Somewhere between Portugal and Wales, West sprung a leak in its hull. Don’t worry. West is an unmanned 5′ sailboat originally launched from Maine, recovered in Portugal two years later, restored, relaunched and found, again, in Wales. Portuguese messages stored in the hull were dried, digitized and shared with the American students who launched the vessel four years prior. West is one of 80 mini-boats finding their way around the global oceans. These mini-boats are part of the Global Ocean Literacy Program developed through educationalpassages.com. Learn more by emailing us at miniboats@educationalpassages.com.
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Free Online STEM Course, starts Feb. 16, 2015
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Science Fair Judges Needed!
The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair (MSSEF) is looking for more than 300 judges to donate their time to evaluate middle and high school students’ independent research projects in science and engineering.
Now in its 63rd year, the annual statewide fair will feature projects of hundreds of students from across the Commonwealth. The event is Friday, May 4 at MIT in Cambridge, MA from 10am-5:30pm.
Judges are required to hold a four-year college degree in a science or technology subject, or work in a related field. Individuals interested in judging may register online.
JUDGES FROM PAST YEARS:
User ID: your email address
Password: your password
NEW JUDGES:
User ID: will be your email address
Password: you choose
Registration Code: atmit
Registered Judges will receive a confirmation email with detailed information prior to May 4, 2012.
For assistance, email judginginfo@scifair.com or call 617-491-1500
Request for Presentations for 2012 Project WET Conference
The Project WET USA conference team requests proposals for presentations from educators, policymakers, businesses, municipalities, program designers, implementers and practitioners, proposals that focus on school districts in partnership with local organizations to provide a community-based approach to water education and all others interested in water education.
Conference to be held at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA May 23-25.
The goal of the conference is to increase the knowledge and capacity of conference participants to effectively reach children, parents, educators and communities of the world with water education. In the interest of innovation, engaging and interactive presentations are encouraged.
Presentations must address one of the following strands:
Science, Technology, Engineering & Math
(STEM) in Water Education
This strand will focus on increasing student success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and increase educators’ capacity to include STEM subjects in their curricula. Of particular interest are proposals that address integration of water-related topics and the implementation of STEM education in a manner that reflects the interdependence of the four STEM subjects, as well as proposals that focus on partnerships involving school districts, community colleges, four-year institutions, and business and industry to provide a comprehensive community-based approach to STEM and water education.
Pedagogy & Water Education
The Pedagogy and Water Education Strand provides the opportunity to examine best practices for integrating water-related environmental education into the PreK-16 educational system at the local, state and federal levels and improving environ- mental literacy across the nation.
ActionEducation™ & Water Education
What are the most successful methods for addressing the most important water challenges of the day with water education and action education? This strand includes a wide array of topics and strategies such as: Watersheds, Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water, Risk (drought and floods), Weather and climate change, Ground water, Water and energy, Storm water and Water conservation.
Technology & Other Water Education Topics
Converging web, mobile, and social technologies have generated a level of communication and interaction never before possible. The Technology in Water Education strand seeks to explore the transformational potential that these innovations hold for education and training, as well as share current research and best practices related to these developments.
If you wish to submit a proposal for a presentation, you can download the Presentation Request Form.
The submission deadline is March 31.
STEM Conference; NEOSEC Participants
The Museum at the Mill (a museum under development in Attleboro MA) is holding its second annual LAUNCH conference. LAUNCH brings together people of all ages who seek to develop 21st Century skills – especially science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) skills – in youth.
Last year, 166 people from 52 towns attended, from families with young children seeking connections to science to retirees looking for volunteer opportunities. More than 50 organizations will be represented in the exhibit hall, where hands-on activities and active learning are the goals.
Pam DiBona will be representing the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative in the STEM session (Track 2) panel discussion, as well as the workshop entitled “STEM Programs & Collaborative Efforts,” and the New England Aquarium will have an exhibit table. We hope to see you there!
The Google Global Science Fair is Coming
Google is pleased to share with NSTA members an early heads-up about the upcoming launch of the first ever Google Science Fair. Google has partnered with NASA, CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American, and LEGO to create a totally new kind of STEM competition: a science fair that is more open, inclusive, and global than ever before. The Google Science Fair aims to be the largest global science competition ever and will be open to all students age 13–18 around the world. To sign up for some cool Google stuff for your classroom, please visit the Google Global Science Fair landing page.
National Lab Day is May 12
This Wednesday, scientists, engineers, technologists, and mathematicians from across the country will team up with K–12 schools for project-based learning experiences and more.
But National Lab Day (NLD) is more than just a day. National Lab Day is a long-term program/collaboration between STEM professionals and K–12 classroom teachers. Even if you haven’t signed up for this year’s NLD, take a look at the website and projects, and register your class for NLD today.
STEM Teaching Scholarships
The AFCEA Educational Foundation will offer scholarships of $5,000 to students actively pursuing an undergraduate or graduate education degree for the purpose of teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) subjectsat a U.S. middle or secondary school. Applications Deadline: June 10.
Questions? Email Norma Corrales <scholarship@afcea.org>
Mini-Grants for Girls’ STEM Projects
The Northeastern Girls Collaborative mini-grant application window is open. Mini-grants are awarded to girl-serving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused programs to support collaboration, address gaps and overlaps in service, and share promising practices. Mini-grant projects must relate to either informal learning or evaluation and assessment. Mini-grants are a small amount of seed funding and are not intended to fully fund entire projects. The maximum mini-grant award is $1000.
Numerous organizations provide valuable but uncoordinated activities and support services related to motivating and supporting girls’ interest in STEM careers. These mini-grants are designed to build collaboration between existing programs and organizations in order to encourage girls to pursue STEM-related educational programs and careers. Visit the National Girls Collaborative Project Website for details.
President Obama Announces National Lab Day Initiative
On Monday, President Obama announced the establishment of National Lab Day, a new science education initiative aimed at improving labs and inquiry-based science experiences for students in grades 6–12.
Designed to increase community-based collaborations between scientists, engineers, teachers and students, National Lab Day emerged from collaboration earlier this year among NSTA, the American Chemical Society (ACS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Jack D. Hidary Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.
National Lab Day will bring together stakeholders in communities of support where science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals and teachers can work together to assess current labs, update or refurbish lab equipment, conduct equipment and materials inventory, clean and repair equipment, and provide technology support. Projects can also center on computer or outdoor labs—anywhere where hands-on lessons in the STEM subjects can come alive.
The first National Lab Day is tentatively scheduled for early May 2010. For more information about National Lab Day, visit the official website at www.nationallabday.org.
- New York Times article on National Lab Day
- About National Lab Day (PDF)
- NSTA’s official statement regarding the President’s announcement