The 7th annual Sharon Math and Science Tournament (SMST) will be held virtually on March 27, 1PM-6PM. It’s organized each year by a team of Sharon High School students to foster passion for STEM through collaboration and critical thinking. Middle-school students from anywhere are invited to register, individually or in teams of 4-6. For more information, see the flyer, or read the FAQs or email smst.sharonschools@gmail.com.
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Various STEM Contests for Students
The American Society for Engineering Education notes the following free, online STEM contests open to students:
- MathWorks Math Modeling Contest: Grades 11 & 12 — up to 2 teams per school, of 2-3 students each — tackle real-world math problems online under time and resource constraints. Register by February 19 at 4PM.
- New York Times STEM Writing Contest: Middle/High school students ages 11-19 write an engaging, 500-word explanation of a STEM-related issue or question of their choice. January 19 – March 2.
- ACTE/NASA Student Video Contest: Students of all ages create videos on the theme of Advancing Space Exploration through Manufacturing. Submit entries by April 1.
- EngineerGirl Writing Contest: Grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 submit essays by February 1(!) about engineering’s role in meeting and defeating the challenges presented by COVID-19.
MSMR Student Competition: Enter a Poster, Essay, or Website
The Massachusetts Society for Medical Research will hold its 29th Annual Student Competition, in which New England students in Grades 7-12 learn about a breakthrough in life sciences and report about it via a poster, essay, or website — as if reporting for the What A Year website for science discovery. Awards of up to $500 will be made in two levels: Grades 7-8 and Grades 9-12, with education grants for the teachers/advisors of the winning students. Entries are due by April 30. See the student packet.
FSU Online: Call for Presenters for Science on State Street, Apr. 12-24
Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center seeks event presenters for this year’s Science on State Street festival, which will be held April 12-24. Events/exhibits will be mostly online/virtual but may be outdoor and in-person if in accordance with then-current Massachusetts COVID-19 Guidelines. Apply here by March 31. Exhibits may be activities, workshops, discussions, performances, exhibitions, films, nature walks, or guided tours and should be aligned with any of these themes: Climate Change, Energy, Waste Reduction/Recycling/Composting, Ecosystems, Astronomy from Planet Earth, and Learning from Our COVID-19 Experience. For more information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
NNHS STEMentors Offer Free STEM Resources for K-8
STEMentors is an program by Newton North HS students, led by juniors Rachel Kimball and Peter Dukakis and advised by NNHS Chemistry teacher David Bennett, to provide free, engaging STEM lessons to K-8 students through virtual drop-in classes, lessons with NPS classrooms, 1:1 math tutoring, and guest speaker sessions.
The next session in the STEMentors Guest Speaker series will feature Arielle Conti, a sensor systems engineer at MITRE and NNHS alum, speaking online on February 17, 4:30PM-5:30PM, about her career path and a bit about geodesics. The event is free and aimed for Grades 6-8 but open to all. Register here.
STEMentors is also distributing free STEAM Kits for Kids, under the initiative of NNHS sophomore Sabrina Cohen. These kits provide materials for hands-on experiments that may be conducted standalone or in conjunction with STEMentors free, online STEM sessions. They are aimed primarily for Grades 3-5 but others may apply. Sign up for kits here.
MOS Online: Vaccine Decisions–Rolling Out the Vaccine, Jan. 26
Boston’s Museum of Science will host the first of three free, online town hall sessions, Vaccine Decisions: Rolling Out the Vaccine, on January 26, 5PM-6:30PM. WBUR Health & Science Reporter Angus Chen will moderate a panel of experts in medicine and public health discussing how the COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed, in what priority order, against what measures of equity, and managed by whom? There will be opportunities to ask questions in small-group sessions. Register here.
Harvard Museums Online: After-School Animal Encounters–Defense, Feb. 2
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will present a free, live, online, family-friendly event, After-School Animal Encounters: Defense, on February 2, 3PM-3:45PM. Museum staff will introduce live animals and explain many amazing and bizarre ways that animals defend themselves or avoid confrontation. Register here to get a link to the event and to make a voluntary contribution if you wish to support HMSC.
Girls Who Code: Apply for Online Summer Immersion Program
Girls Who Code has changed its Summer Immersion Program to be a free two-week virtual program. It’s for girls — trans and cis — and non-binary students currently in Grades 9-11 to learn computer science and get exposure to technology jobs. No previous experience is required — just an interest in technology and willingness to learn. For more information, see the FAQs in this flyer and view this recorded webinar about last summer’s virtual program. Space is limited for the Summer Immersion Program, and applications are due in mid-February for early acceptance or in mid-March for everyone else. The application takes about 20-30 minutes and does not require grades or recommendations. Students may also apply for a $300 need-based stipend.
CS Recitations: One-Day Prep for March Math Kangaroo Competition, Grades 1-6, Feb. 20
CS Recititations (5 Michigan Drive, Suite 201, in Natick) will be a local host for the in-person, international Math Kangaroo competition in late March — and is offering three two-hour, in-person preparatory workshops to help students build confidence for the competition on February 20: 10AM-Noon for Grades 1-2; 12:30PM-2:30PM for Grades 3-4; and 3PM-5PM for Grades 5-6. The competition is fun, with interesting and clever problems that children enjoy tackling. Each workshop is limited to 10 students, and the cost is $60 per student. Register here.
Teen Summer Expos: Catalog of Summer STEM Opportunities
Teen Summer Expos usually runs in-person expositions in Newton, Lexington, and other locations to match teens with various summer programs, but their expos are on hold during the pandemic. Instead, TSE offers this an online catalog of summer programs — including this online list of summer STEM opportunities — as well as personal phone consultations.