Students in Grades 9-12 can sign up now (until noon on April 17) to reserve a spot — first come, first served — for Harvard’s Splash! — a weekend of free, online classes taught by undergraduates. This year, Splash! will run virtually on April 23 (10AM-12:15PM) and April 24 (1PM-3:15PM). Registration will begin on April 18 for all those who have reserved a spot. If you have questions, email harvardhuse@gmail.com. The course catalog is not yet available, but sign up now anyway, in anticipation of some engaging classes.
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NSHS Sophomore Qualifies for USA Junior Math Olympiad
Newton South HS sophomore Elena Baskakova has qualified for the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO) — a 9-hour essay/proof examination offered to the top 250 students in the AMC10 competitions run by the Mathematical Association of America. Elena placed in the Honor Roll of Distinction (top 1%) in AMC10 and scored well in the invitation-only second round, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), earlier this year. She is a member of the NSHS Math Team and a participant in MIT PRIMES Circle studying Probability Theory. She competes with Western Mass ARML teams in high school tournaments. Her ARML Stars team placed 11th in the Girls in Math at Yale competition and placed in the top 30 in HMMT February.
HMSC: Amazing Archaeology Fair, Mar. 27
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will host its Amazing Archaeology Fair on Sunday, March 27, 1PM-4PM, at two museums: Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology (11 Divinity Avenue) and Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East (6 Divinity Avenue) in Cambridge. It’s free with museum admission, which is free on Sundays but requires advance reservations, which are limited in number. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative Covid test are required.
Code Ninjas in Wellesley: Open House Mar. 27, Hack-A-Thon Apr. 10
Code Ninjas (161 Linden Street in Wellesley) will host the following events:
- 3rd Birthday Open House: STEM activities, games, and more — free and open to the public. Learn how kids learn coding while building video games. March 27, 1PM-3PM.
- Spring Hack-A-Thon: Teams of two (either registered together or paired on-site) will have two hours to create a computer game. Kids in ages 5-7 will use ScratchJr, and kids in ages 8-14 will use Scratch. The event is free, and all participants are encouraged to donate a new item to The Home for Little Wanderers. April 10, 1PM-4:30PM.
‘Touch Tomorrow’ STEM Festival at WPI, Apr. 2
Worcester Polytechnic Institute and WGBH will present Touch Tomorrow — a free festival of science, technology, and robots — on Saturday, April 2, 10AM-4PM at Polar Park (100 Madison Ave., Worcester). It’s family-friendly, fun, free, and open to all ages — with a particular focus on what’s interesting for middle- and high-school students. Programming includes hands-on activities, exhibits by WPI and others, and an Innovation Showcase. Proof of vaccination or negative Covid test is required. Register here.
Discovery Museum Webinar: Helping Kids Understand Climate Change and How to Make a Difference, Apr. 27
The Discovery Museum’s Speaker Series will host children’s book authors Stacy Clark and Christy Mihaly for live, virtual event, Helping Kids Understand Climate Change and How to Make a Difference, free and open to the public on April 27 from 7PM to 8:30PM. Register here. Donations to support the speaker series are optional and appreciated. For more information, contact Karen Kerns at 978-264-4200 x113 or kkerns@discoveryacton.org.
Pre-Register Now for the Mass. STEM Summit, Apr. 28
The Massachusetts STEM Summit will be held in a hybrid format on April 28, co-sponsored by the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. It will include panel presentations, plenary speakers, virtual exhibitors, and opportunities for virtual and in-person networking with like-minded STEM colleagues. Pre-register here to get on the mailing list for registration information and announcements about calls for proposals for sessions and exhibits. For more information, email StemSummitInfo@donahue.umassp.
TYE Boston: New Summer Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, Grades 7-9
TYE Boston is launching a new, week-long Summer Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for students entering Grades 7-9 to learn from startup founders and industry experts. Students will collaborate with peers to build a solution to a pressing problem, developing confidence and collaboration skills. The program will run 10AM-3PM daily, August 8-12, and will be co-hosted by the Cambridge Innovation Center (1 Broadway in Kendall Square, Cambridge). The cost is $700, and need-based scholarships are available to qualified families. Register here.
Become a TEALS Volunteer to Teach High-School Computer Science
Supported by Microsoft Philanthropies, Technology Education And Literacy in Schools (TEALS) recruits, trains, and places volunteer teaching assistants in high-school classrooms to support partner schools and teachers in offering computer-science courses on a sustainable basis. Several schools in the local area participate: Boston: Boston Latin School, Josiah Quincy Upper School, Match Charter Public HS; Brighton HS; Dorchester: Boston Latin Academy, Henderson K-12 Inclusion; Hyde Park: Another Course to College, New Mission High School; Cambridge Rindge and Latin; and Norwood HS. Applications are now open for new volunteers for the 2022-23 school year. For more information, read the Volunteer Guide and the FAQ, and view video overviews.
Donate to Boston Nature Center’s “Kids to Camp” Fund
Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center’s Kids to Camp Fund provides partial scholarships to enable Boston-area kids to attend its summer camps. Nearly half of all BNC families receive financial assistance on a sliding scale to make camp possible for their kids. You can donate here.