The Latino STEM Alliance (LSA) partners with schools, private industry, and community groups to bring STEM to under-served youth, with the aim to increase the number of underrepresented minorities pursuing STEM degrees.  LSA brings nationally successful, hands-on STEM enrichment activities to youth at schools or community groups, led by local teachers paid a stipend by LSA.  Volunteers — like you — assist and serve as role models to inspire these youth to consider STEM careers.  LSA currently runs two programs at several sites in Boston and Lawrence:

• Robotics After School introduces students to mechanics, electronics, programming, and engineering throughout the school year.  It currently sponsors 11 robotics teams using LEGO Mindstorm kits in weekly after-school sessions.
• Summer Robotics is a summer day camp running a similar program from early July through mid-August and culminating in the LSA Summer Robotics Tournament.

On Saturday, June 13 (10AM-2PM), LSA’s after-school robotics teams will participate in a competition at the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School, 270 Columbia Road in Dorchester, in conjunction with LSA’s STEM Fair, with hands-on activities offered by the New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo, MIT Lincoln Labs, and many others.  Register to attend the STEM Fair.

Newton’s Chuck Hurwitz — retired chair of the NSHS Science Department and head coach of the LigerBots — is on LSA’s board and is passionate about Newton students and adults sharing their robotics experience with students in urban areas.  Here’s how you can get involved:

• Volunteers are needed for the June 13 robotics competition to judge events, to support teams as they get ready to compete, to take pictures, or simply to help with setup/logistics of the event.  Sign up here to volunteer on June 13.
• If you’d like to volunteer for LSA in other capacities at other times, use the general volunteer sign-up form.
• Individuals, foundations, and corporations are invited to provide essential financial support for LSA’s programs.  In particular, LSA seeks sponsors for its Summer Robotics program.

Newton North HS and the NNHS PTSO will show Most Likely to Succeed, an acclaimed documentary about the American educational system, at 7PM on May 26 in the Newton North HS auditorium.  (The film will also be shown at 6:15PM on June 15 at Fuller Middle School, which is transforming into a STEAM school.  It’s at 31 Flagg Drive in Framingham.  Register online for the Fuller showing.)

Worcester Polytechnic Institute will host this year’s Touch Tomorrow festival of science, technology, and robots on June 13, 10AM-4PM on the WPI campus (directions).  All exhibits are free and open to the public, rain or shine.  Registration is requested by not required.  For more information, contact touchtomorrow@wpi.edu.  Events include:

• NASA will bring exhibits including the MARCBot IV Rover, R2 Kinect, R2 Model/Video, Be-a-Bot 2.0, and the Mark III Suit.
• WGBH will bring Curious George and Plum Landing, DesignSquad, and Nova Education.
• WPI faculty and students will open their labs and share their work, particularly for middle- and high-school students.
• Many other exhibitors will be there.

On June 11 (4-6:30PM), WPI will host a special Touch Tomorrow session for educators to connect the festival’s events to the classroom.  It’s free but registration is required.

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory Science on Saturday session on radar, originally scheduled for June 6, has been rescheduled and relocated to June 13 at the STEM Fair at the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School, 270 Columbia Road in Dorchester.  Members of the Lincoln Laboratory African-American Network will present a demonstration of radar systems and discuss microwave propagation, how radar works, and what can be sensed/measured using radar.  No registration is required by Lincoln Laboratory, but you should register for the STEM Fair, which will be 10AM-2PM and is sponsored by the Latino STEM Alliance.

The Newton Free Library will host its second annual STEAM Expo on July 18, 1-4PM.  The Library seeks local makers, engineers, science clubs, artists, etc. to exhibit their work and make presentations at this event.  The STEAM Expo will be set up in the auditorium, gallery, computer center, and outside the Library, and each exhibitor will have a table for presentations and hands-on activities.  Contact Liz Rowland at lrowland@minlib.net.