The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host a free open house on July 29, 6PM-9PM, to celebrate the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Participants will be able to ask NASA Solar System Ambassadors their questions about the universe and explore the night sky with telescopes. A keynote presentation will talk about the Webb Space Telescope and the first images received from it, and there will be free-choice learning activities related to astro imaging. For directions, use 7 Maynard Rd in Framingham. Face masks are required indoors.
Tonight (if skies are clear): Total Lunar Eclipse and International Space Station
A reminder… If the sky is clear tonight, May 15, we can see a total lunar eclipse starting at 10:27PM, with full eclipse at 11:29PM. And before that, the International Space Station (ISS) will be visible for about 6 minutes starting at 9:55PM, appearing in the west, reaching a maximum elevation of 41 degrees, and disappearing in the northeast. The ISS circles the Earth every 90 minutes or so, but its visibility varies. You can check Spot the Station to find when and where it will be visible and sign up for alerts of when it’s most visible in your location.
Tufts Summer Mini-Med School Program (Virtual): Application Deadline this Midnight
The on-campus summer programs are full, but applications are still being accepted — until midnight tonight — for the virtual version of Tufts University’s Mini-Med School for high-school students, July 11-22.
Outbreak! Online Health Summer Learning Experience in Public Health, Grades 10-12
The Public Health Museum in Tewksbury is again offering its free summer public health learning experience, Outbreak!, online for students entering Grades 10-12 in the fall. It’s designed for students interested in careers in public health, medicine, epidemiology, bioethics, nursing, virology, mental health, or related fields. The program consists of interactive workshops, discussions with public-health experts, and Q&A panels with college students. It will run online Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9AM-1PM, July 18-29 with some additional programming outside of those hours. Apply here. For more information, email outbreak@publichealthmuseum.org.
McAuliffe Center: Stargazing and Planetarium Show, June 3
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host a free evening of stargazing and observation on June 3, 8:15PM-9:30PM (weather permitting), in FSU’s O’Connor parking lot by Maynard Road in Framingham.
Earlier in the evening, 7:30PM-8:15PM, the Center will present a planetarium show, Undiscovered Worlds, about the search for habitable exo-planets. The show is for ages 12+, and you can purchase tickets ($5) here. Masks are required indoors. For more information, email cmc@framingham.edu.
MassBay: Free, Online Workshop on Biomimicry, July 19
MassBay will offer a free, online, interactive workshop on Biomimicry on July 19, 10AM-12PM. Students will learn how to design and construct a model based on observations in nature. Register here.
MassBay Virtual STEM Expo, May 9-13
MassBay Community College in Wellesley will host its twice-yearly Student STEM Expo showcasing students’ work, again online this year. You attend at any time to view video presentations and comment on projects in the online forums. There are also opportunities to talk in real-time with students and faculty. The expo also highlights MassBay’s STEM Starter Academy, which aims to engage and support more students in STEM fields.
Museum of Science: World Migratory Bird Day, May 14
World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday in May in the U.S. and Canada — and the second Saturday in October in nations further south in the Western Hemisphere. This year, on Saturday, May 14, Boston’s Museum of Science will have celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with bird-themed activities, live-animal presentations, and related exhibits.
JCDS Seeks Middle-School STEM Teacher
Boston’s Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) seeks to hire a STEM teacher for the 2022-23 school year to integrate Middle School science content with learning in the school’s new Makerspace. See the job description, email jobs@jcdsboston.org for more information, and apply here.
The LigerBots Wind Up a Very Successful Year and Seek Sponsors
Newton’s dual-high-school robotics team, the LigerBots, is finishing a year of success both in competitions and in community service. In FIRST Robotics Competition events:
- In the North Shore Competition in Reading, the LigerBots captained the second-seeded alliance and made it all the way to the semi-finals. The team also received FIRST’s coveted Gracious Professionalism Award.
- At the Greater Boston Competition in Revere, as part of the fourth-seeded alliance, the LigerBots again made it to the semi-finals, qualifying for the New England District Championship (DCMP). The team also won the Engineering Inspiration Award at this event.
- At DCMP, the LigerBots captained the eighth-seeded alliance and made it to the quarter finals, finishing 28th out of 160 teams in all of New England.
And in service to the Newton community:
- The LigerBots continue to provide assistance and mentorship to FIRST LEGO League teams for elementary- and middle-school students in Newton.
- Since the Covid pandemic began, the LigerBots have continued to offer the aptly named Awesome Mentorship Project to provide high-school mentors for elementary students both in the summer and during the school year.
- On April 24, the LigerBots participated in the Earth Day celebration at Newton City Hall, showing off Prometheus, the LigerBots’ newly built competition robot – to educate, entertain, and inspire the community. LigerBots also showed kids how to make bracelets with their initials in binary code.
- On May 1, the LigerBots participated in the Newton Bike Rodeo, a bicycle safety event hosted by Bike Newton for children in Grades K-6 to promote safe bike riding habits and cycling to school. The team created an obstacle course that participants used to practice their bike safety skills.
The LigerBots rely in part on donations and financial sponsorships to support its competitions, educational offerings, and community outreach. You can make make a donation here, and to learn about becoming a sponsor (corporate or otherwise), email sponsor-relations@ligerbots.org. The LigerBots are “massively grateful” to all of their sponsors!