Thirty-six events and activities of Framingham State University’s recent Science on State Street event are now available online.
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McAuliffe Center Offers Free Virtual Programs to Schools and Qualifying Out-of-School Organizations
Through funding from Boston Scientific, the Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University is offering free, live, virtual programming to schools and qualified out-of-school programs for Grades 1-12. Events include mission simulations, classroom adventures, earth and space explorations, and various bundles and multi-session programs. Applications are competitive, based on the needs of youth served, and are now open for the 2021-22 school year. Similar programming is also available at reasonable cost for all such schools and organizations, including for life-long learners.
MetroWest STEM Education Network: Online Meeting, May 26
The MetroWest STEM Education Network‘s quarterly meeting will be held online on May 26, 8:30AM-10:30AM. Dr. Gil Noam will talk about his book, Ten Big Bets: Transforming Education During the Pandemic and Beyond. Register here.
Mass. Science & Engineering Fair Seeks Community Outreach Manager
The Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair seeks to hire a Community Outreach Manager to start in June. Applications are considered on a rolling basis and are encouraged for submission before May 14. To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to info@scifair.com.
Registration Open for “e” Inc. Summer Science Discovery, Grades 1-6
“e” inc. — Boston’s environment science learning and action center — will offer two summer science discovery programs for students in Grades 1-6 at the Charlestown Navy Yard (114 16th Street, Room 1030). Each session is limited to 35 students and runs one week, 9AM-3:30PM daily, with after care available until 5:30PM.
- Look Outside Your Window: August 16-20
- Charting the Evening Sky: August 23-27
Mass. DESE Offering Free Support for Accelerating Math Instruction
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is contracting with vendors to offer free support to school districts, both this summer and next school year, to accelerate mathematics instruction in response to COVID-related disruptions. An informational webinar for this program will be shown on May 13 at 4PM and on May 27 at 11AM. More information about vendors, priorities, and application details will be available soon. For more information, email AcceleratingMath@mass.
6th Annual Bowen Science Day: 1st Time Online — A Big Success
Today the Bowen Elementary School PTO held its 6th annual Science Day — held virtually on Zoom this year for the first time — and the collaboration among so many people was a big success in empowering students and making science accessible.
- The stars of the show: About 100 Bowen students presented 74 projects in 2-minute videos on FlipGrid before the event for the entire school community.
- The students also presented their results in live discussions with seven visiting scientists from the Journal of Emerging Investigators during several sets of half-hour sharing sessions in Zoom breakout rooms.
- Middle-school students from the Oak Hill Garden Club served as monitors for the breakout rooms.
- High-school students from the NNHS STEMentors club, formed to inspire elementary students in STEM, led parallel sessions with science games, experiments, and hands-on engineering projects.
- The Newton Ligerbots robotics team provided expertise in Zoom management.
- Principal Guzzi viewed each student’s FlipGrid presentation before the event and spoke in a brief keynote highlighting the students’ curiosity, engagement, and sharing.
- Bowen parents Diane Gomez, Melanie Hildebrandt, Larissa Gordon, and Betty Wang organized and managed the entire event and curated a helpful list of online resources.
The organizers encourage other Newton PTOs to host Science Days, and their advice: “Start small, keep the rules loose, and don’t formally judge it. Encourage kids to be excited and curious about science and feel empowered to share that curiosity with their community. We are so proud of every single one of these students. It takes so much courage to share your work!” For more information or advice, contact scienceday@bowenpto.org.
Cambridge Science Festival: Online Showcase Concludes #30DaysOfScience
The Cambridge Science Festival presented its #30DaysOfScience celebration throughout April, inviting everyone to spend a few minutes a day exploring, connecting, and learning about STEM. Check the Showcase to catch up on what you may have missed.
MassBay’s Virtual STEM Expo, May 3-7
MassBay Community College‘s STEM Expo will be held virtually this year, May 3-7. Visitors will be able to view students’ projects — in engineering design, robotics, game programming, cybersecurity, protein purification, biotechnology, and quantitative reasoning and statistics — and leave comments and questions for students. Held at the end of each semester, the event is designed to foster alliances with high schools, higher education, and private industry. For more information, contact Prof. Marina Bograd at mbograd@massbay.edu or 781-239-2248.
Newton Conservators Webinar: Cold Spring Park: Problems, Progress and Possibilities, May 5
The Newton Conservators will present a free webinar, Cold Spring Park: Problems, Progress and Possibilities, on May 5 at 7PM. Alan Nogee, president of the Friends of Cold Spring Park and former Clean Energy Program Director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, will speak about the environmental challenges facing the park and what is being done about them. Register before 3PM that day.