Category Archives: Summer

NSHS Science Team offers Summer Science Program for Grades 6-10, Jul. 29-Aug. 30

Opportunities, Summer, Virtual/Online

The Newton Summer Science Program offers a series of week-long STEM courses taught by student members of the Newton South High School Science Team to inspire middle school students to explore engaging topics in science beyond the school curriculum. Additionally, the program offers courses in grades 9-10 math and science for high school students to begin the school year feeling prepared.

Online courses will be taught free of charge, and in-person courses at Newton North and Newton South High Schools cost $20 (which goes to Newton Community Education to pay for space and registration costs). 

See the full schedule and full course syllabus, then register here.

The NSHS Science Team also gratefully accepts donations (recommended: $15 per one-week course) that will support the team throughout the school year, to pay for competition fees and study materials. Checks may be written to Newton South High School with “Science Team” in the memo line, mailed to:
NSHS Science Team c/o Gerald Ng
Newton South High School
140 Brandeis Rd.
Newton, MA  02459

Harvard Museums of Science & Culture offer Week-Long Courses for Grades 4-6, Jul. 29-Aug. 9

Summer

The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture are offering weeklong half-day courses for students entering grades 4-6. A few openings remain for Grab Your Sketchbook (July 29-August 2), in which students will draw animals from diverse locations, and Invertebrate Investigators (August 5-August 9), a course dedicated to exploring the world of insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates. Courses cost $210 for museum members and $235 for non-members, and will take place Monday-Friday, 9:30AM-12:00PM. Register here.

Summer Science Discovery Program for Ages 6-12, Aug. 12-30

Summer

“e” inc.’s Summer Science Discovery Program offers week-long camps for ages 6-12, August 12-30. This program includes both fun and educational activities, including arts and crafts, outdoor adventures, and team-building exercises, and explores topics ranging from natural forces to means of transportation. The camp costs $450 per week and runs from 8:30AM-3PM, with a daily optional aftercare until 5:30PM. Openings are limited.

To register, download and complete the forms on the website and email forms to camp@einc-action.org.

Harvard Museum of Natural History: Summer Science Weeks

Summer

Registration is open for Summer Science Weeks at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (26 Oxford Street, Cambridge):

Ocean STEAM Powered Women Fellowship: Info session Mar. 5

Opportunities, Summer

Applications are open until April 4 for young women in Grades 10-11 to apply for a 2024 O-STEAM Fellowship, sponsored by WHOI Sea Grant at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Sea Education Association. This fellowship will run August 11-17 and aims to promote diversity and expose young women to a variety of careers in STEAM.

Register for the online Info Session on March 5 at 6PM.

O-STEAM student fellows will work with a predominantly female team of researchers to explore a variety of STEAM-related activities. The team will explore challenges that are unique to women in science. In seeing themselves represented, our teens can gain a sense of belonging. The program is available to students who are in Grades 10-11 in Massachusetts and who are interested in being in a female-identified space. No experience is required.

There is no cost. The fellowship award includes travel to and from Woods Hole, food, and accommodations. See the program flyer. Apply on the O-STEAM webpage by April 4. Notifications will be made by May 2024. For more information, email Grace Simpkins, gsimpkins@whoi.edu.

AI Academy offering spring & summer introductions to AI

After School, Summer

This spring and summer, AI Academy is offering a hands-on introduction to AI for Grades 6-12, in two levels: beginner cohorts for students with no past experience, and advanced cohorts for experienced students. Student-teacher ratios are kept to 5:1. Instructors are experienced student researchers (see bios).

Students will learn Python coding and AI fundamentals and build an AI project applying these skills to a real-world problem based on their interest in Art, Finance, Healthcare or Robotics. Example projects include applying AI to self-driving cars, stock market indicator prediction, and music recommendations.

The spring session runs from March 17 to May 26. For more information, contact AI Academy.

Penguin Coding School in Newton Centre

After School, Summer

Penguin Coding School, with locations in Acton, Lexington, and Brooklyn, opened last spring at in Newton Centre, a 1223 Centre Street, next to Tatte. It offers coding and robotics programs for ages 5-18 with afterschool and weekend classes in Lego Robotics, Minecraft, Python, Scratch and Roblox. Applications are open until February 26 for the Winter Semester (through April 7).

Summer full-day sessions are available by the week – “a fun filled week of coding, robotics, 3D printing and wacky science experiments” –  from June 24 through August 30. (Use code lovetocode24 for a $100 discount.)

Newton teens may apply to be teaching assistants or instructors, or work on capstone projects with a Penguin Coding mentor.

Free trial classes are available February 19-23, or request a free trial on a different date.

Science Research Academy in Lexington coaches middle-school students: Budding researchers and science fair contestants

Summer

Science Research Academy in Lexington offers hands-on scientific exploration to middle school students (ages 11-16), teaching them how to build their own unique scientific research projects from the ground up. It currently offers three programs:

  • Summer Research Sprint: August 7-11, 8:30AM-Noon, in person at Grace Chapel in Lexington, for motivated and curious students entering Grades 6-10 who want to learn about scientific research, build their own projects, and explore a subject more deeply than what is offered in school.
  • Science Fair: January-April, at times determined by participants’ availability. A program 12 classes to prepare 5-10 students of all skill levels (who are entering Grades 7 and higher) for the Massachusetts Science Fair, using a step-by-step process from creating a research idea to presenting at the fair. Expect to also spend multiple hours outside of class working independently on your project. The program includes 12 weekly Zoom meetings, guest speakers, 1-on-1 meetings at least monthly, unlimited access to instructors by email, and an in-person dry run of each student’s presentation with feedback from multiple judges.
  • Independent Research Program: September-November. A 12-week program for 5-10 students (entering Grades 7 and higher) to break down research projects into bite-sized steps with coaching. Each student completes a research project with a project write-up, self-directed.

The founder of the academy, Parth Kocheta, graduated recently from Lexington High School and won the Massachusetts State Science Fair in 2022. The academy’s faculty of experienced student researchers has already guided over 25 students, and this year many of them secured various prizes at the Massachusetts State Science Fair, with 85% of its students advancing from the Regional Fair to the Massachusetts State Fair and several first-time students wining  2nd, 3rd, or Honorable Mention prizes at the State Fair.

Edge on Science: Full and partial scholarships available for summer STEM programs

Summer

Edge on Science reports that an anonymous benefactor is providing up to 14 partial to full scholarships for families who would like to send their children to a summer STEM program. Over the remaining four weeks of Edge on Science STEM programs at Lasell University (Newton) and Endicott College (Beverly) this summer, there are nine different week-long STEM adventures to choose from. All are led by an engineer, scientist, inventor, and/or scholar. Programs are available for students entering Grades 3-12 in the fall, and there are positions for Counselor in Training (CIT) too. To inquire, families should call Edge on Science at 315-773-5673.