Fun with Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) in Boston: National Engineers Week

We parents know it’s important for our kids to do well in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines, but how do we get them – and keep them – interested?  I think the key is to introduce them early in life, and make it fun! When I find opportunities for STEM fun in the Boston area I’ll tell you about it – starting with National Engineers Week, February 19-25^th. 

The National Engineers Week Foundation wants to celebrate the ways engineers make our lives better, and hopes to inspire and educate children (and adults) about engineering careers. There are some wonderful programs happening in the Boston area to do just that: the New England Model Engineers Show at Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, MIT’s Society of Women Engineers at Boston Children’s Museum, engineering activities and demonstrations at MIT Museum, and a Geodesic Domes program at the Science Discovery Museum.  

On February 18, the day before Engineers Week technically begins, the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation (CRMII) will host the New England Model Engineers Show.

At the show, kids get to see how things work – steam engines, gasoline engines, aircraft engines, Stirling cycle engines, clocks, moving puzzles, locomotives, traction engines, pinhole cameras and model boats – on just the right scale for them. The craftsmen will be there to demonstrate how the machines work and to answer questions.

Your ticket to the show includes admission to the museum, so be sure to visit the CRMII’s exhibits while you are there. You’ll go back in time and see the evolution of bicycle to automobile, machines that make candy bags and tiny tacks, and the innards of a player piano. You’ll learn nifty tidbits of trivia, like how New England was the leading producer of cars before the 1920’s (not Detroit!). The museum building itself, located right on the banks of the Charles River, is a time machine of sorts – it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as America’s first factory.

What: New England Model Engineers Show
When: February 18th, 2012 from 10am to 4pm
Where: Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, 154 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453
Who: All ages, but best for ages 5 and up
How much: $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12. Children under 6, active and retired military, and CRMI members are free
Contact: 781-893-5410

During February Vacation Week, the MIT Museum (where engineers are always celebrated!) will have hands-on engineering challenges for older kids, like Paper Skyscraper, Straw Rocket and Marble Run. MIT student groups, including MIT Motorsports, Electric Vehicle Team and Rocket Team, will give demonstrations in the afternoons. Take a look at the full schedule for specific times, organizations and activities.

When you’re not participating in the challenges and demonstrations, be wowed by the world’s largest hologram collection, the Eight Einsteins, MIT-built robots (the emotive Kismet is my family’s favorite) and other mind-boggling exhibits. And don’t forget to dance up and down the sound-effects stairs a few times.

What: Vacation Week Activities
When: Challenges 10am-12pm and demonstrations 1-4pm Monday – Friday, February 20-24, activities and demonstrations 1-3pm Saturday, February 25.
Where: MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Central Square)
Who: Appropriate for ages 10 and up, but would be fine for a very tech-oriented kid who is a little younger
How much: Adults $8.50, Youth under 18 and students $4, Seniors $4, MIT ID Holders and Children under 5 are free.
Contact: Patricia Lane, Visitor Services Manager:  617.253.5927 or palane@mit.edu

On Monday, when most vacation week camps are closed and you’re looking for something to do with the kids, drop in to the Geodesic Domes program at the Science Discovery Museum in Acton between 1 and 4pm. If you’re trying to remember what a geodesic dome is, not to worry, you and the kids will have a chance to see pictures of all kinds of geodesic structures; houses, diatoms, nanotubes, sports stadiums – even viruses. The kids get to help build a large dome and learn how to use stuff from home to make their own little domes (I’m thinking it involves toothpicks and marshmallows).

Of course, there’s a lot more STEM fun to be had at the Science Discovery Museum. The kids can test their engineering skills by designing extensive ball runs and pathways, discover the properties of a bouncy ball, bend light rays, use Morse Code to send messages, make music and art, or channel Brainy Smurf and figure out how to control a giant water vortex.  

What: Geodesic Domes
When: 1-4pm, Monday, February 20th
Where: Discovery Museums, Science Discovery Museum, 177 Main Street Acton, MA 01720. Get directions.
Who: Kids of all ages and their families
Contact: 978.264.4200 or fun@discoverymuseums.org

End Engineers Week on a high note on Saturday, February 25th with the MIT Society of Women Engineers (SWE). They will be leading science and engineering activities at the Boston Children’s Museum for their Engineering Week Celebration. The students set up booths and engage visitors in projects like ones they have done in the past: explorations of the chemical properties of home-made slime, non-Newtonian fluids, DNA from (one's own) cheek cells, and the strength of straw and rubber bands.  I’m hoping some of that genius rubs off on my kids – those MIT students have smarts to spare, don’t you think?

The Engineering Week fun starts at 11am, but you may want to get to the museum when they open to non-members at 10am, before it gets super crowded. The kids will then have time to play on the giant climbing structure, and you can tell them how it was made possible by the marvels of engineering.

What: Engineering Week Celebration with the MIT Society of Women Engineers
When: Saturday, February 25th, 2012, 11am-4pm
Where: Boston Children’s Museum, 308 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
Who: Kids up to age 10 with their families
Contact: 617-426-6500 or info@BostonChildrensMuseum.org