The Newton Free Library, preparing for its fifth year hosting the Newton Girls Who Code Club, seeks volunteer facilitator/instructors for this very popular, free, after-school program for Grades 6-12. The Library provides meeting space, and the global Girls Who Code organization provides curriculum materials. Facilitators do not need technical experience and may learn alongside Club members. They need a passion for closing the gender gap in technology, skill in fostering community in youth groups, and the ability to volunteer 3 to 4 hours per week, October through May (including preparation and travel). Men and women are encouraged to apply. The Library expects to host two sections, each with 20-25 girls and two or more facilitators meeting two hours each week in afternoons, evenings, or weekends — depending on when instructors are available. If interested, read this description and email info@newtongwc.org if you have further questions. Apply here.
Category Archives: Opportunities
High-School Discount to Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference, Aug. 12-17
Goldschmidt, the premier international academic conference on geochemistry, will take place in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center, August 12-17. At NewtonSTEM’s request, the conference is offering high-school students a one-day pass for $95 to access all sessions for the day, the exhibition hall, and an evening poster session. (Student admission is usually $560 for the week or $170 for one day.) Any high-school students interested in exploring the intersection of chemistry, earth science, and environmental science should review the program, choose a day to attend, and then bring his/her valid high-school ID and mention the “NewtonSTEM high-school rate” to register on-site for $95. This rate is not available online.
Coding Butterfly Offers Free Rides all Fall for Sign-ups by July 31
Coding Butterfly has an early-bird registration offer: Students signed up by July 31 for one of Coding Butterfly’s after-school programs for the fall semester may receive free transportation via Sheprd to the program for the entire semester. Rides must be completed to Coding Butterfly’s Newton or Boston location during weekdays 3PM-7PM, for not more than 5 miles driving distance.
Survey: Empow Studios Seeks Teens’ Opinions About New Programs
Empow Studios is planning to expand its programs for teens in Newton and Lexington and would like to hear from teens and their parents about what programs they would like to see offered. The company’s online survey is anonymous — unless you choose the option to provide your name and email address in order to be informed of future programs and provide more feedback in the future. It should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Empow Studios would appreciate your survey response by July 15, if possible.
Apply Now for STEM Pathways One-Day Lab Training in Synthetic Biology for Grades 10-12, July 14
Monday at 10PM 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 July 14 on the Boston University campus. Apply online by 10PM on July 2. 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.
How to Plug Into the FIRST LEGO League in Newton
While the high-school FIRST Robotics Competition action in Newton is focused on the highly visible LigerBots, parents and kids may find it a bit difficult to get going in the younger levels, FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for Grades 4-8 and FIRST LEGO League Jr. for Grades K-3. There are about 15 FLL teams and at least a few FLL Jr. teams in Newton. Parents may want to find a team for their kids to join, but it’s sometimes not easy to add kids to existing teams. The best way to get your kids involved is to start a team, and there’s lots of help available — online as well as from others in Newton — to get you going.
The LigerBots provide support for developing FLL and FLL Jr. teams. Last week, the LigerBots held an information session for interested parents (see photos), and each fall the team runs two FLL tournaments — a regional qualifier and the Eastern Massachusetts Championship — at Newton North HS, where parents and kids can see what it’s all about. The team also maintains a webpage of FLL information useful for parents and coaches. If you missed last week’s information session, you can see the presentation here. You can also fill out the LigerBots’ FLL Survey to get on their mailing list and ask to be connected with nearby parents and kids interested in forming FLL or FLL Jr. teams. The LigerBots will follow up with respondents soon. You can also email fll@ligerbots.org with questions or requests for help.
In addition, Empow Studios is hosting FLL teams that will meet on Sundays in Newton and Lexington. Their online application has more information.
FLL Jr for Grades K-3 has challenges based on the same theme as the Grade 4-8 FLL teams, but with more age-appropriate materials. The theme for 2018/2019 is “Mission Moon.” Teams are given a general problem to solve, and each team decides how they want to solve it and then creates a Lego model to illustrate their solution, creates a poster to go into more depth, and prepares a talk to explain their work. Teams are 2-6 students and 2 or more coaches.
Mass. Audubon Citizen Science: Join the Firefly Watch
All are invited to participate in the Massachusetts Audubon Society‘s citizen-science project, Firefly Watch, to track the geographic distribution of fireflies along with the environmental factors affecting their abundance. Learn how to participate (10 minutes a week) and see interim results.
Highland Street Foundation: Free Fun Fridays at Museums This Summer
The Highland Street Foundation is bringing back Free Fun Fridays, during which it provides support to about 100 selected museums and cultural venues open to everyone for free on specified Fridays. Here are the STEM-oriented Free Fun Fridays on the schedule this summer:
- June 29: MIT Museum, Children’s Museum in Easton
- July 6: Boston Children’s Museum, Amelia Park Children’s Museum,
- July 13: Charles River Watershed Association, Larz Anderson Auto Museum, The Telephone Museum, Children’s Museum at Holyoke
- July 20: Chatham Shark Center, Maria Mitchell Association (Nantucket’s Science Center), Springfield Museums, The Discovery Museum
- July 27: Sandwich Glass Museum, Arnold Arboretum
- August 3: Franklin Park Zoo, The Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River
- August 24: Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, Buttonwood Park Zoo, Cape Cod Children’s Museum, Heritage Museums & Gardens
- August 31: EcoTarium, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Chatham Marconi Maritime Center
SE Mass. STEM Network Conference in Bridgewater, Aug. 15
The Southeastern Massachusetts STEM Network invites educators, business partners, and community representatives to its STEM conference — Educating for the Future: Practices – Programs – Partnerships — at Bridgewater State University on August 15, 8:30AM-2PM, in the Rondileau Campus Center Ballroom (19 Park Avenue in Bridgewater). All are welcome and attendance is free but registration is required. For more information, contact kim.williams@connectsemass.org.
Innovation Institute Expands Facility and Courses for Summer and School Year
Entering its fifth year, The Innovation Institute (TI2) in Newtonville announces expanded facilities, new equipment, and new courses. Here’s what sets it apart:
Enlarged and enhanced facility: A year-long renovation has resulted in the doubling of lab space, all redesigned discussion rooms, and one expanded room for older students and special events.
Proof-of-Concept approach: TI2 instructors have advanced degrees and deep content expertise and are passionate and highly capable educators. They facilitate learning and serve as role models because they respect young people’s capacity to learn.
Summer courses: Registration for summer courses is closing soon. Students are placed by interests and maturity, rather than solely by age or grade. They have options from Micro&Nano Worlds and Chemical Reactions to Neuroscience: Select Topics and The Body Electric: Neurobiology and Engineering. Courses always have new content, even if their names remains the same. This summer, some students will explore making art under the microscope!
School year: Enrollment is open for the 2018-19 academic year, including The Internet of Things—Computing, Engineering, and Design (a student-directed course); Jr NeuroExplorers; Biology of the Brain: Intro the Nervous System; and Molecular Biology, Genetics and Genomics.