The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host an evening of stargazing and observation on April 11, 7:30PM-8:30PM (cloud date: April 12), in FSU’s O’Connor parking lot by Maynard Road in Framingham. Masks are required.

Students in Grades 9-12 can sign up now (until noon on April 17) to reserve a spot — first come, first served — for Harvard’s Splash! — a weekend of free, online classes taught by undergraduates. This year, Splash! will run virtually on April 23 (10AM-12:15PM) and April 24 (1PM-3:15PM). Registration will begin on April 18 for all those who have reserved a spot. If you have questions, email harvardhuse@gmail.com. The course catalog is not yet available, but sign up now anyway, in anticipation of some engaging classes.

Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will host its Amazing Archaeology Fair on Sunday, March 27, 1PM-4PM, at two museums: Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology (11 Divinity Avenue) and Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East (6 Divinity Avenue) in Cambridge. It’s free with museum admission, which is free on Sundays but requires advance reservations, which are limited in number. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative Covid test are required.

Code Ninjas (161 Linden Street in Wellesley) will host the following events:

• 3rd Birthday Open House:  STEM activities, games, and more — free and open to the public. Learn how kids learn coding while building video games.  March 27, 1PM-3PM.
• Spring Hack-A-Thon: Teams of two (either registered together or paired on-site) will have two hours to create a computer game. Kids in ages 5-7 will use ScratchJr, and kids in ages 8-14 will use Scratch. The event is free, and all participants are encouraged to donate a new item to The Home for Little Wanderers. April 10, 1PM-4:30PM.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute and WGBH will present Touch Tomorrow — a free festival of science, technology, and robots — on Saturday, April 2, 10AM-4PM at Polar Park (100 Madison Ave., Worcester). It’s family-friendly, fun, free, and open to all ages — with a particular focus on what’s interesting for middle- and high-school students. Programming includes hands-on activities, exhibits by WPI and others, and an Innovation Showcase. Proof of vaccination or negative Covid test is required. Register here.

The Discovery Museum’s Speaker Series will host children’s book authors Stacy Clark and Christy Mihaly for live, virtual event, Helping Kids Understand Climate Change and How to Make a Difference, free and open to the public on April 27 from 7PM to 8:30PM. Register here. Donations to support the speaker series are optional and appreciated. For more information, contact Karen Kerns at 978-264-4200 x113 or kkerns@discoveryacton.org.

The Massachusetts STEM Summit will be held in a hybrid format on April 28, co-sponsored by the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. It will include panel presentations, plenary speakers, virtual exhibitors, and opportunities for virtual and in-person networking with like-minded STEM colleagues. Pre-register here to get on the mailing list for registration information and announcements about calls for proposals for sessions and exhibits. For more information, email StemSummitInfo@donahue.umassp.edu.

MAHacks is a hackathon produced by high schoolers for high schoolers. Following five earlier events, MAHacks VI will be held in-person, noon-to-noon on March 19-20. High-school students may apply, and middle-school students may be accepted on a case-by-case basis (email team@mahacks.com). Adults are not admitted, except as mentors or sponsors (for those roles email team@mahacks.com).

Each spring, NEPTUN (a Northeastern University student group) hosts Splash!, a free program for students in Grades 9-12 to take fun and informative mini-classes led by Northeastern undergraduate students. This year, Splash! will again be held in-person at Ryder Hall on the Northeastern campus, on March 26, 8:45AM-6:40PM. Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within 72 hours will be required, and current plans will require masking. The $0 cost includes free pizza and a T-shirt. Registration is now open and is first-come/first-served and requires setting up a free student account. For more information, see the FAQs or contact nu.neptun@gmail.com. You can also access online recordings of Digital Splash! courses from last spring. Among the 26 in-person Splash! courses this year are these STEM offerings:

• Exploring the Engineering Design Process with Rube Goldberg Machines
• Playful Peep Science
• [ACCESS_GRANTED]: 1N7R0 70 H4CK1NG
• The Key to Unlocking Data: An Intro to Database Management
• Can We Make You Enjoy Math?
• Let there be Lights!
• Emoji: How They Work and Why They Break Everything
• Epigenetics: Why everything you know about genetics is wrong
• I’m So Tired: Why You Feel Like You Never Get A Good Night of Sleep
• Plant-on-Plant Violence
• Glowing Plants? Yes, Glowing Plants.
• Get Some Structure in Your Life: Modelling the Cytoskeleton