There are many ways to get your children involved in STEM-related activities this July.
July 1: Learn how dropping an object’s temperature leads to amazing effects at the Mattapan branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 6-12)
July 1: Free admission to The Discovery Museums: Science in Acton.
July 2, 3, 9, 10: Hands-on engineering and design at the MIT Museum in Cambridge. Free with Museum admission. (Ages 12+)
July 5, 12, 19, 26, 28: Over multiple program sessions use Lego Mindstorm Kits to learn how to build a robot and program it to interact with the world at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Ages 13-18)
July 5-29: FREE coding and entrepreneurial classes for kids at Microsoft Stores in Boston, Burlington, and Natick.
July 6: Build your own robot with KIBO, program it to do what you want, and decorate it at the Newton Free Library. (Ages 5-6)
July 6: Make your own catapult while learning basic projectile physics at the Faneuil branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 6-12)
July 8: Print your choice of a popular Minecraft character on the 3D printer at the Morse Institute Library. (Ages 11-18)
July 9, 16, 30: Drop in and get help with your 3D printing designs at the Morse Institute Library. (Teens)
July 11, 25: Come design and print on the 3D printer at the Newton Free Library. (Teens)
July 12, 19, 26: Explore STEAM with free play, activity centers and circle time with songs and movement activities at the Belmont Public Library. (Ages 5+)
July 13, 20, 27: Learn the coding basics of Python programming language with other beginners at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Ages 13-18)
July 13, 20, 27: Learn how to use computer programming to code finch robots at the Newton Free Library. (Grades 6-12)
July 14: Create habitats with Hexbugs, little robotic creatures that react to their environment at the Newton Free Library. (Ages 5+)
July 14: Use MaKey MaKey to make music with all kinds of different things like play doh, fruit, cardboard, and more at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Ages 13-18)
July 16: Attend the 3rd annual STEAM Expo including a gathering of tech enthusiasts, traditional crafters, artists, musicians, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers and students (like the Ligerbots!) at the Newton Free Library.
July 16, 23, 30: Come try CS Sparks Social Media Camp and learn about how these sites use computer science to do what we want them to do at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Girls 12-18)
July 17: Intro to 3D Modeling Workshop at the HATCH in Watertown. (Ages 8-13)
June 19, 26: Join the Teen MakerLAB and explore technology under the guidance of Tech Mentors at the Morse Institute Library in Natick. (Ages 11-18)
July 19, 26: Explore the Lego Mindstorm Kits and learn how to build and program a robot at the Mattapan branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
July 21: Learn simple code to program various instruments online at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Ages 13-18)
July 21: Calling all High School STEM teachers for a Professional Development Workshop, Reenvisioning STEM Pathways for High School Students at MassBay Community College.
June 21: Join the Teen Tinker Club and use littleBits and hexbugs to invent new things at the Newton Free Library. (Grades 6-12)
July 21: Ask questions and investigate science through hands-on experiments at the South Boston branch of the Boston Public Library. (Grades K-2)
July 25: Engineer a tree house to withstand high winds, and save skiers from a wild mountain avalanche. Presented by the Museum of Science at the Newton Free Library. (Grades 1-6)
July 28: Use Scratch for creating games, music, animation and more at the Boston Public Library (Central). (Ages 13-18)
Girls Who Code Clubs
The Girls Who Code Clubs Program teaches computer science to 6th-12th grade girls. Girls who participate in the clubs will receive 40 hours of instruction from volunteer instructors in computer science including project based activities to reinforce concepts like conditionals, lists, and loops as well as skills like mobile app development.
Girls Who Code clubs are free and many are held at libraries and schools around Massachusetts. With the growth of the clubs, I am now including a list of the public clubs here. If you are interested in information about a club, please contact the Club Site directly.
- Belmont Public Library: 336 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
- Cambridge Public Library (2 sessions): 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
- East Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library: 365 Bremen Street, Boston, MA
- Harvard University: 93 Dunster Mail Center, Cambridge, MA
- LEAP for Education, Inc.: 209 Essex St., Salem, MA
- Light of the World Empowerment: 275 Washington St., Dorchester, MA
- Medway High School: 88 Summer St., Medway, MA
- Memorial Hall Library: 2 North Main St., Andover, MA
- Needham High School: 609 Webster St., Needham, MA
- Newton Free Library (2 sessions): 330 Homer St., Newton, MA
- Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School: 161 Lower Westfield Rd., Holyoke, MA
- Public Library of Brookline (2 sessions): 361 Washington St., Brookline, MA
- Reuben Hoar Library: 41 Shattuck St., Littleton, MA
- Smith College: 1 Chapin Way, Northampton, MA
- Watertown Free Public Library: 123 Main St., Watertown, MA
- Wellesley Free Library: 530 Washington St., Wellesley, MA
Image: Not quite Cape Canaveral by Nic McPhee
