The James Webb Space Telescope — 3 times larger than the Hubble and 100 times more powerful — has been under development for 25 years and is now scheduled to launch at 7:22AM on December 22. It’s designed to see if there’s life on exoplanets and also to peer back to see the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Framingham State University’s McAuliffe Center will host an online celebration of the launch (free) at that time and also invites everyone to celebrate ahead of time, in-person at its Holiday Program, December 17 & 18, 4PM-7PM ($5 per person). At the in-person Holiday Program, there will be showings of the new full-dome planetarium film, Big Astronomy, at 4:00PM, 4:45PM, 5:30PM, and 6:15PM, as well as hands-on activities and stargazing throughout the event. Purchase tickets here. For further information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
Category Archives: Events
Harvard Holiday Lecture, Online: A Festival About Fluids, Dec. 11
Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will again hold its Holiday Lecture virtually this year, on December 11 at 1PM. This year’s topic is Go With the Flow: A Festival About Fluids. Before the webinar, please register here and also visit this page to submit photos and words to be combined into a word cloud about fluids. That page will also soon have lists of household materials to gather for use in demonstrations during the webinar, as well as experiments you can do at home.
Newton Free Library: Little Lab Coats — Landforms, Ages 6-9, Dec. 14
The Newton Free Library will host a session of Little Lab Coats to explore Landforms on Tuesday, December 14, 6PM-7PM, for ages 6-9. The topic includes mountains, canyons, glaciers, waterfalls, plateaus, plains, valleys, islands, and more. Registration is required and opens at 8:30AM on December 6. Space is limited. A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the program.
MassBay Virtual STEM Expo, Dec. 13-17; STEM Stories Webinar, Dec. 15
MassBay Community College in Wellesley will offer these free online STEM events this month:
- Virtual STEM Expo: MassBay’s twice-yearly celebration of students’ STEM projects, December 13-17. There’s no need to register. You can access the STEM Expo online here during those days.
- STEM Stories: A free, online session on December 15 at 11AM for STEM faculty, staff, students, graduates, and industry professionals to learn about MassBay’s STEM resources and career options. Register here.
FSU Christa McAuliffe Center: Virtual Mission Simulations for December Break (Family Events)
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host these “virtual mission simulations” as family events during the December school break. The cost is $10 per individual or $15 per team of two on one device. Register here.
- Destination Moon: Individuals ages 10+ (under 10 years with an adult). December 27 at 10AM, December 28 at 11AM
- Mars Sample Return: Individuals ages 13+ (under 13 years with an adult). December 27 at 3:30PM, December 28 at 3PM
- Exoplanets: December 29 at 7PM
Grades 6-8: Register by Nov. 30 for Lexington Math Tournament, Dec. 11
The Lexington High School Math Club hosts the Lexington Math Tournament twice a year, mainly for Grades 6-8 — but Grades 4-5 may join in. It will be held in-person at Lexington HS on December 11, 7:45AM-5PM, following these rules. The cost is $15 per student. Register by November 30 either as a team of 4-6 students or as an individual (who will be assigned to a team).
Harvard Museums Online: Evolution and Conservation in the Deep Sea, Dec. 2
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will present a free, live, online event, Evolution and Conservation in the Deep Sea, on December 2 from 6PM to 7:15PM. Advance registration is required. The speaker will be Rus Hoelzel, Professor of Molecular Ecology at Durham University (UK) and a Visiting Fellow in Conservation Biology at Harvard’s Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.
N. E. Sci-Tech Public Telescope Nights: Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11
The New England Sci-Tech (NEST) STEM education center (16 Tech Circle, off Route 9 in Natick) will host free Public Telescope Nights at 6PM on these Friday and Saturday evenings: December 3, 4, 10, and 11. Those are your last chances to see Jupiter and Saturn until next August.
Girl Scouts STEM Expo Seeks Presenters for Workshops & Expo, Apr 30
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts will hold its 10th annual STEM Conference and Expo in Waltham on April 30, in two sessions: Grades K-5 will be 9AM-12:30PM, and Grades 6-12 will be 1:30PM-6PM. The organizers invite volunteers to apply to offer demonstrations or hands-on activities (5 to 30 minutes each) to engage Girl Scouts in STEM. For more information, contact Eileen Koury at ekoury@gsema.org.
New England Sci-Tech: Yard Sale, Nov. 20
The New England Sci-Tech (NEST), a non-profit STEM education center (16 Tech Circle, off Route 9 in Natick), will have a Yard Sale on November 20, 8AM-Noon. Proceeds will support the development of NEST’s youth programs and curriculum. Items to be sold include about 800 pounds of surplus electronics plus STEM education kits, books, one-of-a-kind antique/historic items, and all sorts of other stuff.