Engineering is Elementary (EiE), the curriculum development program of Boston’s Museum of Science, is developing Engineering at Home activities for families with children in ages 4-11, to encourage families to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems as an engineering team. EiE is now seeking families to test one of these activities for free and provide feedback. The activity guides are written for parents and assume no prior experience in engineering. The materials used are inexpensive and easy to acquire. Apply here.
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LigerBots Teach from Experience: Making Distance Learning Work
Newton’s high-school robotics team, the LigerBots, have done an amazing job in creating and implementing their free, online mentoring programs for elementary students during pandemic quarantines: the Awesome Mentorship Program during the school year and Camp AMP during the summer. Now students on the team are sharing the expertise they have gained in a white paper, Distance Education Using Zoom, focusing on:
- Adapting to a virtual learning environment
- Providing education and entertainment for students
- Building an engaged online community
The white paper will show you how, according to the Boston Globe, this team has “cracked the code for making virtual learning fun.” Congratulations and thanks, LigerBots!
Grades 7-12: Register for Boston College Splash!, Nov. 8
Boston College will hold BC Splash virtually — and free — this semester on Sunday, November 8, 10AM-3:15PM. Splash is a one-day, student-run program in which undergraduates and graduate students teach mini-courses for students in Grades 7-12. Registration is required, and course selection is first-come/first-served. For more information, email bcsplash@gmail.com. STEM-related classes in the course catalog include:
- How to Prove Mathematics
- Intro to Data Structures
- The Physics of Airplanes
- It’s in My Genes: DNA and Plasmids
- Straws and Turtles: Our Global Plastic Pollution Problem
- COVID-19: Impacts on Global Public Health
- Pre-Dental Info Session
- Intro to Psychology
- Cellular Biology 101
- Lasers, Leaves, and Land
- Ocean Conservation: Sharks — Why They Matter
Tech Together Boston 2020 Hackathon Held Virtually, Nov. 6-8
The Tech Together hackathon will be held virtually this year, November 6-8, with the theme “Dear Future Me.” It’s “Boston’s largest student-run hackathon open to all female, femme, and non-binary individuals.” Those who identify as male may volunteer but not participate as hackers. For 36 hours from 6PM Friday to 11AM Sunday, there will be technical projects for teams and individuals, workshops, talks, networking opportunities. It’s free, and optional donations will be accepted for any of three organizations: Black Tech Mecca, Reclaim the Block, and TechTogether. Register here.
Grades 9-12: Register by Oct. 27 for MIT Splash, Nov. 14-15
MIT Splash will be held virtually November 14-15, during which students in Grades 9-12 take mini-courses taught by MIT undergraduates (10AM-9PM on Saturday and 9AM-6PM on Sunday). The open lottery course registration is now open until October 27, after which remaining space will be filled first-come/first-served. (Tip: To maximize the number of full blocks in your schedule, rank at least 3 classes and star at least 10 classes.) The cost is $40 regardless of the number of courses taken, and financial aid is available. This year’s catalog includes over 250 courses in Computers and Programming, Engineering, Mathematics, Science, and other subjects. For more information, email splash@mit.edu.
Tufts CEEO Virtual STEM Coffee Hour for Parents, Oct. 22
Tufts University’s Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) and White Mountain Science will hold a free, online coffee hour on October 22 at 4:30PM for parents to discuss ideas and resources about learning during COVID-19. Register here. And you can join CEEO’s Facebook group for parents.
Massachusetts STEM Week, Oct. 19-23
Massachusetts STEM Week is October 19-23, and the Metrowest STEM Education Network has compiled a list of STEM events for the week.
The Wellesley Education Foundation is celebrating STEM Week — and raising funds for STEM education — by offering residents a wide range of clever STEM lawn signs in return for donations.
Empow Studios: Virtual Open House for Fall Programs, Oct. 20
Empow Studios will hold a free, virtual Open House on October 20 at 5:30PM for parents and students to learn what Empow Studios students are designing, building, and coding in Empow’s fall programs. Instructors will present Empow’s award-winning STEM programs in Digital Art & Design, Minecraft, Coding, Robotics, and Video Game Design. Participants will receive a discount offer. Register here.
Empow Studios is also offering parents and children a free, 30-minute STEM lesson (for child) and consultation about its BUILD program (for parent). Register here.
UMass Virtual Events for HS Students: ‘Women in Engineering & Computing’, Oct. 20-30
During October 20-30, the Engineering Department of UMass Amherst will hold Women in Engineering and Computing Days — a series of free online talks, challenges, panels, and drop-in hours for all high-school students to learn about engineering and computing at the school and to connect with undergraduate and graduate student members of the Society for Women Engineers. Events will be live on Zoom, after which recordings will be available on the Hopin.to platform. Register here for all events, including three optional challenges, and to get the Zoom link. Or email engindiversity@umass.edu for the Zoom link. (An introduction to the Hopin.to platform will be offered via the Zoom link on October 19 at 1PM and 6PM.)
MIT Edgerton Center Seeks HS Students for Remote Workshop: DIY Musical Instruments, Oct. 19-22
The K-12 MakerLab team at the MIT Edgerton Center seeks to recruit 15 to 20 high-school students to try out a new, online extracurricular workshop, DIY Musical Instruments, before it is released to the public. It takes place on four afternoons, during which students explore how musical instruments make sound, then tinker with materials, then invent an original instrument, and finally use it in a collaborative sonic art project. The workshop is free, entirely remote, and will take 8 hours: 4PM-6PM on October 19-22. Go here to get permission forms and apply by 12PM on October 15. For more information, email Diane Brancazio at dianeb@mit.edu.