The AMP it up! Challenge invites students to research an advanced manufacturing innovation in Massachusetts and then present it in a 3-minute video to explain how it’s made, why it matters, and what it means to the student.  One middle school, one high school, and one community college in the state will each win $5,000 in unrestricted grant funding.  Manufacturers are encouraged to sign up now to support the challenge by talking with students and offering factory tours.  Schools should sign up to participate and may be represented by individual students, classes, groups, or clubs.  Students will begin researching in January and submit their videos by March 30.  Here’s the winning high-school video from last year by students at Melrose HS.

Register by January 12 for Science Club for Girls spring programs for elementary, middle-school (STEMinistas), and teens (Career Exploration, Leadership, & Life Skills) in many sites around Boston — including Pine Manor College in Newton.  See the catalog of programs and locations and click on the links for detailed information and application forms.

Science Club for Girls also seeks volunteer mentors to engage and inspire students in its programs.  See NECN’s recent coverage of SCfG.

The John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club of Newton is looking for one to three individuals to teach the following after-school classes for students in Grades 3-6:

• 3-D Printing and Design (Using MakerBot Replicator printer)
• Basic Science (Survey course, hands-on: Earth Science, Chem, Physics, Bio)
• DIY STEM (STEM class using everyday objects)

While these will begin as volunteer positions, payment is possible after a brief probationary period.  The Newton BGC has some basic curricula available, and very much welcomes additional ideas and curricula for STEM-based programming. For more information, please contact Newton BGC’s Education Director, Jeremy Blache-Schwartz, at jschwartz@newtonbgc.com.

Newton Community Education will offer the following STEM classes this winter, and they’re starting soon.  Click on these links for more information and registration forms.

• Coding with Computercraft – Use Minecraft to learn computer programming skills (Grades 3-5)
• Digital Comics – Merge your artistic and technical talents and make digital comics (Grades 3-5)
• Game Design with Scratch – Learn programming fundamentals to create animations, interactive stories, and games (Grades 3-5)
• Girls Science Club: Robotics & Mysteries – A wicked cool science class just for girls (Grades 1-3)
• Hands On Electronics 2 – Tinker with electronics while learning the basics of computer programming (Grades 3-5)
• LEGO Imagineers & Science Mysteries – For LEGO and science enthusiasts (Grades K-1)
• Math Mania – Sharpen your math skills with math puzzles, games, and brain teasers (Grades 3-5)
• Motion Commotion & LEGO Machines – Investigate the physics of how things move and explore engineering through LEGO building and programming (Grades 1-3)
• 3-D Printing – Explore the world of 3D printing in a variety of classes for elementary and middle-school students
• Java Coding with Minecraft – Learn programming basics while using Java coding to write Minecraft “mods” using Forge API (Grades 6-8)

Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) will conduct an 8-week research workshop in its makerspace for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.  It will consist of a two-hour session each week for eight weeks starting January 23 (excluding February 20) at CEEO’s Makerspace (200 Boston Avenue, Medford).  For this free study, CEEO is recruiting students in ages 11-15 with high functioning autism.  See the recruiting memo (PDF) for details.

FIRST will provide 15 under-served communities with STEM Equity Community Innovation Grants of $5,000 to $50,000 each, to provide greater access to quality STEM experiences for students in grades K-12.  The grants will include funding, training, and implementation support for a year beginning in July, 2017.  Non-profit organizations, school districts, and FIRST organizations are encouraged to apply, ideally in coalitions. Notifications of Intent to apply are due by January 20, and final proposals from selected candidates are due by March 15.  See webinar.

You can donate to the Newton Schools Foundation Annual Appeal to support all of these STEM initiatives in the Newton Public Schools:

The Calculus Project aims to narrow the achievement gap in mathematics and increase the number of African American, Hispanic, and low-income students who complete calculus in high school. Rising seventh and eighth graders participate in small-group intensive summer instruction in mathematics and related workshops to gain academic skills and confidence, followed by after-school tutoring during the school year.

The Middle School Engineering and Sustainable Energy Generation curriculum focuses on new blade design for wind turbines to engage students in hands-on STEM projects at all four middle schools.

The Green Trail is a collaboration among Newton South HS History, Science, and Family and Consumer Sciences departments focused on climate change, invasive species, and protection of biodiversity, using an outdoor classroom.

The DaVinci Program Newton South HS is a project-based collaborative approach to learning science, technology, engineering, arts and math.  Students build skills in experimentation, analytical problem solving, collaboration, presentation, communication, and artistic representation through authentic and student-driven learning.

Science and Society is a new, interdisciplinary senior elective in science and history at Newton North HS using case studies to explore how science has changed and responded to society over time.  Studies include the development of the atomic bomb, DNA and how it connects to identity and medical innovation, germ theory and the development of public health, biological evolution, environmental history, the development of modern cities, and the science of race.

The Ligerbots robotics club engages students, teacher coaches, and parent mentors from both Newton North and Newton South High Schools to provide students with challenges that foster interest and skills in STEM and create the next generation of scientists, inventors, and engineers.