Einstein’s Workshop will hold a Summer Camp Open House on Saturday, May 16, 10AM-noon at its headquarters (25 Adams Street in Burlington). Teachers will answer questions and demonstrate examples of what children will learn in its STEM summer classes. There will also be registration discounts, giveaways, and hands-on activities.
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More Info for Potential ‘Girls Who Code’ Volunteer Instructors
Since last week’s notice about the Newton ‘Girls Who Code’ Club seeking additional volunteer instructors for next year (Oct-May), additional information is available about the activities and requirements of the position. Instructors use the Girls Who Code curriculum and deliver short lectures, run discussions, and help girls with their coding projects. The club also hosts guest speakers, goes on field trips, and develops soft skills like collaborating and presenting one’s work. Club volunteers are passionate about closing the gender gap in technology and getting girls into this rewarding field. Instructors must:
- Be proficient in at least one backend programming language,
- Have intermediate knowledge of data structures and algorithms,
- Be able to pass a background screening, and
- Commit to volunteer 2–3 hours per week.
To learn more about volunteering, please review the additional information (PDF) and then contact newtongwc@gmail.com.
Upcoming STEM Programs of the Girl Scouts
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts offers a range of STEM-related programs for girls of various ages. To register for any programs, girls must be Girl Scout members ($25 per year). Register online for these upcoming programs:
- Whale Watch (Gloucester), May 31, 1-5:30PM. Grades K-12, open to family members. $25.
- Pet Care and Veterinary Science (Walpole), June 6, 1-3PM. Grades 4-5. $16.
- Secret Agent (Boston), June 13, 1-4PM. Grades 6-12. $20.
MassBay Spring STEM Expo, May 5
MassBay Community College will hold its Spring STEM Expo on May 5, 1-3PM, in the cafeteria of its Wellesley Hills campus (50 Oakland Street, Wellesley). This free Expo will showcase students’ work in engineering design, robotics, game programming, cyber security, protein purification, biotechnology, and statistics. Register online.
‘Girls Who Code’ Seeks Volunteer Instructors for Next Year
As noted last week, the Newton Girls Who Code club is planning to build on its successful first year and expand next year, from two sections (of up to 20 girls each) to three or more. Additional technologies, such as 3D printing and Raspberry Pi, may also be offered. Each section meets weekly at the Newton Free Library. David Miller, a Google software engineer and the first to volunteer as a Newton GWC instructor, says: “Newton GWC is now recruiting software engineers to volunteer as lead- or co-instructors for the 2015-6 school year. Contact newtongwc@gmail.com if you’re interested in fostering the next generation of women technologists, software engineers, and computer scientists. We have a great time and learn to use computers to do anything. Join us!” David has written on the Google Cloud Platform blog about his experience with this club — as well as with teaching his daughters to code.
MassBay Summer STEM Program for Middle School, July 6-17
MassBay Community College in Wellesley is offering STEM Summer 2015 for students entering Grades 7 and 8, July 6-17. It runs 9AM-3:30PM, costs $350, and includes classes and projects in math, biology, physics, and computers. Although the registration deadline was April 15, MassBay highlighted this program at the MetroWest STEM Education Network meeting on May 1, so applications might still be accepted. Contact Sarah Sreedhar (ssreedhar@massbay.edu, 781-239-2582) for more information.
Jr. Tech’s Summer STEM Camps on Cape Cod
If you’ll be on Cape Cod this summer, you may be interested in short summer STEM camps run by Jr. Tech in…
Bourne:
- Computer Game Developer: July 7-9, entering Grades 6-9
- Animation Creation: July 10, entering Grades 6-8
- Computer Programming in Java: August 3-5, entering Grades 7-9
and Marstons Mills:
- Screeching Rockets: July 20, entering Grades 5-7
- Simple Machines for Kids: July 20, entering Grades 4-6
- Fizz, Bang, Boom: July 21, entering Grades 4-5
- Computer Science Camp for Kids: July 22-24, entering Grades 5-7
Registration is open now. For more information, call 774-994-2097 or email phyllis@juniortech.org.
A FIRST: LigerBots Reach Quarter-Finals at FRC World Championship
For the first time in their history, the LigerBots made it to the quarter-final rounds of the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship. At the event this week in St. Louis, the team finished 8th in its division and led an alliance with teams from Wyndham, NH and Enfield, CT in the quarter-finals. To learn more about the excellence behind the LigerBots’ success, be sure read the application that won them the Regional Chairman’s Award (PDF). Congratulations to an accomplished — and exhausted — team for a terrific season!
‘Girls Who Code’ in Newton: Successful First Year and Future Expansion
The Newton Girls Who Code club is winding up a very successful first year in Newton and planning to expand next year. Laurie Finkielsztein, a Newton resident and junior at Gann Academy, started the club, inspired by her experience at the 7-week Girls Who Code immersion program at Twitter/Cambridge last summer. She contacted Liz Rowland, teen librarian at the Newton Free Library, who recruited Google software engineer David Miller as volunteer instructor for the Newton after-school sessions. When 37 girls came to the third meeting last October, they divided into two sections, each meeting two hours a week to learn computer science and create projects using the Girls Who Code curriculum.
Throughout the school year, they created video games and computer-aided art; built apps for phones and mobile web browsers; and studied cryptography and artificial intelligence. Newton’s club has been featured in GigaOm, the Google Cloud Platform blog, and the Newton TAB. This spring, they met for an afternoon with Harvard’s Women in Science club. In May, their final projects will tackle real-world community problems, and this summer two students will attend the Girls Who Code summer immersion program.
Laurie says, “I’ve been so surprised at how excited these girls are. They don’t feel that coding is nerdy. We’re changing that stereotype by starting young. They see that coding is one of the coolest things you’ll get to do. It’s the closest thing to having super-powers. It’s a skill that can be applied to anything. It teaches you a new way to think.”
Newton GWC aims to expand its offerings next school year, with more sections and new technologies (3D printing, Raspberry Pi). A family information session will be held at the Newton Free Library, Wednesday, September 16 at 7PM. Club meetings will start in early October. For more information, prospective students should contact Liz Rowland at lrowland@minlib.net. Prospective volunteer instructors should contact David Miller at newtongwc@gmail.com.
Horace Mann Teacher, Lisa Mikus, Wins State Math Teaching Award
At Math Educators’ Night at Fenway Park two weeks ago, Lisa Mikus, Grade 4 teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School, received the Rev. Stanley J. Bezuszka, S.J. Achievement Award for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, which honors excellence in teaching mathematics. It’s presented each year by the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Massachusetts. Congratulations to a Newton star!