On February 2, 11AM-12:30PM, the Blue Hill Observatory will host the first of several free webinars, starting with a discussion called Model Mayhem: Meteorological Forecasting Madness. Five veteran meteorologists will share their experiences of weather forecast guidance products and advances they have witnessed in their thirty-five year careers. Participants will learn how weather forecasting models work and how they often differ in forecasting output. Registration is required.
Application Open for PROMYS: BU’s Summer Math Program for Young (Motivated) Scientists
Applications are now available for Boston University’s PROMYS, a six-week (July 3-August 13) summer program for strongly motivated high-school students (ages 14-19) to explore in-depth the creative world of mathematics. BU expects to run the program in-person this year. About 80 students are selected from a nationwide/worldwide pool based on online applications consisting of solutions to challenging problem sets, school transcripts, teacher recommendations, and short essays explaining their interest in the program. The cost is $5,500 and financial aid is available as necessary to ensure all who are selected may attend. Applications are due March 15. For more information, see the FAQs and then contact promys@bu.edu.
McAuliffe Center: Star-Gazing and Update on James Webb Space Telescope, Jan. 11
The Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University will host an evening of stargazing and observation of the Moon and Jupiter on January 11, 5PM-7PM, 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.
Empow Studios: MLK Day Holiday Camp, Jan. 17
Empow Studios is offering a One-Day Holiday Camp in its Newton and Lexington locations, 8:30AM-4PM, for the school break on January 17. Options include Video Game Design, Digital Animation, Stop-Motion Animation, 3D Art & Printing, 3D Architecture, Digital Audio Production, and Coding/Programming Fundamentals.
Wentworth Institute: Free, Virtual Girls-Who-Code Club, Jan. 25 – Apr. 12
Undergraduate students at Wentworth Institute of Technology will host a virtual Girls Who Code club online on Tuesdays, 4PM-5PM, January 25 through April 12. Registration is free. The program is for girl-identifying children in Grades 6-8 and is designed for beginning coders.
New England Sci-Tech: Yard Sale, Jan. 29
The New England Sci-Tech (NEST) STEM education center (16 Tech Circle, off Route 9 in Natick) will hold a yard sale on January 29, 8AM-Noon, to dispose of surplus items prior to an internal move. There will be games, toys, puzzles, electronics parts, test equipment, band saw, antique radios, network analyzer, spectrum analyzer, laser printer, used kites that need minor repair, kite spars of all sizes (carbon fiber tubes, fiberglass rods, snow stakes, wood dowels), books, t-shirts, science ties, blue glass bottles, hobby motors, antenna cable, rope, electric leaf blowers, safety goggles, tools, meters, transformers, power supplies, more cables, cable-wrap, a 10-shelf 70-bottle wooden wine rack (!), metal project boxes, etc.
Edge on Science: Registration Open for In-Person Summer Programs
Edge on Science is offering week-long summer STEM programs in-person in Newton (except as noted), in 29 different sessions focused on a range of 10 different topics. Early Bird savings available until March 14. For more information, call 315-773-5673.
- Grades 3-5: Drone & Code, Super Science Sampler
- Grades 5-9: Bridge Building, Catapult Engineering, Space Science, Hydraulics Makerspace, Microscope Adventures, Summer Rocket Blast-Off
- Grades 5-9 (in Beverly): Whales ‘n Things
- Grades 6-9: Drone & Code, 3D Printing & Design
Tufts Summer Programs for Elementary and Middle-School Students
Tufts University, which offers a wide range of pre-college summer courses for high-school students, will collaborate with Tuft’s Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) to offer in-person summer engineering design workshops for Grades 1-8. Each program will be for one week, Monday-Friday, 9AM-3PM. Programs include:
Grades 1-3
- Robotics & Engineering
- Pet Helpers Engineering
- The Circus is Coming
- Novel Engineering
Grades 4-8
- Robotics for ALL – SPIKE Prime
- Wizarding Engineering
- Girls Engineering
Registration will open soon. For more information email precollege@tufts.edu or call 617-627-2926.
MassBay STEM Stories: Feb. 1, Mar. 9, Apr. 7, May 6
MassBay Community College in Wellesley will offer four free, online sessions for high-school students, teachers, adult learners, and community partners to learn about MassBay’s STEM resources and career options. Register for February 1 at 5PM, March 9 at 9AM, April 7 at 5PM, or May 6 at 12PM.
LigerBots Host FIRST LEGO League Eastern Mass. Championship
Many thanks to the LigerBots, Newton’s high-school robotics team, for again hosting the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Massachusetts Eastern Championship yesterday. This year’s event featured the 24 FLL teams in Grades 4-8 that qualified for the event from across eastern Massachusetts, including three teams from Newton: The Selfless Shellfish, Lazer Robotics, and Fuego LEGO. Teams competed in robot matches and in their presentations of both their robot designs and their research-based innovation design projects. All activities were based on this year’s transportation-focused FLL theme, Cargo Connect (see video and overview).
At yesterday’s championship, Lazer Robotics received the award for achieving the highest score in the robot matches.
Team Fuego LEGO — all 7th graders at Oak Hill MS — have been together for three years, having started at Bowen Elementary. They have been working on their robot since this summer and qualified for this event by winning the Core Values Award at an FLL competition in Springfield earlier this month, which was featured in the local TV news.
The Selfless Shellfish — also 7th graders at Oak Hill MS — started at Zervas Elementary. They did very well yesterday, coming close to high score in the robot matches and working more smoothly than their “nail-biter” performance at the recent qualifying competition in Easton. They programmed their robot in Python, a more challenging language than Scratch, and together they built a library of code for robot maneuvers that all team members could share.
And mentor Greer Tan Swiston won the Outstanding Volunteer award.
Due to Covid, this year’s championship was not open to the public, and the Ligerbots were not able to host the wonderful STEM fair that has accompanied the event in earlier years.