Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center will hold this year’s festival, Science on State Street — Planet Earth Edition April 12-24. Events will include hands-on activities for all ages as well as discussions with scholars and climate activists for young adults and older. Most events will be online/virtual but some will be outdoor and in-person following Massachusetts COVID-19 Guidelines. The keynote address — Global Warming Demystified — will be on Zoom on April 22, 5:30-6:30PM. Registration is required for most events. For more information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
Category Archives: Virtual/Online
Harvard Museums Online: Body Builders–How Animals Regenerate New Parts, Apr. 14
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will present a webinar, Body Builders: How Animals Regenerate New Parts, on April 14, 6PM-7PM. Registration is free, and optional donations are requested.
BU Offers Virtual Summer Computer-Science Programs for Young Women, Grades 8-11
Boston University’s Learning Resource Network (for K-12 STEM) will offer three virtual programs in computer science this summer for young women in Massachusetts. Each program runs 9:30AM-Noon and 1PM-3:30PM, Monday-Friday. There is no tuition but there is a $100 registration fee assessed on those who are accepted. Apply at the links below by May 1.
- Codebreakers: July 5-30, for those currently in Grades 9-10 and interested in cybersecurity (including programming, cryptography, and network security). Students will learn to code in Python and will hear from guest speakers about careers in cybersecurity.
- AI4ALL: July 26-August 13, for those currently in Grades 10-11 and interested in Artificial Intelligence (including robotics, computer vision, and natural language processing). There will be lectures, group projects, and presentations from guest speakers, and students will complete a small group research project and make an online presentation.
- Artemis: July 5-30, for those currently in Grade 8 and interested in the creative thinking and problem-solving that are central to computer science. Students will learn to code in Python, build websites, program microbits, and learn about search and sort algorithms, cryptography, and artificial intelligence.
Museum of Science Webinar: Vaccination Decisions–What Does the Future Hold?, Mar. 23
Boston’s Museum of Science will host a free webinar, Vaccination Decisions: What Does the Future Hold?, the third of three virtual town halls about the COVID-19 vaccines, on March 23, 5PM-6:30PM. It will address questions such as: Should schools and workplaces require COVID-19 vaccines? What will travel look like? Will the general public’s phase of vaccine roll-out be equitable for all populations? What long-term changes will our society face after COVID-19? Registration is required. After presentations by the panelists, attendees may join small-group discussions to share concerns and ask questions.
LigerBots Continue Their ‘Awesome Mentorship Project’ Connecting HS Students Online with Grades K-5
The LigerBots’ free mentoring program, the Awesome Mentorship Project (AMP), is now starting a new season, after successes last spring, summer, and fall. AMP is a free, online program that connects high-school mentors with elementary-school students for weekly online meetings to explore a wide variety of subjects from programming to the arts, to grammar and English. In addition to teaching, mentors and mentees can play games, be reading buddies, and do crafts. The AMP began last spring with 82 mentor pairs and expanded in the summer into a virtual summer camp with 150 students and 80 teachers. The LigerBots hope that more students of both age groups will join in this free service. Parents/guardians may register their children here. High-school students interested in becoming mentors may sign up here. For more information, email the LigerBots at cso@ligerbots.com.
Lincoln Labs’ Science on Saturday: Destination–Space Exploration, Apr. 10
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is offering its Science on Saturdays programs virtually this year, and registration is NOT required. The programs are free and designed for children aged 5-17, their parents, and teachers. On Saturday, April 10 at 10AM, the program will be Destination: Space Exploration, here on Zoom.
Newton Inspires: Dr. Fazio on Our Origin and Our Demise: Birth, Life and the Death of Stars, Apr. 13
The Newton Schools Foundation is hosting Newton Inspires, its annual fundraising event, virtually this year. Among the fascinating speakers, Dr. Giovanni Fazio will speak on April 13 at 7PM about Our Origin and Our Demise: Birth, Life and the Death of Stars. He’s a senior physicist at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a lecturer in the Astronomy Department at Harvard. Register here and sponsor the event here.
Boston University: U-Design Virtual Summer STEM Workshops, Grades 7-10
Boston University’s School of Engineering will offer three one-week, virtual U-Design summer engineering workshops for students entering Grades 7-10:
- Robo-Alley I: Build, code, and test LEGO MindStorm EV3 robots with Python, July 12 – 16
- Robo-Alley II: Build, code, and test more advanced robots via a virtual robotics simulator, July 19 – 23
- Flight School: Design and build gliders, and discuss topics in aerospace and astrophysics, July 26 – 30
Students will work together online, 10AM-Noon each day, with an optional session 3PM-4PM for further questions or assistance, plus independent, off-line work on students’ own schedule. The cost is $200 per student for one workshop, with discounts of $50 and $75 for additional workshops. A limited number of scholarships are available for those who qualify. Materials, including safety goggle and required tools, will be mailed to students before the workshop starts. Registration is limited to 20 students. For further information, email Ann Mahoney at 617-320-5351 or ammahon@bu.edu.
The Knowledge Society: Innovation Program, In Person or Online, for Ages 13-18
The Knowledge Society (TKS) is a 10-month innovation mentorship program for ages 13-18. Groups of 30-40 students meet either online or in-person (in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Toronto, or Vancouver) on weekends from September 2021 through June 2022. Under the guidance of TKS directors, students:
- Learn about technologies such as blockchain, genomics, and nanotech;
- Develop skills in problem solving and presenting;
- Interact with mentors in partner companies;
- Conduct in-depth projects; and
- Develop relationships with peers in the program.
There’s an Innovate level for first-time students and an Activate level for returning students. Potential applicants are invited to schedule an online conversation with a current TKS student. The cost is $4,980 for online or $6,560 for in-person, and need-based financial aid is available. Applications are due April 5 and are followed by video interviews for finalists. For more information, see the FAQs, email hello@tks.world or call 855-244 7866.
Newton LigerBots’ Virtual Hackathon for Grades 4-8, Apr. 3
Newton’s high-school robotics team, the LigerBots, will host a virtual Hackathon for Grades 4-8 on April 3, 1PM-5PM. Students with or without programming experience will compete in teams of 2 to 4 to code the best animation in Scratch. There will be workshops for the first half of the event and prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Register here, either as a team or an individual to be matched to a team. High-school students who are proficient in the Scratch programming language are invited to help out! Contact iris_yang@ligerbots.com or cmo@ligerbots.com with any questions.