The New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute will host Harvard Kennedy School Prof. Cornell William Brooks on June 21 at 6:30PM for a free online conversation on The Call of the Wild in Our Cities  — an historical and local calling for citizen activism to protect our environment. Register here.

The Aquarium is also showing three 22-minute films on a regular basis in its Simons Theatre: Great White Shark, Turtle Odyssey, and Ocean Odyssey. Read synopses and reserve tickets here.

The annual Lemelson-MIT EurekaFest celebrating high-school inventors nationwide will be held virtually this year over three days, June 15-17. Use that link to view daily agendas and to register for the online events.

The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University continues its free, virtual planetarium AstroNights events for families (ages 7+) with an online presentation, A Star’s Life, at a new date and time — June 16 at 7:30PM. In a 30-minute presentation (followed  by Q&A session), learn about the vast time scales and events of the lives of stars. View the presentation on Zoom (registration required) or the Christa McAuliffe YouTube channel, where you can view recordings of previous AstroNights events.

The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will offer virtual mission simulation programs for families on Wednesdays, 7:30PM-8:30PM, throughout the summer. The cost is $10 per participant (or $15 for two participating via one device). Register here.

• Europa Encounter: June 30 and August 4, ages 12+
• Destination Moon: July 14 and August 11, age 10+
• Mars Sample Return: July 28, ages 12+
• Exoplanets: August 25, age recommendation to be announced

Now in its fifth year, GirlCon is a free, online technology conference run by female high-school students for female and non-binary students in Grades 8-12 to network, learn, and explore careers in technology. It will be held online, June 27-30, 4PM-8PM daily. The agenda includes keynotes, breakout and professional development sessions. Register by June 25. Recordings of sessions will be available for those registered, so register even if a session is full. For more information, email team@girlcon.org.

The New England Aquarium will present a free webinar, The Hidden Culture of Whales, on June 1, 10AM-11AM. Marine biologist Dr. Asha de Vos, who founded Oceanswell and its Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project, will share insights about new models of marine conservation and the importance of local heroes for every coastline. Register here.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is offering its Science on Saturdays programs virtually this year, and registration is NOT required. The programs are free and designed for children aged 5-17, their parents, and teachers. On Saturday, June 5 at 10AM, the program will be Aviation Engineering, featuring a discussion of how Lincoln Laboratory develops aviation technologies including unmanned air vehicles (drones).  Click here for the Zoom link at the time of the event..