On Earth Day, April 22, 1PM-4PM, the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture (26 Oxford Street, Cambridge) will celebrate the 200th birthday of Alfred Russell Wallace (1823–1913), who discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection independently of Charles Darwin. HMSC will spotlight Wallace’s contributions to our understanding of biodiversity, highlighting why they are relevant to science today. Harvard students will share his legacy as a visionary scientist, a daring naturalist, and a passionate human rights advocate through stories and objects that reflect his professional achievements and travels in the Amazon and Indonesia. Free with regular museum admission. Free parking starting at noon at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.
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2023 Mass. STEM Summit, at PTC headquarters, May 4
The 2023 Massachusetts STEM Summit will be held on May 4 at the global headquarters of PTC (121 Seaport Blvd, Boston) with the theme, “Reimagining High School.”
FSU McAuliffe Center: Science on State Street, Apr. 22
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University is hosting its free STEM festival, Science on State Street, on April 22, 2PM-6PM, in collaboration with the MetroWest STEM Education Network (MSEN). It’s open to all in the MetroWest area. With a particular focus on themes relating to planet Earth, and 136 exhibitors, the festival helps all explore environmental science, environmental justice, and sustainability. This year’s festival will feature Climate Hope Concert by Multiverse, interweaving climate science and music to build community and spark action. For more information contact the McAuliffe Center at cmc@framingham.edu or 509-626-4050.
Edge on Science offers mentorship to teams in Changemaker Challenge
Ashoka and T-Mobile are jointly hosting the 2023 Changemaker Challenge, in which teams in ages 13-18 may submit a project idea that drives digital empowerment, puts equity into action, and supports a thriving planet. The deadline to submit project ideas is May 18. There are online info sessions on April 18, May 4, and May 10.
Edge on Science, which runs week-long summer STEM programs in Newton and Beverly, is offering a free hour of mentorship to the first five Changemaker Challenge teams that contact the founder of Edge on Science, John Aviste.
LigerBots finish FRC season strong in West Springfield
Following strong performances at the Rhode Island and Revere District competitions, the Newton LigerBots robotics team qualified for the New England District Championships held in West Springfield this weekend. At the start of the competition, Jeffrey Lam, a Junior at Newton North HS, performed the National Anthem on his electric guitar! Competing alongside alliance partners Mayhem Robotics and Air Strike, the LigerBots placed 25th out of 90 teams in West Springfield, nearly qualifying for the World Championships.
Finishing off the season strong, the team won the FRC Imagery Award, which “celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance.”
Kevin Yang, LigerBots co-CTO and a Junior at Newton South HS, was named one of the four Dean’s List Finalists and thus won an invitation to attend the FRC World Championships in Houston, April 19-22. Until their next competition season, in January 2024, the LigerBots will conduct community outreach events and work on off-season projects!
MIT’s You Go Girl! Summer Program for 9th Grade Girls, July 18-21 or Aug. 1-4
Registration is open for You GO Girl!, the MIT Edgerton Center’s summer introduction to science and engineering for girls in the Greater Boston area who will be entering Grade 9. Students may attend either July 18-21 or August 1-4, 8:30AM-2:30PM each day. A suggested donation of $100 for materials is requested. Apply by April 28. For more information, contact Amy Fitzgerald at 617-253-7931 or amyfitz@mit.edu.
IQ Learning: Summer STEM Camps in Brookline and Northborough
IQ Learning will offer two one-week summer camps this summer:
- Northborough: STEAM: Building Sculptures, August 7-11, at Trinity Church in Northborough, for students entering Grades 3-6. Students will weave math and science into art by grappling, creating, observing, and applying their understanding to designing artistic challenges through hands-on experiences.
- Brookline: STEM Mysteries: Breaking the Code, August 21-25, at United Parish in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner, for students entering Grades 4-7. Students will explore optical illusions, time travel, and breaking codes with the end goal of creating the camp’s own escape room.
IQ Learning and its summer STEM camp were started in Brookline last year by two certified, experienced, Harvard-trained teachers and math specialists, Cristina and Shephali, who met while working together in the Watertown Public Schools.
The aim of their STEM camps is to have kids engage in long-term STEM projects inspired by exciting themes and enable students to make connections to STEM concepts that they experience on interactive field-trips. For more information, email iqlearning314@gmail.com.
McAuliffe Center: Stargazing, Apr. 28
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host a free evening of stargazing and observation on April 28, 8:30PM-9:30PM (weather permitting), in front of May Hall on FSU’s campus in Framingham. For more information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass. — STEM Fest, Apr. 29
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts will hold its STEM Fest at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham on April 29, 9AM-1PM, for all Girl Scout levels. Register here. For more information, contact Eileen Koury at ekoury@gsema.org.
BU offers summer programs for young women in Grades 8-11
This year, Boston University Learning Resource Network (LERNet) will offer three in-person summer programs for young women living and attending school in Massachusetts.
AI4All is a three-week summer program focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s open to young women (and those who identify as such) currently in Grades 10-11 and living and attending school in Massachusetts. Participants explore topics such as robotics, computer vision, and natural language processing through team projects, industry field trips, and presentations from guest speakers. The program concludes with a small group research project and a presentation for friends and family. It runs July 24-August 11, Mondays-Fridays, 9:30AM-3:30PM. Apply by May 1.
The Artemis Project is a five-week summer program focused on computer science and led by BU undergraduates majoring in Computer Science or Engineering. It’s open to young women (and those who identify as such) currently in Grade 8 living and attending school in Massachusetts. Priority is given to students who live within 15 miles of Boston. Participants learn computer languages such as Scratch, AppInventor, HTML, CSS, and Python. They also are introduced to cryptography, artificial intelligence, robotics, and circuits. In addition, they learn how computer science is applied in the real world by hearing from guest speakers and visiting local industries. It runs July 10-August 11, Mondays-Fridays, 9:30AM-3:30PM. Apply by May 1.
GROW (Greater Boston Research Opportunities for Young Women) offers young women currently in Grade 11 the opportunity to perform research in a lab at Boston University for six weeks. Applicants must be 16 years old by July 1, live in Massachusetts, and attend school within 30 miles of Boston. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in cutting edge research in a collaborative setting. They will learn best research practices, hear from guest speakers, and develop communication skills by presenting their research at a culminating symposium. Participants who complete all program requirements will receive a stipend of $1500. Orientation is June 28-29, and the program runs July 5-August 11, Mondays-Fridays, 9:30AM-4:30PM. Apply by April 15.