The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (60 Garden Street in Cambridge) will host its monthly Observatory Night on February 18 at 7:30PM on the topic of Big Data to Big Art. The lecture is intended for high-school and older audiences but children are welcome. Admission is free, no reservations are necessary, and seating is limited. For more information, call 617-495-7461 or email pubaffairs@cfa.harvard.edu.
All posts by newtonstem
“Introduce a Girl to Engineering” Day, Feb. 25
This year, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day falls on February 25. What can you do to celebrate and inspire? Order a free volunteer’s kit and create an event. Follow the lead of Nitsch Engineering, which will host its own Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event for Grades 6-12 on March 1 (9AM-2PM) at Northeastern University’s Egan Research Center. Registration is full, but you can get on the Wait List.
Write Your “Letter to My Younger Self” for the Science Club for Girls
In its “Letters to My Young Self” project, the Science Club for Girls invites adult STEM professionals to send “a note (or video) from the future” to present-day girls to provide advice, encouragement, commentary, and inspiration. The goals of the project are to showcase examples of successful, science-minded women, provide role models who challenge the notion of scientists as one-dimensional, and increase awareness of academic and career paths available. The project is led by students at MIT and Wellesley. Check out the guidelines and samples.
BostonTechMom: Digital Media Academy’s Tech Programs
BostonTechMom writes favorably about Digital Media Academy‘s technology programs — particularly its “Made by Girls” program. DMA runs summer programs nationwide for boys and girls, including a wide range of one- and two-week courses at Harvard, July 25 through August 19 for ages 6-8, 8-12, 10-12, and 12-17. All courses at Harvard are non-residential, and most are co-ed. The Made by Girls programs at Harvard include:
- Ages 12-17: Academy for Java Programming, Programming with Java, Wearable Tech & Fashion Design, App Development for iPhone and iPad
- Ages 8-12: Adventures in Programming
MIT Seeks Program Coordinator for Online High-School STEM Program
MIT’s Office of Engineering Outreach Programs is recruiting a Program Coordinator for MOSTEC (MIT Online Science, Technology, and Engineering Community), a six-month STEM program for rising high-school seniors nationwide. MOSTEC has an online component (June 29 – January 27) and a 5-day on-campus conference (August 2-6).
Register for Newton’s Summer Environmental Science Program
Newton’s Envi Sci Program is a summer outdoor and educational program, July 5 – August 4, for students entering Grades 7 through 10, under the auspices of the Conservation Commission of the City of Newton and located at Bowen Elementary School. Students have fun enjoying the wilderness while learning about environmental science. Highlights include hikes to Blue Hills and Mount Monadnock, bicycle trips, a 12-mile canoe trip on the Charles River, an expedition through the salt marshes of the North shore, and an exhilarating three-day backpacking trip up Mount Washington. Students also conduct an environmental cleanup service project and learn about the environment through science workshops on geology, botany, ecology, water cycle, pollution issues, and conservation. The cost is $1295, and need-based financial aid may be available. Register online or print and send the registration form and release forms. For more information, or to inquire about attending only part of the month, contact David Backer at 617-447-9317 or contact@newtonenvisci.org.
“AMP It Up” Challenge Engages Students in Advanced Manufacturing
The AMP it up! Challenge invites students to research an advanced manufacturing innovation in Massachusetts and then present it in a 3-minute video to explain how it’s made, why it matters, and what it means to the student. One middle school, one high school, and one community college in the state will each win $5,000 in unrestricted grant funding. Manufacturers are encouraged to sign up now to support the challenge by talking with students and offering factory tours. Schools should sign up to participate and may be represented by individual students, classes, groups, or clubs. Students will begin researching in January and submit their videos by April 29.
MIT Spring HSSP Courses: Registration Lottery Open Until Feb. 10
MIT’s Spring HSSP is a 6-week academic program for students in Grades 7-12 running at MIT on Saturdays (February 20 through April 2, excluding March 12), 10:30AM-4:30PM. Classes – both academic and non-academic – are offered in multiple time blocks. The cost is $40 regardless of the number of classes attended, and generous financial aid is available. Registration is now open, and all who register their course preferences by February 10 will receive equal consideration. For more information, email spring-hssp@mit.edu. The course catalog includes these 22 STEM-related courses:
- Automated Spreadsheets: Theory and Practice
- Making Games with Gameblox
- The Science and Engineering of Perception
- Electronics for Medical Device Design
- Building and Bending Circuits
- This is How We Do It: Methods and Technologies behind Modern Biological Questions
- Make Your Own Color Organ!
- Solid State Chemistry
- The Planets
- Organic Chemistry
- Relativity
- Parallels between Art and Physics: the Makings of an Intellectual Revolution
- The Science of Nutrition: A Microscopic to Macroscopic Exploration
- Adventures in Marine Biology
- A Brief Intro to Quantum Field Theory
- The Physics of Modern Technology: AM Radio
- The Mathematics of Very Stupid Programming Languages
- Relational Databases Before There Were Such Things
- A Primer on Functional Analysis
- Introduction to Real Analysis
- Differential Geometry
- Math & Science Lecture Series
Science Club for Girls: Seeking a Few More Junior Mentors
Science Club for Girls seeks a few more Junior Mentors — teen leaders (Grades 8-12) who teach after-school STEM to girls in Grades K-8 in a team with other Junior Mentors and women in STEM careers. Over an 11-week program, the Junior Mentors learn and grow, while earning a stipend and exploring STEM. Openings are available:
- Wednesdays, 3-5PM: Mother Caroline Academy (3 openings)
- Thursdays, 5:15-7:30PM: Walter Denney Youth Center (4 openings)
- Saturdays, 1:45-5:15PM: UU Urban Ministries (1 opening)
- Saturdays, 10-12:15PM: Northeastern University (1 opening)
- Saturdays, 2:15-4:45PM: Pine Manor College (1 in Grades 10-12)
Apply online. For more information, contact Gina Varamo, Teen Program Manager, at gvaramo@scienceclubforgirls.
MSMR Student Competition: Enter a Poster, Essay, or Website
The Massachusetts Society for Medical Research will hold its 25th Annual Student Competition, in which New England students in Grades 7-12 learn about a breakthrough in life sciences and report about it via a poster, essay, or website — as if reporting for the What A Year website for science discovery. Awards of up to $500 will be made in two levels: Grades 7-8 and Grades 9-12, with education grants for the teachers/advisors of the winning students. Entries are due by May 9. See the student packet and entry form.