Category Archives: Opportunities

Update from Science Club for Girls

Accomplishments, Opportunities

Science Club for Girls has been focusing on developing a strategic plan and a more robust development model to support expansion of its services. Its mission is to “foster excitement, confidence and literacy in STEM for girls from underrepresented communities by providing free, experiential programs and by maximizing meaningful interactions with women mentors in STEM.”

  • This fall, SCFG is running 12 clubs in three locations in Cambridge: Amigos School, King Open School, and Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House. Each club has three or more mentors who are women undergraduates, graduate students, or STEM professionals.
  • SCFG also has 15 Junior Mentors who are girls in Grades 8-12 — most of whom have been involved with SCFG since Kindergarten — to maintain institutional memory, traditions, and excitement.
  • SCFG is currently conducting a search for a new Executive Director.
  • This summer, SCFG raised $239,000 from individual donors, foundations, corporations and government sources.  You can donate here to continue the work of this organization.

Register by Nov. 13 for Boston BioBlitz Initiative for Girls

Opportunities

Boston BioBlitz Initiative for Girls (BBIG) is a STEM program for girls (ages 12-15) held on 13 Saturdays, 10:30AM-2PM between November 17 and May 4 at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo. It’s full of biodiversity and citizen-science activities in classroom and outdoors, as well as field trips to local urban wildlife areas. Participants will learn to use wildlife observing platforms such as iNaturalist and DataQuest — and will take leadership roles in the Boston Area Nature Challenge next April. The cost for the entire program is $20. Apply by November 13. For more information, contact Emily Miller at 617-989-3742 or emiller@zoonewengland.com.

Middle Schools: Register by Oct. 31 for Harvard Science Olympiad, Feb. 10

Events, Opportunities

The Harvard Undergraduate Science Olympiad will host its first Division B (middle school) invitational Science Olympiad on February 10. Middle schools must register teams by 11:59PM on October 31. Space is limited, and registration does not guarantee participation. Schools may register up to two teams, and each school’s first team will have priority over any school’s second team. Successful registrations will be confirmed within one week and a fee of $200 per team will be due two weeks after registration is confirmed. Each team must have two adult coaches, at least one of which must supervise an event at the tournament. Email div.b@harvardscioly.org for more information.

Apply by Oct. 23 for STEM Pathways: One-Day Training in Synthetic Biology for Grades 10-12, Nov. 3

Events, Opportunities

This Tuesday is the deadline to apply for a one-day Training Session in Synthetic Biology in a real, synthetic biology environment. It’s offered to students entering Grades 10-12 (ages 16 and older) by STEM Pathways — the synthetic biology outreach program of the Living Computing Project — and the DAMP (Design | Automation | Manufacturing | Prototyping) Lab.  It will be held 10AM-4PM on November 3 on the Boston University campus. Apply online by 8PM on October 23. Include the name, email, and phone number of a teacher, mentor, or coach as a reference. For more information, email connect@stempathways.org, or call Rohin at 617-299-0816.

Register for Northeastern’s Building Bridges Program, Nov. 30

Events, Opportunities

Every other year, Northeastern University’s Center for STEM Education offers its one-day Building Bridges program to enable high-school students to explore Northeastern’s College of Engineering. Faculty and students from all the school’s departments explain various engineering disciplines, career paths, high-education opportunities, and research opportunities. Activities may include:

  • Design and Test a Bridge
  • Implantable Biomedical Devices
  • Design and Build and Electronic Night Light
  • Synthesize Slime
  • Streamline a Sports Utility Vehicle
  • Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing
  • Computer chip Design and Fabrication
  • Simulate an Earthquake

Parents and families are encouraged to explore the campus while students participate in the program. This year the event will be on November 30 from 9AM to 2:15PM. The cost is $15, including lunch. Registration is open now.

High-School Students: Register by Oct. 26 for MIT Splash, Nov. 17-18

Events, Opportunities

MIT’s Splash program runs each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving — this year, on November 17-18 (10AM-9PM on Saturday, and 9AM-6PM on Sunday).  Splash gives students in Grades 9-12 the opportunity to take a wide range of mini-courses and participate in walk-in activities.  BostonTechMom has this informative post recommending MIT Splash.  This year, over 300 courses will be offered in the areas of Science, Computers & Programming, Engineering, and Mathematics — plus other stuff. The cost is $40 regardless of the number of courses taken, and generous financial aid is available.

The first phase of registration is now open until October 27 for students to specify their preferences for classes.  Classes will then be filled by lottery, treating equally all those who register anytime in the first phase of registration.  Lottery results will be available by October 31. MIT notes, “To get a full schedule, we recommend ranking at least 3 classes and starring at least 10 classes per time block. All class choices will be entered into the lottery. This is not first-come first-served; classes will be assigned after student registration is closed, so take your time.”