There are many ways to get your children involved in STEM-related activities this March.
March 2: Use 123D Design to design 3D objects to then have printed on the 3D printer at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 2, 9, 16: Try hands-on activities that will both introduce scientific ideas and spark an early interest in STEM subjects at the Watertown Free Public Library. (Ages 3-5)
March 3: Explore math, science, and the arts with children’s books and related activities at the Newton Free Library. (Ages 3-5)
March 4: Free admission to The Discovery Museums: Science in Acton.
March 4, 5: Visit the Boston Public Schools 70th annual Science Fair at Northeastern University in Boston to see outstanding student exhibits.
March 5: Attend Science on Saturday and learn about materials with magical properties at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium. Free (All ages)
March 5: It’s Girls Day at the MIT Museum. Visitors can expect to explore, build, create and investigate with MIT faculty, students, and volunteers throughout the day. Free with Museum admission. (Ages 10+)
March 5: Use MaKey MaKey’s alligator clips to make music with all kinds of different things at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20: Attend YouthSpark Camp and explore a Minecraft world through code at the Microsoft Store in Boston. Free (Grades K-12)
March 5, 12, 19, 26: Hands-on engineering and design at the MIT Museum in Cambridge. Free with Museum admission. (Ages 12+)
March 7: Compete with your friends for prizes and glory by demonstrating your tech mastery to the librarian during a scavenger hunt at the Dudley branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 7: Learn simple code to program various instruments online at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 7, 14, 21, 28: Discover engineering and build a robot with LEGOs at the Watertown Free Public Library. (Grades 3-5).
March 8: Build your own robot with KIBO at the Newton Free Library. (Ages 4-6)
March 8: Learn the basics of game programming and design using the popular software called Scratch at the Hyde Park branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 8: Build with Lego Mindstorm kits at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 8, 10: Drop by and play with new robots and techie things (littleBits! LEGO WeDo! Hexbugs!) for Teen Tech Week at the Newton Free Library. (Grades 6-12)
March 9: Help unmask the mystery of making digital music with Sonic Pi Synthesizer software and the Raspberry Pi at the Robbins Library in Arlington. (Ages 10-14)
March 9: Learn how to use Raspberry Pi, a computer the size of a credit card at the Dudley branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 10: Learn how to use the 3Doodler 3D printing pen and create your own 3D object to take home at the Morse Institute Library in Natick. (Ages 10-14)
March 10: Learn web making by manipulating code through hands-on and guided online activities at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 10: Create an interactive fiction game (a digital Choose Your Own Adventure story) with the help of KL from GrubStreet and the computer program Twine at the Dudley branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 10: Use basic shapes to create 3D dice at the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 11: Join for an evening of nautically-themed science exploring our seven seas at the MIT Museum in Cambridge.
March 12: Learn some basic coding concepts by using a server program called “ScriptCraft” to allow them to type in functions/commands in the Minecraft game to instantly build structures at the East Boston branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 13-18)
March 12: Join the Pi Day Maker Faire– an all-day celebration of creativity, experimentation, technological innovation, & hands-on learning at the Shrewsbury Public Library.
March 12, 13: Attend MIT’s annual Spark program where middle school students get to take a variety of really interesting classes, including science, technology, engineering and math, taught by MIT students and community members. Cost: $40 (Grades 7-8)
March 15: Explore LEGO WeDo robotics at the Belmont Public Library. (Grades 2-4)
March 17: Participate in Teen Tinker Club and work with littleBits at the Newton Free Library. (Grades 6-12)
March 19: Participate in a fun, casual, math-themed storytime at the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington. (Ages 3-5)
March 26: Explore technology using squishy circuits with a science educator from the Children’s Museum of Easton at the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy. (Preschool+)
March 30: Build LEGO models and then program them to move and react at the Newton Free Library. (Ages 7-10)
March 31: Learn and experience the power of science with hands-on, interactive science experiments at the Connolly branch of the Boston Public Library. (Ages 6-10)
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
