day on October 24, 8:30AM-1:10PM. It’s designd for female high-school students, but other students are welcome. The cost of $20 per student includes breakfast and lunch, and some financial aid is available. Counselors and teachers may attend free. All attendees must register by October 14. A maximum of 10 students may attend from each high school, so students should coordinate their own registration through their school counselors.
Free Evolution Workshop for Teachers at WGBH, Sept. 20
NOVA and the Leakey Foundation are hosting a free Evolution Workshop for teachers at WGBH (10 Guest Street in Boston) on September 20, 4-6PM. Dinner is provided, and registration is required.
MAST Awards: Nominate a Science Teacher by Sept. 30
Nominations are open until September 30 for several awards for science teachers from the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers (MAST):
- 14 county-level science educator awards
- 1 award for an exemplary new teacher
- 1 award for a distinguished “friend of science” working with educators
- 1 award for a K-8 teacher who is inspirational in environmental education
Anyone may submit a nomination, either by submitting the downloaded form along with a sheet describing the nominee’s accomplishments OR by completing the form online with the same information. All nominees will be notified of their nominations, and awards will be presented at the MAST Annual Conference on November 3. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Mazzola at gmazzola@awrsd.org.
Free Monthly Planetarium Shows at Framingham State University
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University opens its planetarium for public presentations on the third Friday of each month (except April), with two one-hour shows: 5:30PM and 6:30PM. On some dates, the 5:30PM show is aimed at a younger audience, but all ages are welcome. Pre-registration is required and opens two weeks prior to each event via links on this page listing upcoming events, which include:
- October 21: Climate Change and Habitat Earth
- November 18: Back to the Moon for Good
- December 16: Holiday Skies
- January 20: Galaxy Zoo
- February 17: (to be determined)
- March 17: Habitat Earth
WPI STEM Outreach Programs for Middle Schoolers
Worcester Polytechnic Institute offers STEM outreach programs for middle-school students. For more information, email pop@wpi.edu or call 508-831-4900.
STEM Saturdays: A series of monthly workshops for Grade 6-8 students and their parents/guardians on Saturdays, 8:45AM-Noon. $180 for entire series. Registration opens October 3 at 9AM.
Tech Girls: An almost-weekly series of after-school STEM-related activities for girls in Grades 6-8 with WPI students, faculty, and staff on Wednesdays, 4-6PM. $180 for entire series, and financial assistance is available. Register.
Public Telescope Nights on Tuesdays at Clay Observatory
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. This fall, they’ll go from September 13 through November 29. Register in advance. These 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.
The observatory contains a 25-inch telescope with optically perfect mirrors — similar in optical design to the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s protected by two airlocks, a dome powered by solar cells and wind turbine, and its own foundation that is completely isolated from the foundation of the surrounding building. The telescope and dome are computerized and can be operated through the Internet by researchers anywhere in the world.
HUBWeek: Free Presentations in Medicine
HUBweek offers these presentations on topics in medicine, each free and open to “life-long Learners, curiosity seekers, science lovers”:
- A Quantum Leap in Diabetes Treatment, September 26, 8:30AM-10AM, at Harvard University, 5 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Wait list.
- Harnessing Evolution to Solve Problems in Biotech and Therapeutics, September 27, 6-7:30PM, at 415 Main Street in Cambridge. Register.
- Future of Medicine: From Genomics to Nanotechnology, September 29, 4-6PM, at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Building One, 50 Northern Avenue in Boston. Fully booked.
- Horizons in Regenerative Medicine: Honey, I Shrunk the Patient!, September 29, 5:30-7PM at Harvard’s Geological Museum, Lecture Hall 100, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Register.
- Ageless Aging, September 30, 5:30-7PM at Harvard’s Geological Museum, Lecture Hall 100, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Register.
Worcester’s EcoTarium: Half-Price in September
Admission and planetarium tickets at Worcester’s EcoTarium are half-price in September: Admission: $7.50 adults, $5 children ages 2-18, seniors, and students with ID, free for EcoTarium members and children under 2. Planetarium shows: $2.50, or $2 for EcoTarium members.