At the conclusion of Envision the Future, a one-week summer STEM camp for middle-school girls, the Southeastern Massachusetts STEM Network will present a STEM Resource Fair on Friday, July 24, 10AM-Noon at the Rondileau Campus Center of Bridgewater State University (directions). The 48 middle-school girls attending Envision the Future, including three girls representing Newton, will present the results of their work that week. Over 40 programs and vendors will exhibit at the Fair. Representatives of the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton, NewtonSTEM, and the Newton Free Library — which are sponsoring Newton’s activities in Envision the Future — will attend.
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Survey About Interest in FIRST Lego League Robotics
The LigerBots are running an online survey of adults in Newton who are interested in:
- Finding a FIRST Lego League team for their children
- Coaching a team
- Offering meeting space, volunteer time, or other resources for a team
- Finding additional team members for teams they coach
The LigerBots do not directly run any FLL teams but are eager to help teams come together and help Newton teams have a successful season. See the FLL page on the LigerBots site for more information.
Also, FLL coaches in Newton — former, current, and prospective — are invited to join a Google group started by NewtonSTEM. For information, contact fll@newtonstem.org.
Innovation Institute’s Fall Courses: Discounts for Early Registration
The Innovation Institute (TI2) in Newtonville — a leading science and engineering enrichment program for grades K-12 — is enrolling for its Fall courses that start the week of September 9, with discounts for early registration. New courses include:
- Architects of the Future: Geo Spatial Skills Development (Grade K)
- Mechanical Advantage: Intro. to Mech Eng. I, II, III (Grades 3-4, 5-6, 6-8)
- Computer Programming (without intimidation!) for Future Scientists & Engineers (Grades 5-8+)
- Physics & Technology (Grades 8-10, 9-12)
- Electrical Engineering & the Coding Collective (Students are still writing the description. If you’d like to help, contact the director) (Grades 8-10)
- At the Frontiers: Materials that Matter (Spring Term, Grades 9-12)
- Molecular Biology, Genetics & Genomics, and Neuroscience (Grades 6-8, 8-10)
At TI2, students learn alongside talented scientists, engineers and educators in courses ranging from Computer Programming and Renewable Energies to Neuroscience and Mechanical Engineering, Parents call it a “local treasure” for its focus on “how” and “why” critical and creative thinking. Contact TI2 by email or 617-340-9907.
Project Learning Tree Workshops for Teachers
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs sponsors Project Learning Tree, and award-winning environmental-education program of the American Forest Foundation offering professional-development courses for teachers. Upcoming sessions include:
- PreK-8 Curriculum: August 19 at Brookwood Community Farm in Canton, September 19 at Riverbend Farm in Uxbridge. $20 Register via Gini.Traub@state.ma.us, 413-584-6788,
- Early Childhood Experiences: September 12 at Mount Greylock Reservation in Lanesborough, November 17 at Borderland State Park in Easton. $15. Register via Gini.Traub@state.ma.us, 413-584-6788.
- Both curricula together: October 17 at Lawrence Heritage State Park. $35. Register via Nancy.Riley-Whitehill@state.ma.us, 617-626-1494.
Newton Library CodeCampKidz Fills Up in No Time
The Newton Free Library will offer CodeCampKids for kids entering Grades 5-7, to take them from NO experience in coding to creating their own basic app pages. It will meet August 6, 10, 17, and 25. Unfortunately the registration list, which opened three days ago, is already filled, as is the waiting list. Clearly there’s more demand for courses that introduce Newton’s kids to coding!
For those who did not get into the camp, there are many online resources for learning various aspects of coding. Here’s a list from Infoworld and other sources:
- Free: MIT’s Scratch, Kahn Academy, w3schools.com, MIT Open Courseware, Programmr, Google’s HTML Rocks, The Code Player, Code Academy, Code.org
- Free for introductory sessions, with fees for other sessions: Code Avengers, Code School
Newton Library: STEAM Expo, July 18
The Newton Free Library will hold its second annual STEAM Expo on July 18, 1-4PM. Seventeen exhibits and workshops, both inside and outside the library, will be available for “tech enthusiasts, traditional crafters, artists, musicians, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers and students” including — digital saxophone, bone analysis, lasers, robot maze, Drumlin Farm animals, Newton Community Farm, and SCRATCH programming.
‘Big Dream’ — Free STEM Documentary for Girls, Grades 6-12, July 14
Science Club for Girls‘ Young Leaders in STEM program and Microsoft will present a free screening of Big Dream for girls in Grades 6-12, at the Microsoft NERD Center (One Memorial Drive in Cambridge) on Tuesday, July 14, 2PM-4:30PM. The film is a documentary about seven young women who are breaking barriers as they follow their passion in STEM. At the event, participants will first mingle with female scientists and engineers, then view the 90-minute documentary, and then discuss it. Snacks and drinks provided by Microsoft. Girls in Grades 6-12 throughout greater Boston are invited and must be accompanied by adults (either individually or as part of a summer program). Space is limited, so register online now.
“e” inc. Campaign to Send Boston Youth to Science Camp
“e” inc. — Boston’s environment science learning and action center — seeks to raise $3200 to enable Boston youth (ages 6-12) to attend its Summer Science Discovery Programs: “Oceans” August 17-21 and “New England Habitat” August 24-28. “e” inc. is a community-based non-profit that creates scientifically confident environmental citizens by providing civics and science sessions to children and teens in school-year and summer programs at over 20 Greater Boston schools, community centers, and other educational institutions. Donations to their IndieGoGo campaign go directly to a scholarship fund that will offset costs for low-income families. Space is still available for both summer programs.
Boston CSTAR Starts FIRST Lego League Teams in Newton
In its first year in FIRST Lego League, the Boston Chinese Science Technology Athletics Recreation (CSTAR) Youth Club has created three FLL teams and three Junior FLL teams for the upcoming 2015 season. Current team members are students at Day, Burr, Franklin, Horace Mann, and Cabot schools. The teams have been meeting individually for the last few weeks. In addition, the Junior FLL teams are gathering in group meets on summer weekends. Typically, team members work on Lego models during the week and then bring them to show to the group in their weekend meets. This encourages them to plan what they want to build, cherish and improve what they are building, and present what they have finished. The times and locations of the meets vary from week to week, usually at Auburndale Cove Picnic Area or Newton Centre Playground. These gatherings are open to everyone of Junior FLL age (kindergarten through Grade 3). If you’d like to participate in any of these casual pre-season meets, please email CSTAR co-founder Guolin “Alex” Wen at GuolinWen@gmail.com.
CSTAR is a not-for-profit organization newly founded by some enthusiastic Newton parent volunteers. CSTAR is committed to bring a variety of extracurricular activities in Science, Technology, Athletics and Recreation to Newton youngsters. It currently runs summer programs in soccer and FIRST Lego League.
Marketing Survey of Children Regarding Prototype of STEM Toy
Market-research firm Performance Plus of Framingham is recruiting children — specifically, boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 12 who play with STEM toys at home — for a survey. The survey will take place in the child’s home, where she or he will have the opportunity to interact and experiment with a prototype concept. Families that participate will receive a Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth speaker. If interested, call Evelyn Field at 508-868-5886.