Applications now open for 2023-24 Lemelson-MIT high-school InvenTeams

Opportunities

The Lemelson-MIT Program within MIT’s School of Engineering administers the InvenTeams program, in which teams of high-school students, educators, and mentors receive grants of up to $7500 to invent working technological solutions to real-world problems. Each InvenTeam chooses its own problem to solve. Up to eight schools will be awarded grants. Newton has a successful history with InvenTeams.

For the 2023-24 school year, the grant-application process for teachers is now open until April 27. Invitations will be sent to selected applicants on May 3 for them to submit final applications by September 5, and winners will be announced on September 27. There will be webinars to explain the process on March 7 & 21 and April 4 & 18.

Newton MATHCOUNTS teams place 5th and 7th at Chapter Competition

Accomplishments

Eighteen schools and approximately 140 students participated in the MATHCOUNTS Massachusetts MetroNorth Chapter competition that took place at Andrews Middle School in Medford on Saturday, February 4.

Newton’s Charles E. Brown Middle School MATHCOUNTS team — team Pi-Thon, consisting of students Zach Gao, Jason Huang, Stephen Wang, and April Mei — placed fifth, allowing the team to advance to the State Competition to be held at UMass-Lowell on March 4. Schools placing ahead of Brown were Clarke and Diamond in Lexington, Buckingham Browne & Nichols, and McCall in Winchester.

Newton’s Oak Hill Middle School placed seventh. Besides these teams, Newton students from F. A. Day Middle School and Newton Country Day School also participated individually in the competition.

MATHCOUNTS is a national mathematics competition that has served millions of middle school students since 1984. It is divided into a series of contests at the school, chapter, state, and national level.  Last year 55,500 students participated in the competition.

Last November at Newton South HS, the Brown team also won the team championship and some individual championships in M Snake –Newton’s first math competition for city-wide middle school students. M Snake is a local math competition for all Newton middle school students, founded by Newton South HS junior Elena Boskakova and run by NSHS students.

Grades 7-12: Register by Feb. 19, for MIT’s Spring HSSP on Saturdays, Feb. 25 – Apr. 8

Opportunities

MIT’s Spring HSSP — a six-week academic program for Grades 7-12 — will be back in-person at MIT on Saturdays, February 25 to April 8 (except March 18), 1PM-4PM.  Online registrations are open now, and all applications completed by February 19 will be considered equally in the course-assignment lottery (registrations after that will be taken first-come/first-served as space is available). The cost is $50 per student (regardless of the number of courses taken) and generous, need-based financial aid is available. Email spring-hssp@mit.edu for more information. The Spring HSSP course catalog covers many academic and non-academic topics, including these STEM offerings:

  • Astrobiology
  • Cancer Immunology
  • Chemistry of the Environment
  • Histochemistry and special stains in pathology and Etsy
  • Introduction to Organic Chemistry
  • Learn Programming Like It’s 1986
  • Modeling Mechanics, Chemistry, and Circuits via Differential Equations and JavaScript
  • Numerical Methods
  • So You Want to be a Financier
  • STEM Lecture Series
  • The Neuroscience of Memory and Intelligence
  • Topics in Global Health

Tufts University STEM programs school breaks and summer, Grades 1-6 & 7-9

Summer, Vacation Programs

Tufts University offers programs, both during school-year breaks and in the summer, for Grades 1-6 and Grades 7-9. For more information, email precollege@tufts.edu  or call 617-627-2926. Registration opens February 15 for these STEM-related programs:

Discovery Museum offers scholarships to Mass. students in Grades 11-12

Opportunities

The  Discovery Museum in Acton has announced the 2023 Discovery Museum Scholarship program, which will award four one-time $1,500 scholarships to Massachusetts high school juniors or seniors who embody the mission and values of the Museum. For one of the four awards, preference will be given to Discovery Museum past or current employees or volunteers. Video or written applications are being accepted until March 31.

Northeastern University: Engineering for Everyone Expo, Feb. 24

Events

On Friday, February 24, 10AM-Noon, Northeastern University’s Engineering for Everyone Expo will return in-person, in a new location — the Cabral Center at the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute (40 Leon St, Boston). Students of all ages — and particularly those in Grades K-8  with their parent/guardian — are invited to have fun and learn about engineering through a variety of activities, experiments, and demonstrations. It’s free. Pre-register here.