Category Archives: Events

Girl Scouts Seek Presenters for 6th Annual STEM Conference, March 18

Events, Opportunities

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts seeks presenters to provide interactive workshops for 15 to 25 participants in Grades 6-12 at its 6th annual STEM Conference and Expo, to be held March 18, 9AM-5PM at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel. This drop-off event is open to both members and non-members of the Girl Scouts. Potential presenters register here.  This is one of many STEM activities offered by the GSEMA.

7 Newton FLL Teams Compete at Eastern Mass. Championship; 4 Win Awards

Accomplishments, Events

Seven Newton-based FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics teams competed in the Eastern Massachusetts FLL State Championship, hosted by the Ligerbots at Newton North HS yesterday, and four of them won awards.  The event drew a crowd of over 1,000 FLL team participants, coaches, mentors, volunteers, and spectators.

  • The Day Dragons, a team of four 7th graders from F. A. Day Middle School and two 5th graders from Peirce Elementary School, won the top honor for the event — the Champions’ Award, for the best overall performance in each aspect of the competition.  This includes the team’s performance in the robotics competition, the team’s presentation of research results in this year’s area of focus (Hydro Dynamics), and the team’s demonstration of FLL’s Core Values.
  • The Botanists were part of the 1st-place alliance for the Lightning Round, in which teams are paired for collaboration in matches that run in half the time.
  • The Block Party team earned the second-place Programming award.
  • The Snowy Owls won the award for “Most Reliable Robot.”

Other Newton-based FLL teams that earned the right, in earlier qualifying events, to participate in the Eastern Massachusetts Championship were the Hydro-Dragons, the Newtronics, and the Roaming Rovers. Congratulations to all seven teams!

The LigerBots also hosted a maker fair that drew participation from such local groups as Destination Imagination, the New Art Center, Students for Greener World, and others. There was even a taste of Star Wars, with a Stormtrooper and Imperial Droid on hand!

Newton Free Library: STEM Events in January

Events

The Newton Free Library will host the following STEM events in January:

  • January 4:  Scratch Club, 7-8PM, Grades 3-4. Space is limited.  Pick up tickets 15 minutes beforehand at the Children’s Desk.
  • January 8:  Crazy 8s Math Club, 4-5PM, Grades K-2. Space is limited.  Registration opens at 9AM on December 18. Register for all 8 sessions (January 8, 22, 29; February 5, 12, 26; March 5, 12).
  • January 16:  Animal Camouflage, 4-5PM, ages 3+.
  • January 27:  KIBO Robots, 10:30-11:30AM, Grades K-2. Space is limited to 8 children.  Pick up tickets 15 minutes beforehand at the Children’s Desk.

SUMIT Collaborative Event for Girls in Grades 9-10 Who Like Math, Feb. 3 & 4

Events

SUMIT is a fun, mathematically intense, fully collaborative, all-day, large-scale math collaboration for girls in Grades 6-10 who like math. It’s hosted annually by Girls Angle, a math club for girls in Cambridge. SUMIT is not a competition but is a collaborative math/theater event in which participants must self-organize and overcome math challenges toward a common overall goal. Participants do not need any experience in math and should simply bring an enjoyment of thinking about math and an open mind.

This year, there will be two separate sessions, each running 8:45AM to 4:30PM at the Broad Institute in Cambridge. Girls can sign up for either February 3 or February 4, as grade-specific space is available.  Currently there is still room for girls in Grades 9-10.  A wait list is available for grades that are filled. The $50 fee will be waived for students demonstrating financial need. Register here. For more information, email girlsanglesumit@gmail.com. Learn more about the Girls Angle club in their bimonthly Bulletin and blog.

LigerBots to Host Eastern Mass. State FLL Championship at NNHS, Dec. 16

Events

The LigerBots will host the Eastern Massachusetts FLL State Championship, a FIRST LEGO League robotics competition for 300 Massachusetts students in Grades 4-8 on Saturday, December 16, 9AM-3PM, at Newton North HS. It’s free and open to the public. The theme of this year’s competition is Hydro Dynamics (see video).  Forty-eight teams earned the right to compete in the championship via their performance in earlier qualifying events. They will use LEGO robots they have designed, built, and programmed to perform complex tasks. The public may also view the teams’ displays of their solutions to real-world problems related to the water-based theme. There will also be a maker fair with hands-on STEM activities for kids and a “RoboPalooza” exhibit of robots from First Robotics Competitions and FIRST Tech Challenges.

Women in STEM Event in Lowell, Postponed to Dec. 16

Events

A Women in STEM event for girls in Grades 7-12, originally scheduled for December 9, has been moved to Saturday, December 16, 10AM-3PM, in the UMass Lowell Makerspace (Falmouth Bldg., Rm 102, 1 University Avenue, Lowell). It’s sponsored by FIRST Robotics Competition Team 5962. At this event, students may participate in fun, hands-on activities led by female engineers. During lunch, there will be a discussion time for students to ask the engineers and members of the UMassLowell Society of Women Engineers (SWE) any questions they have. The event is free, and lunch is provided. Register here. No experience required!