Grades 7-12: Sign Up by Feb. 15 for MIT’s Spring (Virtual) HSSP, Saturdays, Feb. 26-Apr. 2

Opportunities, Virtual/Online

MIT’s Spring HSSP is a five-week academic program for Grades 7-12, presented (online this year) by MIT on Saturdays, February 26 to April 2 (except March 12), 1PM-4PM.  All online registrations completed by February 15 will be considered equally in the course-assignment lottery, and registrations after that will be taken first-come/first-served. The cost is $40 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:

  • Optimization of Human Performance for Lunar Work Environments
  • Introduction to Epidemiology
  • Physics of Light: Theory and Experiments
  • A Practical Guide to Quantum Computing
  • Soils: Science, Practice, and Sustainability
  • Lab Techniques in Chemistry
  • Introduction to Human Body Systems
  • Cultivate a Microbial Garden
  • Sensory Neuroscience
  • STEM Lecture Series
  • AI and Science: An Introduction to AI and its Role in Modern Research
  • Using Computer Science to Model our World
  • Introduction to the Theory of Computation
  • Quantum Field Theory: A Mathematical Perspective
  • Math in Logic Puzzles
  • Playing Games with Infinity
  • Algebra. All of it. From the beginning

Apply by Feb. 18: MIT’s CodeIt — Online Introduction to Coding, for Girls & Non-Binary Students in Grades 6-8, Mar. 9 – Apr. 27

After School, Virtual/Online

MIT’s CodeIt program introduces girls and non-binary students in Grades 6-8 to Computer Science. It’s a free program, led by MIT undergraduates, using the Scratch programming language, and aimed at middle-school students with little or no prior experience in coding. It will be hosted virtually over Zoom over six weeks (March 9-April 27), in two parallel classes: Sundays 3PM-4:30PM or Wednesdays 7PM-8PM. There will be no classes on March 20 or 23. Apply here by February 18. For more information, email codeit-exec@mit.edu.

DiscoverE: Online Chats with Change Makers — James Webb Space Telescope, Feb. 24

Events, Virtual/Online

For  Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, DiscoverE will host an online Chat with Change Makers on February 24 at 12 noon with two engineers who work on the James Webb Space Telescope: Margaret Dominguez (optical engineer at NASA) and Stephanie Hernandez (systems engineer at Northrop Grumman). Students can hear their stories and ask questions. Register here to get the links for viewing on Zoom or YouTube. Future editions of Chats with Change Makers will be at 3:30PM on March 31 and April 28.

Harvard Medical School: Summer MEDscience Programs

Summer

Harvard Medical School’s MEDscience summer program for Grades 9-12 offers three different one-week programs following three different curricula:

  • MEDscience@HMS (clinical): in-person, non-residential, on the medical-school campus, offered each week, June 13 through August 19.
  • MEDscienceLAB (research based): in-person, non-residential, on the medical-school campus, offered each of the weeks beginning June 13, 27; July 11; and August 15.
  • teleMED (online): offered virtually the weeks beginning June 13, 21, 27; July 5, August 1, 8, 15.

Scholarships are available for Boston-area residents, awarded based on student essays and teacher assessments. Register here. For more information, email hmsmedscience@hms.harvard.edu or call 617-432-7047.

McAuliffe Center: Star-Gazing and Update on James Webb Space Telescope, Feb. 7

Events

The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host an evening of stargazing and observation of the Moon and Jupiter on February 7 (cloud date February 8), 5:30PM-7:30PM, in FSU’s O’Connor parking lot by Maynard Road in Framingham. The event will include an update on the progress of the James Webb Space Telescope since its successful launch on December 25. Masks are required.

Newton Free Library: (Virtual) Little Lab Coats — Plants!, Feb. 16

Virtual/Online

The Newton Free Library will host a virtual session of Little Lab Coats to explore Plants on Wednesday, February 16, 6PM-7PM, for ages 6-9. The topic includes the complex makeup of a plant, how plants provide all living things with oxygen, and how they grow from seeds.  Registration is required and opens at 8:30AM on February 7. Space is limited.  A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the program.