MIT’s Edgerton Center holds free Science on Saturday programs five times a year for elementary, middle, and high school students — as well as their parents and teachers. On April 2, the program will be focused on Circuits and Computers. Kids under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The program includes a one-hour presentation at 10AM followed by hands-on activities at 11AM. No pre-registration is necessary but seating is limited and first-come, first-seated. It’s held in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge.
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Museum of Science Seeks ‘Teacher in Residence’ — Apply by Apr. 11
Boston’s Museum of Science seeks to hire a K-12 science teacher to be a summer Teacher-in-Residence, July 11 to August 11. Teachers-in-Residence collaborate on a relevant museum project, participate in a weekly seminar, and work on independent investigations of their choice. This summer the Museum seeks someone to work with Museum staff to refine field trip planning materials for its newest permanent exhibition: The Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River. Experience with lesson planning and/or curriculum development on the topics of ecology and the engineering design process is preferred. Stipend will be $3500. Apply by April 11. For more information, email library@mos.org.
Offer Middle-School ‘Zero Robotics’ Program this Summer: Apply by Apr. 15
The Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership invites public and private school and community-based organizations to sponsor MIT’s five-week summer Zero Robotics Program in their communities. Zero Robotics is a robotics programming competition in which teams of 10-20 middle-school students learn to program satellites (SPHERES) inside the International Space Station (ISS) to solve an annual challenge. After several phases of virtual competition, finalists are selected to compete in a live championship aboard the ISS. There are two separate sessions: June 13 – July 15 and July 5 – August 5. Organizations must have computers and Internet access, must serve students for a minimum of 15 hours a week, and should complete applications and email them to Andrea Chang (achiang@massafterschool.org) by April 15. For more information, contact at Andrea at that address or call her at 617-338-0015 ext 105.
Sylvan Learning: Summer STEM Camps, Grades 2-6
Sylvan Learning will offer Summer STEM Camps in robotics and coding for Grades 2-6 at its Brookline location (1626 Beacon Street). LEGO robotics for Grades 2-4 and 4-6, game design for Grades 3-5 and 6-8, and creative coding for Grades 3-8. For more information, email Sylvan.Brookline@sylvanlearning.com or call 617-264-4150.
Mass. STEM Summit, Nov. 1: Submit Proposals by Apr. 29
The Massachusetts STEM Summit invites proposals for exhibits, presentations, and workshop for this year’s summit, to be held on November 1 at DCU Center in Worcester. Proposals may address any of these topics: Early Education, K-12, Higher Education, and Workforce and Business. See the site for proposal forms and guidelines. Proposals are due April 29.
Russian School of Math Profiled in Atlantic Magazine and Boston Globe
Newton’s Russian School of Math was profiled in last week’s Boston Globe and this month’s Atlantic magazine.
LigerBots Win Entrepreneurship Award and Reach Quarter-Finals at WPI District Competition
The Newton LigerBots robotics team competed this weekend in its first FIRST district qualifying event for the season, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, reaching the quarter-final rounds and winning the coveted Entrepreneurship Award. This award recognizes a team that has “developed the framework for a comprehensive business plan to scope, manage, and achieve team objectives.” The LigerBots team wrote and executed its full business plan, winning the admiration of the judges.
The LigerBots were ranked 11 overall in this district qualifying event, and its robot was the highest-scoring robot for the autonomous (pre-programmed) part of the competition. This competition revealed some mechanical issues with the robot’s design, and the team knows what it needs to work on before its next competition, on April 2-3 at Boston University (Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston — see schedule).
NewtonSTEM at 5 Years: Your Feedback and Suggestions?
NewtonSTEM was launched five years ago as a clearinghouse of information about STEM-related achievements, events, opportunities, and resources that are relevant to the Newton community. Now with over 800 posts, almost 1,000 on the email list, and over 600 Twitter followers, it’s as good time as any to ask: What’s most helpful? What’s not? What should be added? What suggestions do you have? Please send comments to info@newtonstem.org.
‘Dream It. Code It. Win It.’ Contest Open Until Apr. 3
The third annual Dream It. Code It. Win It. contest is now open, and this year’s theme is
“Engineering Solutions from Social Good to Entertainment.” Teams of 1 to 8 students in high school or college will identify a real need or problem to be addressed by an application, design the application, and then submit by April 3 a brief slideshow or video describing the application concept. See information sheet and rules. Finalists will present their work at an event on May 5 in New York City (see livestream). The sponsors — TradingScreen, the MIT Club of New York, and the MIT Enterprise Forum NYC — will award $80,000 in prizes based on the teams’ clear identification of need/problem, creativity and originality of solution, viability of the concept to be built and published as a usable application, and ability to make a compelling and engaging video.
Science Club for Girls: Teen Media Team to Show Film, Apr. 17
The Science Club for Girls‘ teen Media Team has created an exciting film about Astronomy and Astrobiology, which it will present at MIT on April 17 at 1PM, as part of the Cambridge Science Festival. The event will include experiments, refreshments, and an opportunity to interview the filmmakers. Get free tickets here. If you’re interested in participating in the Media Team, as a student or mentor, email Brandy at bfreitas@scienceclubforgirls.org.