Edge on Science has space available in its one-week summer STEM camps at Lasell University: 3D Printing, Drone & Code, Super Science Sampler, Catapult Engineering, Space Science, Hydraulics Makerspace, Bridge Building, and Summer Rocket Blast-Off. A limited number of scholarships are available.
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Applications are Open for Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grants
The Lemelson-MIT Program within MIT’s School of Engineering administers the InvenTeams program, in which teams of high-school students, educators, and mentors receive grants of up to $7500 to invent working technological solutions to real-world problems. Each InvenTeam chooses its own problem to solve. Up to eight schools will be awarded grants. Newton has a successful history with InvenTeams. The application process occurs in two stages. Educators and their teams should apply now for the 2022-23 school year, and final applications will be due September 6. For more information, email inventeams@mit.edu. Potential applicants should attend an Information Webinar on July 26 at 7PM.
Broad Institute Free Online Lecture: What will it Take to Make Clinical Genomics Part of Everyday Medicine?, Aug. 2
The Broad Institute will host a free, public, virtual event in its Science for All Seasons series — What will it Take to Make Clinical Genomics Part of Everyday Medicine? — on August 2, 5PM-6PM. Clinical geneticist Heidi Rehm will discuss how researchers and clinicians leverage genomic data to change the lives of millions of patients and find the causes for some of the rarest diseases. Register here.
Inspire2Dev: Online Summer Hackathon for Grades 6-9, Aug. 6
Inspire2Dev invites students entering Grades 6-9 to its free online 2022 Summer Hackathon on August 6, 9AM-4:30PM. Students with or without experience in STEM or coding are welcome. There will be opportunities to collaborate with peers on projects, meet STEM mentors, and hear presentations by speakers in STEM fields. Various prizes and awards will be presented in the closing ceremony. Sign up here.
Boston Tech Mom has an interview with Inspire2Dev founder Charlotte Law.
Discovery Museum Free Event: STEM + Movie Night, July 21
The Discovery Museum (177 Main Street, Acton) will host STEM + Movie Night on the Lawn on July 21 (rain date July 22). Admission to the event is free; the museum will be closed except for access to bathrooms. Activities start at 7:30PM and the movie, FernGully, will start at 8:30PM. Advance reservations are not required.
N. E. Sci-Tech to Host Students’ Conversations with ISS Astronauts
The New England Sci-Tech (NEST) STEM education center is working with ARISS and NASA to provide students across New England with opportunities to talk to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. NEST will provide select space science and amateur radio classes for free to eligible children entering Grades 4-12 and will host the astronaut contact at the BIG E state fair in West Springfield, MA in the last week of September. Learn more about NEST’s Space Science Club.
First Images from James Webb Space Telescope released on July 12; Celebrated at McAuliffe Center Open House July 29
NASA will release the first images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12 in a live broadcast beginning at 10:30AM. Images will simultaneously be available on social media and this website. The images will be of these objects:
- Carina Nebula — one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away.
- WASP-96 b — a giant planet outside our solar system, nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth.
- Southern Ring Nebula — a planetary nebula (expanding cloud of gas surrounding a dying star), approximately 2,000 light years from Earth.
- Stephan’s Quintet — the first compact galaxy group ever discovered (in 1877), about 290 million light-years away
- SMACS 0723 — Galaxy clusters in the foreground that magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view of extremely distant and faint galaxy populations.
Separately, the Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host a free open house on July 29, 6PM-9PM, to celebrate the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Participants will be able to ask NASA Solar System Ambassadors questions about the universe and explore the night sky with telescopes. A keynote presentation will talk about the Webb Space Telescope and the first images received from it, and there will be free-choice learning activities related to astro imaging. For directions, use 7 Maynard Rd in Framingham. Face masks are required indoors.
Museum of Science Forum: Extreme Heat Boston, July 20
Boston’s Museum of Science will host a free, evening-long, locally focused, deliberative, in-person forum — Extreme Heat Boston — on July 20, 7PM-9PM. Using materials developed by working with community groups and civic partners, participants will explore local extreme heat issues using community science collected data, local resilience plans, and a strong call to action. Snacks will be provided. Masks and optional and encouraged. This event is supported by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the Lowell Institute. Register here.
Discovery Museum: Summer Friday Nights are Free; Caterpillar Lab, July 5-6
The Discovery Museum (177 Main Street, Acton) will offer free admission on summer Fridays, 4:30PM-8PM. (Treehouse and Discovery Woods close at dusk.) Reservations are required and can be made 10 days in advance. Donations of non-perishable food will be gratefully received for Open Table and the Acton Food Pantry.
The Discovery Museum will also host drop-in sessions of the amazing Caterpillar Lab on July 5-6, 9AM-Noon and 1PM-4PM.
Blue Hill Observatory Seeks Funding for Mish Michaels Exhibit Hall
The Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center seeks to raise the remaining $125,000 needed to complete the Mish Michaels Exhibit Hall for Scientific Discovery, planned for completion this fall and dedicated to the memory of the late Mish Michaels — broadcast meteorologist, environmental reporter, scientist, educator, and BHO board member. Here’s a short video introducing the BHO. The Exhibit Hall will serve the 10,000 who visit the BHO annually. You can donate here, and all contributors will be invited to the dedication ceremony.