Category Archives: Opportunities

Wonderland: Free high-school hackathon in Newton, Feb. 23-25

Events, Opportunities

Wonderland is a free, 48-hour hackathon, February 23-25, “bringing students from all over the Boston area for a weekend of unhindered creation.” It’s organized by six high-school seniors (including ones from Newton North HS and Newton South HS) under the auspices of nonprofit Hack Club with support from WPS Institute in Newton Centre, which is providing the venue. (Last spring, this team of student organizers ran the Beantown Bash hackathon, also with Hack Club.)

Wonderland is open to high-school students 18 and under. (Older high-school students may email wonderland@hackclub.com to check eligibility.) While drawing mainly from the Greater Boston area, the event also has limited travel stipends available for others to participate from further away.

Wonderland is not a typical hackathon; it doesn’t involve computer hacking, and no coding is required. It’s for both beginners and experienced makers to get together and create. In the words of the organizers, it’s for “any student interested in making projects with their hands. From software, to hardware, and every art project in between, Wonderland is a space for high school students to pursue the unimaginable.”

The organizers describe Wonderland: “Centered around mystery chests, we’re challenging participants to build projects out of what they’re given. How will you combine a Python gif generator and receipt printer? What about a keyboard and RC car? There is no limit to what can be made in Wonderland!”

The event is free and runs from 4PM on Friday to 12PM on Sunday at WPS Institute (160 Herrick Road, Newton Centre). Food and sleeping accommodations are provided. See the parents’ guide.

Students should register here individually. Teams will be created on-site.

MIT ESP’s Spring HSSP (Mar. 2 – Apr. 6): Registration ends Feb. 20

Opportunities

MIT’s Spring HSSP — a multi-week, in-person academic program for Grades 7-12 — will take place at MIT on Saturdays, March 2 to April 6 (except March 16), 1PM-4PM. Online registrations are open now, and all applications completed by February 20 will be considered equally in the course-assignment lottery (registrations after that will be taken first-come/first-served as space is available). The cost is $50 per student (regardless of the number of courses taken) and generous, need-based financial aid is available. For more information, see FAQs or email spring-hssp@mit.edu.

This year’s course catalog includes these STEM courses:

  • A Primer in Quantum Computing
  • Introduction to Graphics Programming with Shaders
  • AI and Science: An Introduction to AI and its Applications in Modern Research
  • Computation theory: problems that even the impossible computer can’t solve
  • Computing in the Small
  • It’s Not Rocket Science (Wait, Yes It Is!)
  • How to CAD Almost Anything! – HS Edition
  • Numerical Methods: Solving Equations w/ Computers
  • Introduction to speedcubing and abstract algebra
  • Set theory and applications
  • Nuclear Reactors: Science and Operation
  • Experimental Physics Lab
  • Introduction to Computational Molecular Models
  • Astrobiology
  • The Earth is Alive: A brief overview of Earth as a dynamic system
  • Introduction to Microbiology
  • Pathology Naturewalk
  • The Economics of Immigration Policy

Superintendent to recommend additional funding for STEM

Opportunities, Resources

Last week, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced an updated financial strategy to apply 70% of the City’s one-time overlay surplus funds (plus associated interest) as a supplement to the budget for the Newton Public Schools. Today, Newton’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Anna Nolin, announced that she will be recommending to the School Committee that, among several “most critical needs of the district” the Superintendent listed, this additional funding should be used in part to:

  • Reduce high school class sizes in math and science

  • Restore some high school electives, most critically in science and engineering (based on course request data from both high schools)

  • Create additional planning time and dedicated math and literacy intervention blocks in the elementary schools where they are needed most

  • Invest in math and STEM curricula which have not been reviewed or upgraded in well over a decade

The School Committee will here the Superintendent’s recommendations at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 18.

Volunteer as a judge in ‘Future City’ middle-school civil engineering competition, Jan. 20

Opportunities

Future City is a four-month civil-engineering program for middle-school students, culminating in an annual design competition in January. This year, it will be January 20, and the theme is Sustainable and Safe Power. The program seeks professional engineers (and others with relevant technical backgrounds) to volunteer as judges to evaluate the student teams’ work. Volunteers can be working professionals, retirees, or college/graduate students with experience in STEM, urban planning, architecture, or related fields. Learn more at EngineerYourFuture.org or email Reed Brockman at newengland@futurecity.org.

LigerBots Open House, Sept. 28

After School, Opportunities

The LigerBots, Newton’s dual-high-school FIRST Robotics Competition team, will host an open house for prospective team members on September 28, 6:30PM – 9PM in the engineering room at Newton South High School (Room 9170). All Newton North and Newton South students are invited. This event will include an introductory presentation about the team and hands-on challenges in many of the skill areas that team members learn, like mechanical and electrical engineering, programming, driving robots, CAD (Computer Aided Design), marketing, graphics, photography, and public speaking. Masks are required at all LigerBots meetings. For more information, see the links above or send an email to info@ligerbots.org.

HMSC exhibition: Surveillance – From Vision to Data

Opportunities

Harvard Museums of Science and Culture has opened a new exhibition, Surveillance: From Vision to Data associated with its Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (1 Oxford Street, Cambridge). The exhibition extends beyond cameras and their watchers to explore the profound influence of data, highlighting historical instruments that have been used to transform individuals and landscapes into data. It explores “how powerful entities, from colonial empires to U.S. intelligence agencies, have harnessed surveillance data to produce and perpetuate hierarchies of human difference.”

On Monday, September 24, 12PM-1PM, there will be a Lunch & Learn exhibit talk during which curators will highlight selected objects and “critical artworks that have resisted now ubiquitous data-driven surveillance.” Registration recommended. Attendees may bring their own lunch.

The HMSC Connects! podcast has a new episode on the exhibit.

Mustang Math recruits HS and college volunteers for next year

Opportunities

Mustang Math is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization of high school and college volunteers  promoting a collaboration and curiosity in mathematics among middle school students globally.  It does this through annual math tournaments and low-cost, high-quality math classes. It’s now recruiting high-school and college students to volunteer for the next school year. Opportunities include writing problems, organizing tournaments/events, building software, working on design and marketing, engaging the community, building YouTube videos, and more. Register your interest here.

MITES seeks instructors and mentors for transformational STEM programs

Events, Opportunities

MITES (MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering, and Science) is seeking instructors and mentors for its free, transformative STEM programs for students in Grades 7-12 from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds. Applicants may be undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals who are energetic, thoughtful, and motivated by the MITES mission. There are both paid and volunteer positions available.

For nearly 50 years, MITES (formerly the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs) has changed thousands of lives, advancing equity and access in STEM fields. MITES runs three programs:

  • MITES Semester: Hybrid STEM program for rising high school seniors, June–December (formerly MOSTEC).
  • MITES Summer: Six-week, residential STEM program for rising high school seniors (formerly MITES).
  • MITES Saturdays: Multi-year STEM academy for students in Grades 7-12 in Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence, MA public schools (formerly SEED Academy).

An equal opportunity employer, MITES encourage those from backgrounds historically underrepresented in STEM to apply — to help students see people like themselves as successful professionals, leaders, and guides in STEM. Openings may be for remote, in-person, or residential programs; part-time or full-time; for summer or academic year; and as instructor or mentor. See FAQs for prospective staff and email staffapp@mit.edu for more information.

MITES will host its Saturdays Symposium on May 6, 10AM-4PM, at MIT’s Stata Center (32 Vassar Street, Cambridge), to celebrate the achievements of more than 100 MITES Saturdays scholars from Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence as they present their final projects. It’s a good opportunity for anyone interested in supporting and/or working for MITES.

Science Club for Girls seeks Volunteer Manager & Video Program Intern

Opportunities

Science Club for Girls is seeking to hire:

  • Volunteer Manager: This position is full-time, and responsibilities include recruiting, screening, and supporting a diverse population of volunteers that reflects the communities SCFG serves, coordinating volunteer outreach efforts, and leading volunteer training sessions and communications.
  • Program Intern for SCFGLive! Science Show: This is position is paid, and work is done remotely. Responsibilities include script production, video editing, uploading, and maintaining viewership data.

Penguin Coding School opens in Newton Centre

Opportunities

Penguin Coding School has arrived in Newton Centre (1223 Centre Street) and is now enrolling students for coding and robotics classes for Spring (April 24 -June 25) and Summer (June 26 – September 1) semesters. Topics include Scratch, Minecraft, Roblox, Python, Mobile App Development, Java, and Robotics. The company also has locations in Acton and Lexington and in Brooklyn, NY. For more information email info@penguincodingschool.com or call 617-608-4757