MIT’s Society for Women Engineers will host BeaverDash — a one-day engineering challenge/design competition for male and female high-school students — on April 25, 10AM-2PM. Teams of 4-5 students compete and learn about practical engineering techniques and engineering fields, mentored by MIT undergraduates. Register by April 18. For more information, email beaverdash2015@mit.edu.
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EcoTarium’s KEVA: Build It Up! — Open Only Until Apr. 26
Worcester’s EcoTarium has been hosting KEVA: Build It Up!, an interactive exhibit for building structures with uniform wood planks. It will close on April 26.
NCE Summer Program: Camp Invention for Grades 1-6
Newton Community Education’s Camp Invention will return this summer for Grades 1-6, at Newton South HS. Formerly named Club Invention, this year Camp Invention offers two one-week programs:
Week 1 (“Create”), July 6-10: The physics of motion applied to prototypes of roller coasters and other amusement park rides; eco-friendly solutions to the pollution problems of the imaginary “Sludge City”; designing a spacecraft to return from a crash-landing on a strange planet; taking apart objects from home; building new inventions.
Week 2 (“Illuminate:), July 13-17: Freestyle racing kart to traverse an obstacle course; designing prototypes; investigating magnified objects and circuits; designing life-saving devices, super-structure mega-towers, and space rockets; taking apart electronics from home to re-engineer a new video game.
Both weeks run 9AM-3:30PM (or 8:30AM-5:30PM) and include outdoor games. Kids will be grouped by age. Bring snack and lunch. Register online or by calling 617-559-6999.
Whitehead Institute’s CampBio Summer Program for Middle-School Students
The Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, in collaboration with Science from Scientists, offers its one-week CampBio program for students entering Grades 7-8. It includes classroom sessions, lab presentations, hands-on activities, and discussions with scientists. The same program (9AM-3PM) is repeated July 20-24, August 10-14, and August 24-28, and registration is open on a first-come basis to 25 students for each session. The cost is $550 and lunch is provided. For more information, contact Amy Tremblay at tremblay@wi.mit.edu.
Whitehead Institute’s Creativity Lab for HS Students, July 13-17
The Whitehead Institute in Cambridge offers its Creativity Lab STEAM program to high-school students (16-19 years old and entering Grades 10-12) to explore creativity in art and science, July 13-17 (9AM-4PM). The schedule includes science labs and presentations in the morning and art labs and visiting artists in the afternoon. The cost is $250. Registration is open to 12 students on a first-come basis.
Olin College Students’ Expo and SCOPE Presentations, May 11-12
Each spring, Olin College of Engineering holds two public events to showcase the work of its students:
- Olin Spring Exposition, May 11 (10AM-3:30PM): First-, second-, and third-year students present their projects in poster sessions, oral presentations, and artistic performances.
- SCOPE Summit, May 12 (9:15AM-4PM): Seniors present the results of their year-long, corporate-sponsored Capstone projects. Register to attend.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines
NewtonSTEM generally posts about events as soon as information is available, after which you can find the events in the NewtonSTEM calendar. It’s easy to overlook opportunities that were announced a while ago. Here are some that were announced earlier and are now coming up (not including summer programs):
- Grades 10-12: UMass Amherst Science Quest — April 11
- Cambridge Science Festival — April 17-26
- BSCE Online Bridge Design Contest — deadline April 24
- Clark University’s Spring Splash — April 25
- AMP It Up! Challenge — deadline April 30
- Nominate a Teacher for a MathMovesU Math Hero Award — deadline April 30
- MSMR Competition: Students Report on Recent Scientific Advances — deadline May 9
LigerBots Excel at Northeastern Competition
The LigerBots made it all the way to the finals in the FIRST District Competition at Northeastern University this weekend, placing second overall in a field of 40 teams. Check out the photos of the event. The team is now ranked #17 of 175 teams in the district and has qualified for the District Championship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on April 9-11 — and you’re invited to come cheer them on!
Cabot Elementary Celebrates: Invention Invasion!
Last Friday evening, about 115 elementary-school students displayed their inventions and results of scientific inquiry at the 15th anniversary of Cabot Elementary School’s Invention Invasion — an event sponsored by the Cabot PTO and faculty. The student inventors were thrilled to be interviewed by enthusiastic undergraduates from Boston University’s Technology Innovation Scholars Program, who visited each display to learn how things worked, to ask where these ideas came from, and to marvel at the results. In addition, the LigerBots demonstrated their previous-year’s award-winning robot, and the New England Section of the Optical Society of America demonstrated a giant kaleidoscope, light pens, heat-vision cameras, and prisms. Click on the photo below for a closer view.
Nominate a Teacher for a MathMovesU Math Hero Award
Each year Raytheon’s MathMovesU program recognizes up to 30 middle-school/high-school math teachers as “Math Heroes” for their effective, innovative methods to promote student enthusiasm and achievement in math. Students, parents, school administrators, volunteers, and colleagues may nominate teachers for their innovative learning approaches to make math “real and relatable” for their students. Nominations are due by April 30. Each Math Hero receives a $2,500 award, and his/her school receives the same amount. Finalists will be selected based on compelling nominations describing the teachers’ effectiveness and creativity in teaching math using new approaches. Up to 30 Math Heroes will be selected based on the finalists’ plans for using the award to promote math.