Harvard HSSP - Saturday Program Opportunity for Middle and High School Students

We at MIT ESP would like to introduce you to our sister program, Harvard HSSP. The program will run on Saturdays from October 2 to November 13 on the Harvard Campus.

Online registration for grades 7-12 is now open. The first round of registration closes on September 25th. So register SOON at http://esp.mit.edu/learn/HSSP/index.html

Further details are below:

Harvard ESP is proud to announce that their second annual High School Studies Program (HSSP)is taking place this fall! This year, HSSP will be open to middle school and high school students in grades 7-12.

HSSP is a perfect opportunity for students with diverse interests and a passion for learning to explore their passions through fun and helpful classes. Our classes are mostly taught by our very own undergraduates, all of whom have a genuine interest in the subject they're teaching. With classes that include "Theoretical Linear Algebra," "Hamlet: An Overview," and "Digital Art," students will be sure to find classes that they enjoy and that will help nurture their love of learning.

Two-hour classes begin on Saturday, October 2nd and run on seven consecutive Saturdays until November 13th. All classes will be held on the Harvard University campus. Online registration is now open at http://esp.mit.edu/learn/HSSP/index.html. Students may register for up to three classes. The registration fee is $30 per student and is waived for any student on the free or reduced lunch program. Financial aid is also available to all students who apply and demonstrate necessity.

We look forward to seeing you this fall at HSSP!

Sincerely,
MIT and Harvard ESP

West Point Bridge Design Contest

West Point Bridge Design Contest

http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/

Welcome to the 2011 West Point Bridge Design Contest
HOW TO ENTER

Download and install the West Point Bridge Designer 2011 software.
Use the software to design and test a virtual bridge.
Register your team.
Log in and submit as many designs as you like.
It's absolutely FREE!

Who: U.S. students age 13 through grade 12 are eligible for prizes. Anyone else may enter our Open Competition. More about eligibility...

When: The 2011 contest will begin on January 10, 2011, and the Qualifying Round will end on February 25. More about the contest schedule...
Prizes: Each member of the first-place team earns a $10,000 scholarship. Each finalist wins a notebook computer. More about prizes...

In Northeastern News

Hello! I hope that everyone has been enjoying the warm weather. Today there was an article on Northeastern University's home page (www.neu.edu) about this year's ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp! The article discusses the bottle rocket launch that took place on Friday, July 16th during our Media Day with Dr. Benard A. Harris Jr. There are even a few quotes from some of the campers on the winning team. The link is: http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2010/07/bottlerockets.html. Enjoy!

We're All WINNERS!!!!!

Hello Families and Friends of EMBHSSC,

Throughout the summer camp experience everyone was reminded that they were winners. However, the campers also participated in numerous competitions throughout the two week span.The campers participated in a scavenger hunt, the rocket launch competition, and the bridge building competition.Now it is time to annouce winners of each (drumroll please)....

Scavenger Hunt Winners:
First Place : Antonio's team (light blue boys)
Second Place : Kushal's team (yellow boys)
Third Place : Michelle's team (red girls)

The West Point Bridge Design competition
First Place: Adele with the lowest cost working bridge: $147K.
Second Place: Tara with $148K.
Honorable Mentions: Vik, Zeyu (both $149K), Kevin ($151K), Ben ($152K), Satwik ($152K), and Larry ($154K).


The Final Bridge Project:

The overall winner of the final bridge project were the Yellow Girls.
Honorable Mention: Orange Guys

GRADUATION!!!!!

Hello Families and Friends of EMBHSSC,

We are very sad to announce that camp has finally come to an end. On Friday July 23, 2010 our campers graduated! While everyone was very excited to see the campers share all that they've learned over the past two weeks, our staff here at STEM was also very sad to see the campers leave. The campers were delightful. As everyone signed yearbooks and shared email addresses the staff watched on proud that they've completed the task: A SUCCESSFUL SUMMER CAMP EXPERIENCE FOR ALL!

We'll miss you all and hope to see you all for our year round check- ins!

We'll be uploading the step performance for you all to see soon! It was very cool!

Blue Hills - History Room

 

More Kites

 

Blue Hills - Kites

 

More Bridges

 

Testing our Bridges

 

Bridges

 

Where in the USA are our Campers?!?!?!?

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

You may be asking, "where in the USA are our campers?" At the present moment the campers are learning firsthand weather information at the Blue Hills Reservation. Our campers have set out on an exciting journey today to explore all things weather. The campers are building and flying kites too! How exciting, takes you right back to your own childhood! The campers will surely provide you with great and interesting pictures from their time at the reservation. Please join us for the last day before graduation!We'll send another update very soon!!!!

Rockets 2010

A few photos from our Rocket Launch with Dr. Bernard Harris

Chemistry Activity: Polymers!!!

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

Today our campers took a look inside the chemistry world! The campers enjoyed activites orchestrated by our on-hand science expert, Matt! The campers thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were very happy with the balls that they made out of the materials that Matt provided for them! Enjoy the pictures and we'll surely reconnect with you soon!

Chromatography

Chemistry

Learning about Polymers

More Pictures from Morning Exercise!!!!!

Feel the BURN!!!!!

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

This morning the camper exercised! They received first hand exercise advice from our Navy Nursing Sophomore, Laura Crisp (who is also the twin of our night counselor, Michelle Crisp). Laura had tons of fun games for the campers to play and they loved playing dress up in her Navy uniform! The campers ran, jumped, laughed, fell, and enjoyed every second of this morning activity! Enjoy the pictures and we will be reconnecting soon with other activities throughout the day! The campers miss you but are having a total blast in Week 2 of the Bernard Harris Science Summer Camp. We have two days until graduation, unbelievable!

What Insect Crawls and Eats Wood?

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

By now most of you have figured out the riddle from above, it's termites! While we have very bad thoughts and memories about termites our campers had a blast today with them! Rocco, the instructor (who is featured in the photo above) was able to bring in termites for the campers to observe. The campers also answered questions and conducted experiments on the termites. Frantz, a BHSSC counselor, was absolutely terrified of the termites and wanted nothing to do with them! None of our brave campers were afraid. Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more from Week 2 of the Bernard Harris Science Summer Camp!

Who Gives a HOOT?

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

What comes to mind when you think about owls? Surely not owl pellets. Today our campers saw what it was really like to dissect owl pellets. This allowed the campers to document what the owls had eaten. Once the campers dissected the pellets they then made a huge graph diagram of how many shrews, voles, moles, and other animals the owls had eaten. The picture below is of Matt (our on-hand genius) helping campers documents what they found.

While on the subject of owls we here at STEM thought it would be interesting to share five facts about the mystical creatures. We look forward to reconnecting with you about our next activity and stay tuned. Who Gives a HOOT? STEM gives a HOOT!

Five Owl Facts:

1. Owls belong to the Order Strigiformes.
The Order Strigiformes is further divided into two families, the barn owls (Family Tytonidae) and the typical owls (Family Strigidae). Owls are a diverse group of birds, with over 220 species of owls belonging to the Order Strigiformes.

2. Owls are birds of prey.
Owls feed on a wide variety of prey including mammals, other birds, insects, and reptiles. There are even some species of owls that live in Africa and Asia that feed on birds. Owls cannot chew their prey since, like all birds, they do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow small prey whole and must tear larger prey into smaller pieces before swallowing. They later regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as bone, fur, and feathers.

3. Most owls are nocturnal.
Most owls are active at night. A few species (such as the pygmy owls) are active in the early morning or at dusk while some (such as the burrowing owl and the short-eared owl) are active during the day.

4. Owls' eyes are fixed in their sockets.
Owls are unable to move their eyes within their sockets to a great extent, which means they must turn their entire head to see in a different direction. Because owls have forward-facing eyes, they have well-developed binocular vision.

5. Many species of owls have special flight feathers adapted for silent flight.
Owls have developed special feather adaptations that enable them to minimize the sound made when flapping their wings. For instance, the leading edges of their primary feathers have a stiff fringes that reduces noise while the trailing edge of their primaries have soft fringes that helps to reduce turbulence. Downy feathers cover the surfaces of the wing to further reduce sound.

Facts were gathered from : http://animals.about.com/od/owl1/a/tenthingsowls.htm

Counselor Love

Hello Families and Friends of BHSSC,

We at the Center for STEM Education would just like to take a moment to thank our wonderful counselor staff that are continuously and lovingly enforcing the six pillars to building great character within our student campers. The counselors are steadily amazing us with their ability to brighten the lives of your children. To the counseling staff of BHSSC, thank you.