Category Archives: Events

Cambridge Science Festival (Sept. 23-29)

The Cambridge Science Festival, an annual week-long community celebration of STEM, will return this year September 23-29. Featuring activities, workshops, tours, debates, contests, talks, and more, the festival attracts over 50,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds each year. The Festival Guide lists dozens of events for each day, including a demonstration of quantum mechanics through juggling (9/23 4-5PM), a panel on democracy in the age of AI (9/24 7-9PM), interactive talks with neuroscientists (9/25 2-5PM), a biotechnological escape room (9/26 1-9PM), exciting science demonstrations (9/27 3:30-4:30PM), a kayaking educational tour of the Charles River (9/28 1-6PM), and an electromagnetic art workshop (9/29 12-4PM). Admission is free.

MITES Symposiums: High-school students present their work, May 4

MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering & Science (MITES) provides transformative experiences to bolster confidence, create lifelong community, and build foundations in STEM for highly motivated students in Grades 7-12 from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds in Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence. More than 100 MITES students will be presenting their final projects on May 4, 10AM-3PM, at the Stata Center (MIT Building 32, Vassar Street, Cambridge). Please register by April 29 to assist planning. Areas of focus:

  • 7th grade: Engineering Design
  • 8th grade: Environmental Engineering
  • 9th grade: Architecture
  • 10th grade: Robotics
  • 11th grade: Biological Engineering
  • 12th grade: Engineering Design

MassBay Student STEM Expo in person May 8, virtually May 6-10

MassBay Community College will hold its Student STEM Expo on Wednesday, May 8, 1PM-2PM in the Wellesley Hills campus cafeteria (50 Oakland Street, Wellesley Hills), and virtually May 6 – 10. Students will showcase their STEM work to the MassBay community, local STEM professionals, and the general public.

Online visitors can watch prerecorded videos from individual students and student teams. Viewers may leave comments and ask questions, and students will answer  incoming inquiries and engage in conversations with visitors about their projects.

Broad Discovery Series: From “hit-or-miss” for psychiatric diagnosis and care, May 21

The next presentation in Broad Institute’s Broad Discovery Series of free, public lectures will be on May 21, 6PM-7PM at the Broad Institute Auditorium + Lobby (415 Main Street, Cambridge). The topic will be Moving from “hit-or-miss” toward a brighter future for psychiatric diagnosis and care. Scientists from the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research will join peers and family members from the community to discuss how genetics and biology are shaping an improved understanding of psychiatric conditions, how that might address community concerns, and what it could mean for diagnosis and care now and in the future. Register here.

This talk will be held both in person and virtually. Those attending in person are invited to a reception with refreshments in the Broad Discovery Center following the talk.

Edgerton Center Teams Showcase, Apr. 9

MIT’s Edgerton Center will host the Edgerton Teams Showcase on April 9, 4PM-5PM, in Lobby 13 (77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge), where 16 student teams will present their current projects. The MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team will unveil its latest creation, Gemini, and the MIT Motorsports Team will unveil its MY2024 race car. For more information, email Peggy at peysenba@mit.edu. Participating teams:

Arcturus (Roboboat), AssistiveTechnology Club, ChemE Cube, Combat RoboticsClub, Design Build Fly, Electric Vehicle Team, First NationsLaunch,  MIT Radio Society WIMX, MITERS, MotorsportsRobotics Team, Rocket Team, Solar Electric Vehicle Team, Spokes, Sustainable Engine Team, Wind Team

Acton-Boxborough Math Competition, in person and online, Apr. 6

The Acton-Boxborough Math Competition (ABMC) will take place on April 6, 8AM-2PM, at R.J. Grey Junior High School (16 Charter Road, Acton). It’s a Mathcounts-style competition open to students in Grades K-8, competing individually or in teams of 2-4. Register online  as an individual competitor, a pre-registered team, or an individual to be randomly assigned to a team. The cost is $20 if registered online or $25 if registered in-person at the competition.

Prizes are awarded to high-scoring individuals and teams. ABMC will also host a free online contest with the same format as the on-site contest, but online contestants are not eligible for prizes and will be ranked separately.

The difficulty of problems ranges from beginner to Mathcounts National-level. They are written by former Mathcounts competitors, including JMO and AMO qualifiers. The event is an opportunity to compete against some of the best competitors from around the area. The 2023 ABMC drew nearly 200 competitors.
For more information, email contact@abmathcompetitions.org.

Acera School Math Festival in Winchester, Apr. 7

Acera School (5 Lowell Ave, Winchester) will host its Math Festival on Sunday, April 7, 10AM to 12PM for students in Grades K-12. It’s a free event of math and logic-themed games designed to inspire creative reasoning and collaborative problem-solving. Parents/guardians with their kids are all welcome — and invited to bring friends. Register online.

Math challenges include: Algebra on Squares, Chocolate Fix, Game of Amazons, Hexahexaflexagons, Jumping Frogs, Jumping Julia, Mosaics, Rook’s Move, Skyscrapers, and Tower of Hanoi.