All posts by newtonstem

Two Different Conferences in Marine Science for High-School Students and Teachers, Mar. 4 and Mar. 9 & 16

Events, Opportunities
  • A free conference for high-school students, Oceanic Exploration and Career Opportunities in the Marine Sciences, will be held 9AM-Noon on March 4 at the Double Tree Hotel and Conference Center in Danvers.   Teachers should register themselves and students by February 14 by sending school name, phone number, email address, and attendees’ names and grade levels to George Buckley at gbuckley@fas.harvard.edu or 617-998-8597.
  • The 2016 High School Marine Science Symposium, hosted by the Massachusetts Marine Educators, brings local marine science experts, high school students, and their teachers together for hands-on workshops and a keynote lecture.  It’s offered twice:   March 9 at Northeastern University in Boston and March 16 at Salem State University in Salem. The cost of $13 per student (free for teachers and chaperones) includes a morning snack and lunch. Register online.

Let’s Build! Engineering Extravaganza at Needham Science Center, Jan. 30

Events, Opportunities

Let’s Build is a family volunteering initiative bringing engineering into Needham’s elementary schools by training family and community volunteers to support classroom design challenges.  Its major fundraiser, the Let’s Build Engineering Extravaganza, will be held January 30, 10AM-2PM at the Needham Science Center within Newman Elementary School (1155 Central Ave. in Needham).  Activities include a take-apart table, catapults, demonstrations by Needham HS robotics, an egg drop, Olin’s 3D printer, bridge construction, a cantilever challenge, kite-making, and interaction with local scientists and engineers.  Admission is $5 per family (or free for volunteers and their families).

Boys & Girls Club: After-School STEM Classes Starting Now

Opportunities

The John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club has a few spaces left in two after-school STEM programs.  Club membership and class registration are required.

Keep an Eye Out for… Science!:  This program fosters Grade 3-5 students’ innate curiosity through observation, evaluation, and creative thinking to explore the environment while creating terrariums, making fossils, and investigating ocean creatures.  Wednesdays, 4-5PM for 10 weeks starting January 18.

The Human Body and Brain: Pass the Scalpel, Please:  Grade 6-9 students explore organ systems, muscle tissue, cells, and the brain:  How neurons enable learning, how brain chemistry shapes personality, and how to dissect organs.  Tuesdays, 4-5PM for 10 weeks starting February 2.

Newton Library: Robots are People Too: Artificial Intelligence and the Law, Feb. 2

Events

On February 2 at 7PM, the Newton Free Library will host emerging-technologies attorney John Frank Weaver discussing the technological changes coming soon in what MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee call The Second Machine Age.  Weaver, who is author of Robots Are People Too and a contributing writer with Slate, will also explain why our laws are so important during this period.  Drawing on precedents between the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of wireless communications, he will analyze current government efforts and provide strategies for future legislation.