Step into STEM is a free, online program of workshops and mentoring for high-school juniors and seniors with parent(s) who never received a bachelor’s or other four-year college/university degree. It features monthly online meetings (2/23, 3/23, 4/13, 5/18, 6/15) with group discussions, 1:1 mentoring, a supportive network of students, and discussions with first-generation scientists. Applications are due February 16. For more information, email the program’s facilitators, who themselves are first-generation STEM majors: Claudia Mazur cmazur@bu.edu and Samuel Domingues samuel.domingues001@umb.edu. This program is an initiative of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
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Newton Free Library Online: Little Lab Coats: Deserts!, Ages 6-9, Feb. 16
The Newton Free Library will offer Little Lab Coats: Deserts! on February 16 at 6PM, for ages 6-9 to virtually visit the driest regions of the earth, go on a camel ride, and explore how certain animals are able to withstand the heat and survive with little water. Space is limited. Registration is open until February 15 at 6PM. A Zoom link will be sent the day before the program.
Blue Hill Observatory Webinar: Climate Solutions Workshop, Feb. 24
On February 24, 7PM-8:30PM, the Blue Hill Observatory will host a webinar, Climate Solutions Workshop, featuring Dr. Tamara Shapiro Ledley, a climate and Earth Science thought leader, STEM education consultant, and Adjunct Professor at Bentley University. The webinar will be facilitated by NBC Boston meteorologist Tim Kelley. To support the nonprofit work of the observatory, a registration fee ($10 for BHO members, $15 for others) is requested but not required. Register to get sign-in credentials for the webinar and optionally make a donation.
STEM Professionals: Sign Up to Judge the Future Cities Finals Competition
Future City is a project-based STEAM program in which students in Grades 6-8 imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future. Teams work for about four months and compete in regional and finals competitions held in the spring. This year, competitions will be held online on March 6 and April 7. STEM professionals support the competition, either as mentors throughout the fall semester or as judges before and during the regional competitions. You can register online to be a judge. Contact the Regional Judging Coordinator at jake@discoverE.org for more information.
LLRISE: MIT Lincoln Laboratory Summer Radar Program for Rising High-School Seniors
MIT Lincoln Laboratory offers the Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers (LLRISE), a two-week summer workshop for 18 rising high-school seniors to build small radar systems. It’s free and will be held July 11-23. It’s usually a residential program, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MIT Lincoln Laboratory will hold its summer programs virtually and will following MIT’s policy on K-12 Summer programming. Students from a wide range of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Apply online by 10PM on March 27, including uploading of transcripts, standardized test scores, and two teacher recommendations. For more information, contact LLRISE@LL.mit.edu.
FSU Planetarium Online — AstroNights for Families: Mars 2021, Feb. 19
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University continues its season of free, virtual planetarium AstroNights events for families (ages 6+) with an online presentation, Mars 2021, on February 19 at 7PM. In a 30-minute presentation (followed by Q&A session), learn about MOXIE (the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment) and view Mars in the night sky. View the presentation on Zoom (registration required) or the Christa McAuliffe YouTube channel, where you can view recordings of previous AstroNights events.
Register Now for WPI Tech Kids (Virtual), Grades 5-6, Mar. 16 – Apr. 6
Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Pre-Collegiate Outreach program will offer its Tech Kids program virtually this year. It’s designed to encourage students in Grades 5-6 to pursue studies and careers in STEM, and the theme this year is STEM in Everyday Places. It will run March 16 – April 6, 4PM-5:30PM, and cost $150. Register here. For more information email pop@wpi.edu or call 508-831-4900.
Mass. Audubon Online Presentations for All Ages, Feb. 10 & Mar. 3
Mass Audubon’s Habitat and the Belmont Public Library will host these online presentations for all ages. Register at these links:
- Who’s Looking for Love? explores how some animals look for love in February and the myths that surround their quests. February 10, 3:30-4:30PM.
- Making Maple Sugar explores historical, current and revolutionary new practices in harvesting maple sap and turning it into syrup and sugar. March 3, 3:30-4:30PM.
Museum of Science #MOSatHome Events, Feb. 1-5
Boston’s Museum of Science, through its #MOSatHome initiative, offers almost daily programs online, free for all ages. The current week’s schedule has the following for this week:
- February 1, 2PM: What to Look for in the Sky This Month
- February 2, 2:30PM: Virtual Planetarium: Exploring Space
- February 3, 3:30PM: Science in Action: Virtual Birding
- February 5, 1PM: Live Animals: Unique Defenses
2:30PM: Virtual Planetarium: The Sky Tonight
Harvard Museums Online: I ❤️ Science, Feb. 12-15
The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture will present their online I Heart Science festival — four days of live discussions by Harvard scientists and graduate students, at-home activities, and views of museum specimens — February 12-15, 1PM-2:30PM each day. Register at the links below, at least 30 minutes before each event.
- Incredible Evolution: February 12. Meet Harvard researchers studying how brains evolve and how stress can enhance performance. Watch recorded videos by Harvard scientists studying mice behavior or try your hand at comparing bone structures, collecting bugs, and investigating the Giant Moa skeleton.
- Tiny Creatures: February 13. Meet live tardigrades (water bears), watch recorded videos featuring Harvard scientists who study bacterial resistance, ways to test for viruses, and how bacteria grow. Try making a water-drop microscope, comparing communities of microbes, and drawing microbes.
- Love the Earth, February 14. Meet Harvard researchers studying how we can design batteries large enough to power a building and investigate what it takes to save endangered species. Try growing crystals, modeling volcanos, and closely looking at an amethyst geode.
- Faraway Worlds, February 15. Meet Harvard researchers studying how we study the sun and what we hope to learn from missions to Mars. Try investigating light, explore what we know about coelacanths and hear the story behind the museum’s Kronosaurus specimen