This year’s Summer Teen Expo, free and open to all, will be held tomorrow, January 28, 5:30-8PM at Newton South HS and will feature 25 STEM programs. Register here or just drop by to meet with directors of a wide range of summer programs for middle- and high-school students.
DiscoverE Resources for Engineers Week (Feb. 17-23) and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (Feb. 21)
DiscoverE.org offers a substantial catalog of over 450 free activities for Engineers Week (February 17-23) and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (February 21), as well as free kits (poster, classroom activities, and other resources) to support teachers for Engineers Week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day ($2 shipping charge per kit).
MetroHacks Hackathon for Girls in Grades 8-12 at Microsoft NERD, Feb. 23
MetroHacks, run by high-school students to host high-school hackathons in the Boston area, will host MetroHacks Women II on February 23 (8:30AM-6PM) at the Microsoft NERD Center (1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge). Young women (ages 13-18), regardless of level of experience, are invited to register for a free day of learning, programming, and competing to build applications in the areas of health, the environment, and civics. Meals and snacks are included. Adults who would like to be mentors at the event may apply here. For more information, email info@metrohacks.org.
Makers’ Corner: Vacation and After-School Programs for Grades 6-8
The Makers’ Corner for Grades 6-8, located at Underwood School, has announced February Vacation activities, for which students may sign up by individual days: Woodworking (February 19), glassblowing (February 20), and making a mock newscast at NewTV (February 21). In addition, the Makers’ Corner has announced Early Spring Clubs starting in the first week of March.
High-School Summer STEM at University of Vermont
The University of Vermont runs a challenging 4-week summer program (July 7-19 weeks on campus, followed by July 20-August 2 online) for students who have completed Grades 10-12 and wish to explore one of these STEM fields:
- Adventures in Neuroscience
- Biomedical Science and Human Disease
- Drones for Environmental Mapping
- Health and Medicine
Admitted students may apply by March 15 for a limited number of scholarships available.
MIT Museum FebFest Vacation Events, Feb. 18-23
The MIT Museum celebrates February school vacation (February 18-23) with FebFest — a range of activities:
Events for teens and adults, included with museum admission:
- Nautical Chain Reaction: February 18, 10AM-Noon and 1:30-3:30PM
- Nautical Day: February 23, 1-4PM
High-school students (free with pre-registration, which opens February 8):
- Teen Science Cafe: February 23, 6-8:30PM. Dinner provided.
Workshops for ages 11-14 ($40 per student; pre-registration required):
- Sail Through Engineering: February 19, 9AM-Noon
- Structural Engineering: February 20, 9AM-Noon
- Illuminating Protein Expression: February 22, 9AM-Noon
Walk-in workshops for ages 11+ (under 15 must be accompanied by an adult) $10 per person in addition to museum admission. On-site registration, first-come/first-served, starts at 10AM on day of workshop.
- Sail Through Engineering: February 19 & 22, 2PM-3:30PM
- Structural Engineering: February 20, 2PM-3:30PM
- Intro to 3D Design: February 19 & 21, 10AM-1PM
- Float Your Boat: February 20 & 22, 10AM-1PM
Idea Hub: Drop into the Museum’s maker space (included with museum admission; 30-minute sessions available for on-site signup on day of event)
Free, One-Week Curriculum: Resisting Scientific Misinformation
Resisting Scientific Misinformation is a free, one-week curriculum for Grades 6-12 designed to help students learn to guard against misinformation. It was created by Andy Zucker (former Senior Research Scientist at the Concord Consortium) and Penny Noyce (Tumblehome and STEM Next), with video production assistance from NOVA staff at WGBH, and it consists of four lessons and homework. Most of the class time is spent not in videos or lectures but in activities such as researching to investigate a variety of “scientific” claims. All materials, a teacher guide, and a one-page introductory flyer are freely available online.
Boston Tech Mom: Math Programs for Kids in Mass.
Boston Tech Mom (“a parent’s guide to raising a future techie”) has published a very useful, comprehensive list of Math Programs for Kids in Massachusetts — for both year-round and summer.
Learn2Code: Online Coding Classes
Learn2Code offers live online, hands-on coding classes — taught by students from universities such as MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, and Caltech — for students in elementary, middle, and high school. Students learn coding concepts and write, test, and debug code with an instructor in private, semi-private, or group online settings and can access all course material at any time.
Public Expo: Results of Reality Virtually Hackathon, Jan. 21
The MIT Media Lab’s Reality Virtually Hackathon concludes tomorrow, January 21, with a Public Expo, 2PM-5PM, to showcase cutting-edge developments in augmented reality and virtual reality created by the hackathon’s 400 participating developers, designers, and AR/VR storytellers. It takes place at the Media Lab (75 Amherst Street, Cambridge). Registration is required and free, and a donation is requested (suggested $10 per person) to support the group’s future work.