There are a few seats left for the free Solve Talk at Google — Are We Teaching STEM Wrong? — at Google’s offices (355 Main Street in Cambridge) on January 13, 5:30-7:30PM. Speakers include Arthur Levine (President, Woodrow Wilson Foundation), Chris Rogers (Chair of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts), Tina Grotzer (Harvard Graduate School of Education). Register online. This is part of a series of talks sponsored by Google, MIT’s Solve Program, and Mass Challenge.
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Newton Library’s Coder Dojo Seeks Volunteer Instructors
The Newton Free Library seeks volunteer instructors to lead or co-lead a Coder Dojo club of up to 30 students in Grades 6-12 to explore and develop computing skills. The club will meet in two-hour sessions twice a month and work with Scratch, JavaScript, AppInventor, and HTML/CSS, and open-source hardware. The club will use curriculum selected from The Hardware Laboratory and/or Programming Languages. Instructors must be proficient in at least one back-end programming language, have intermediate knowledge of data structures and algorithms, pass a background screening, and commit to volunteer 2-3 hours every other week. The club will start in late winter and continue through the school year. Contact Teen Librarian Liz Rowland at Liz Rowland lrowland@minlib.net.
MIT Seeks Staff for STEM Outreach to Middle Schools
MIT’s Office of Engineering Outreach Programs has these job opportunities open:
- STEM Program Coordinator: Coordinate STEM outreach programs for local middle-school students, with a focus on the STEM Summer Institute and Mentoring Program.
- Outreach Programs Assistant: Assist in coordinating outreach programs (hiring, logistics planning, implementation, managing evaluation process).
Empow Camps for School Breaks — February, April & Summer
Empow Studios offers two types of week-long school-vacation camps (February and April) in Newton/Needham, Belmont, and Lexington: Tech-Design Camps and Minecraft Camps. Empow also offers a 15% discount on summer camps, in a wider range of locations, if you register by January 31. For more information, call 617-395-7527.
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, Grades 9-12
The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium invites students in Grades 9-12 to submit written reports of their original STEM research (experimental, field, observational, or applied) and deliver oral presentations to compete for awards and recognition. January 14 is the date by which students must register and deliver an abstract and their teacher/mentors must also register. Those selected for development of full research papers will be notified by February 1. Research papers will be due February 12, and those selected for oral/poster presentations will be notified by March 4. The Southern New England Junior Science and Humanities Symposium will be held at Boston University on March 18. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Army Education Outreach Program and Boston University Office of STEM Initiatives. For more information, please contact Michael Dennehy at 617-353-3551 or mdennehy@bu.edu.
‘Science on the Street’ Seeks Volunteers for 2016
Science on the Street, the community outreach arm of the Cambridge Science Festival, matches STEM volunteers with opportunities to engage students, families, and adults at various cultural and community events across Massachusetts. If you’re a STEM professional, educator, or organization with an outreach activity, tell SciStreet about what you have to offer. And volunteers in general can sign up here. Volunteers are needed for events such as:
- Science on Saturday — Rockets in Flight: February 6
- Winter Park Science: February 18
- Science on Saturday — Materials with Magical Properties: March 5
In addition, SciStreet seeks help with several exhibits and activities being developed for the Cambridge Science Festival, April 15-24:
- Doctor Who
- Carnival & Robot Zoo
- Ask a Scientist!
- #standwithahmed: A clock-making workshop
- Mentoring
- Blogging
- Answer the Curiosity Challenge
- Help Out Zoo New England
- Science of Ice Cream
Clean Tech Competition for Ages 15-18
The theme of the international 2016 Clean Tech Competition is “Making an Impact.” Teams of 1-3 students (ages 15-18), assisted by a parent/teacher/mentor, must identify a problem involving plastics and/or the need for clean energy and then develop an original solution. Teams should register now and submit their papers by March 18, and 10 finalist teams will prepare prototypes and presentations for prizes. The contest is sponsored by the Center for Science Teaching & Learning.
STEM Holiday Gift Guides
It’s a bit late in the season, but here are…
- BostonTechMom’s Holiday Gift Guide
- PBS’s Holiday Gift Guide of STEM-tastic Gifts
- Purdue University’s Engineering Gift Guide (PDF)
- Modern Parents/Messy Kids’ Top STEM Toys
- Scientific American’s Women in STEM Fields Dolls and Action Figures
- Magic Beans’ Holiday STEM Gift Guide
Science Club for Girls: Donations Exceed Goal
Many thanks to all who contributed to Science Club for Girls’ fundraising challenge, through which SCfG aimed to raise $5,000, to be matched 3:1 to fully fund their amazingly successful Junior Mentor program. This campaign is now closed, after raising $5,515. But you can still support SCfG through a tax-deductible donation that will do a world of good.
Genes in Space: Contest for Grades 7-12, Experimental Designs Due Apr. 20
Genes in Space invites students in Grades 7-12 to a contest to design DNA experiments for space. Five finalist teams will receive mentoring by Harvard/MIT scientists, present at the International Space Station R&D Conference, and receive miniPCR DNA Discovery Systems for their schools. Winners will attend Space Biology Camp and send their experiment into space. Applications are due April 20. The contest is free and does not require equipment. Proposals will be judged solely on their creative and scientific merit.