I had planned to post this earlier but have been otherwise engaged recently.
I am a member of the New England Optical Society and have enjoyed working with students and others to, as I like to say, “Corrupt young minds into pursuing careers in Optics”. A couple of weeks ago the Newton Free Library hosted a STEAM Expo attracting several organizations to conduct hands-on demonstrations to about a thousand attendees. My group has had an exciting spring with several events over the past months and I am happy to see Newton getting more involved in these efforts.
I had hope to see some members of the School Committee having extended invitations to a couple personally but if any attended I missed them. Next year please make sure you say hello. (I have a personal belief that the SC is not encouraging Newton to look beyond our borders for new ideas in STEM education, so as Greg might say “Discuss“.)
I am looking forward to participating again next year and am encouraging others to join the effort knowing that Newton has loads of residents working in research, tech and the arts. Share your creative passions and help me in my efforts in corruption!
@Groot: Two members of the School Committee — Margaret Albright and Angela Pitter — are definitely “encouraging Newton to look beyond our borders for new ideas in STEM education” (to use your phrasing). Just in the last two weeks, they both participated in the launch of Newton’s involvement in Envision the Future, which sent three middle-school girls as ambassadors to a one-week STEM program at Bridgewater State University. Margaret attended the STEM Expo on the last day of that program and told me about several programs and ideas she gathered from exhibitors there. (Angela had planned to attend the Expo but could not at the last minute.) Both Margaret and Angela often bring programs and ideas to my attention — from all around the state and beyond — for publication in NewtonSTEM.org. They intend to help the Newton-based sponsoring organizations of Envision the Future — the Boys & Girls Club, Newton Free Library, Newton Community Education, NewtonSTEM, and The Innovation Institute — replicate some aspects of the program in Newton over the coming year. I think that the most important element of the program at Bridgewater was its emphasis on meaningful, personal interactions between the 48 middle-school girls and about two dozen women in STEM careers.