Step into STEM is a free, online program of workshops and mentoring for high-school juniors and seniors with parent(s) who never received a bachelor’s or other four-year college/university degree. It features monthly online meetings (2/23, 3/23, 4/13, 5/18, 6/15) with group discussions, 1:1 mentoring, a supportive network of students, and discussions with first-generation scientists. Applications are due February 16. For more information, email the program’s facilitators, who themselves are first-generation STEM majors: Claudia Mazur cmazur@bu.edu and Samuel Domingues samuel.domingues001@umb.edu. This program is an initiative of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Category Archives: Opportunities
STEM Professionals: Sign Up to Judge the Future Cities Finals Competition
Future City is a project-based STEAM program in which students in Grades 6-8 imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future. Teams work for about four months and compete in regional and finals competitions held in the spring. This year, competitions will be held online on March 6 and April 7. STEM professionals support the competition, either as mentors throughout the fall semester or as judges before and during the regional competitions. You can register online to be a judge. Contact the Regional Judging Coordinator at jake@discoverE.org for more information.
Various STEM Contests for Students
The American Society for Engineering Education notes the following free, online STEM contests open to students:
- MathWorks Math Modeling Contest: Grades 11 & 12 — up to 2 teams per school, of 2-3 students each — tackle real-world math problems online under time and resource constraints. Register by February 19 at 4PM.
- New York Times STEM Writing Contest: Middle/High school students ages 11-19 write an engaging, 500-word explanation of a STEM-related issue or question of their choice. January 19 – March 2.
- ACTE/NASA Student Video Contest: Students of all ages create videos on the theme of Advancing Space Exploration through Manufacturing. Submit entries by April 1.
- EngineerGirl Writing Contest: Grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 submit essays by February 1(!) about engineering’s role in meeting and defeating the challenges presented by COVID-19.
MSMR Student Competition: Enter a Poster, Essay, or Website
The Massachusetts Society for Medical Research will hold its 29th Annual Student Competition, in which New England students in Grades 7-12 learn about a breakthrough in life sciences and report about it via a poster, essay, or website — as if reporting for the What A Year website for science discovery. Awards of up to $500 will be made in two levels: Grades 7-8 and Grades 9-12, with education grants for the teachers/advisors of the winning students. Entries are due by April 30. See the student packet.
FSU Online: Call for Presenters for Science on State Street, Apr. 12-24
Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center seeks event presenters for this year’s Science on State Street festival, which will be held April 12-24. Events/exhibits will be mostly online/virtual but may be outdoor and in-person if in accordance with then-current Massachusetts COVID-19 Guidelines. Apply here by March 31. Exhibits may be activities, workshops, discussions, performances, exhibitions, films, nature walks, or guided tours and should be aligned with any of these themes: Climate Change, Energy, Waste Reduction/Recycling/Composting, Ecosystems, Astronomy from Planet Earth, and Learning from Our COVID-19 Experience. For more information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
FSU McAuliffe Center: February Vacation Online Astronomy Program for High School Students
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will offer an online program, The Life Cycle of Stars, for high-school students over the February vacation, February 15-19, at either 11AM-Noon or 4PM-5PM each day. Motivated students in Grades 7-8 are also welcome. The cost is $45 per student. Register here.
Genes in Space: Contest for Grades 7-12, Experimental Designs Due Apr. 12
Genes in Space invites students in Grades 7-12 to a contest to design DNA experiments for space, working alone or in teams up to four students. Twenty-five teams will win a miniPCR DNA Discovery System for their schools. Five finalist teams will receive mentoring by Harvard/MIT scientists and present at the International Space Station R&D Conference for a chance at the national award — having the team’s experiment launched into space. Applications are due April 12. The contest is free and does not require equipment. Proposals will be judged solely on their creative and scientific merit. For more information, email genesinspace@minipcr.com.
MIT Museum: Hands-On Science for Families, at Home
The MIT Museum is offering a series of Hands-On Science for Families programs to be done at home by families (ages 11+). Each program runs for three consecutive weeks and includes three one-hour virtual sessions with an MIT Museum Educator, all the supplies needed for projects and challenge activities, and online access for discussion and questions while working on projects between sessions. There’s a maximum of 8 families per program. The Imaging Science program just completed, and these two remain open:
- (Circuit) Board Game Design: Designing a game, programming a microcontroller, and testing it with other families. February 3-23 with live sessions 7PM-8PM on February 3, 10, and 17. Register by January 25. $70 per family.
- Crashing and Folding — Lunar Lander Challenge: Build a prototype lunar lander with origami, paper circuits, and mechanical engineering. March 31 – Apr. 20 with live sessions 7PM-8PM on March 31, April 7, and 14. Register by March 22. $70 per family.
In addition, the museum recommends online resources for STEAM Activities at Home, drawing on the museum, the MIT Media Lab, and the Cambridge Science Festival.
“e” Emporium Seeks Secret Santa Gifts
“e” inc.’s Science Emporium store seeks people to purchase Secret Santa gifts for kids who need them. Their goal is 50 gifts, and you can join in my buying a $20 Secret Santa gift here — perhaps as you shop for other STEM-related gifts.
“STEM Spy” Challenging Monthly Edutainment, on Kickstarter
The MobileQuest STEM Center in Cranston, RI is developing STEM Spy to provide engaging learning-at-home during the pandemic. Available in early 2021, it will be a monthly “kit + video” edutainment subscription that challenges kids (ages 6-11) to solve problems in a spy-mission story line. The kit, which is replenished or augmented monthly, contains materials but no instructions for creating solutions for the challenges that are presented in video segments. STEM Spy is currently being funded on Kickstarter until December 28.