Gifted Atlanta

The University of West Georgia invites teens to its 2024 “Hackathon” software design event, taking place on Saturday, March 9, at the college’s campus in Carrollton.

Participants will work in small teams to design simple applications that address a given community challenge. Students can come with friends and plan to work together as a team, or register alone and find teammates at the event.

Teams will use either Scratch or MIT APP Inventor, two simple coding platforms, to create their applications. However, the event organizers emphasize that participants don’t need to have prior coding experience, as they will be able to learn from more experienced participants or from mentors who will be available to assist them. Additionally, not all team members need to focus on coding — some may work on other aspects of design, implementation and promotion.

Hackathon is open to students ages 13 to 18 who are in middle school or high school.

Registration is $30, plus a $3 processing fee. Students who need financial help can apply for a scholarship that pays the registration cost.

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count will start on Friday, Feb. 16, and continue through Monday, Feb. 19. This worldwide citizen science project, which started in 1998, is a cooperative effort among the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada.

To participate, you’ll watch the birds in your back yard, at a local park, or maybe around your school playground for as little as 15 minutes on any of the four days. You can count on more than one day, or watch longer if you want. After counting the birds, you send in your data, either by using an app you download to your phone, or by entering your counts on the eBird website.

Not only can you collect data for these projects, but you can also view the data being collected all over the world — a great opportunity to see scientific research in action.

Girls interested in STEM fields can learn from women who have built successful STEM careers at the STEM Gems Summit on March 16, 2024 at Spelman College. This event will feature a panel of women who work in fields such as neuroscience, information technology, biomedical engineering, astrophysics and biotechnology. Featured speakers will talk about the work they do and the journey they took to get to their current positions.

STEM Gems is the brainchild of scientist Stephany Espy, who seeks to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers by connecting them with female mentors.

Registration is open for Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for Saturday, February 17, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Workshops cover a variety of topics including oceans, coding, polymers, robotics and biology.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at school. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

Additional K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops dates for the spring season are planned for March 16 and April 13, 2024.

The Math Circle program at Emory University is now registering for its spring 2024 classes, which will begin at the end of January.

Math Circle is an enrichment program for middle-school and high-school kids who enjoy mathematics and want to explore topics beyond what’s taught in their regular math class at school.

Classes meet twice a month on Saturdays. Students can register for either in person or Zoom-based classes.

You can get more information and register at the Math Circle website.

Emory Math Circle is free to attend, but the program operates with the help of donations, and they suggest a donation of $30 per child for those who can afford to give.

Georgia Tech has opened registration for the first round of K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes for 2024, to be held on Saturday, January 13, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Georgia Tech campus.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Workshops cover a variety of topics including sound, coding, polymers, robotics, evolution and earth science.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at school. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

Additional K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops dates for the spring season are February 17, March 16 and April 13, 2024.

The final round of K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes at Georgia Tech for the fall 2023 season will be held on Saturday, December 9, from 9 a.m. to noon.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Workshops cover a variety of topics including biology, chemistry, computing and engineering.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at school. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

Today, I got an email from TELLUS Science Museum in Cartersville with a list of programs coming up from now through January 2024, so I thought I’d share it here.

Some of these events require advance registration. To get more information, check the TELLUS website.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 3 – SCI FRI Night: Hydrogen Fuel + Other Clean Energy Sources with Dr. Tim Liewen

Nov. 4 – Solar Sky Watch

Nov. 3-6 – Micromineral Symposium + Field Trips

Nov. 17 – Stellar Astronomy Workshop

Nov. 29 – Lunch + Learn: How to Buy a Telescope with David Dundee

DECEMBER

Dec. 1 – SCI FRI Night: Journey Through Time – The Enchanting World of Fossil Amber with Regina Snider + Opening Reception for Amber: Golden Window to the Past

Dec. 2 – Special exhibit Amber: Golden Window to the Past opens in The Vault

Dec. 9 – 10 – Holiday PJ Party Weekend + Festival of Trains

Dec. 20 – Lunch + Learn: Not Your Ordinary Snow Day! with the Super Awesome Science Squad

JANUARY

Jan. 13 – Tellus’ 15th Birthday Bash

Jan. 19 – Junior Astronomy Workshop

Jan. 20 – 21 – Sensory Friendly Mornings

Jan. 24 – Lunch + Learn: How to Use a Telescope with Karisa Zdanky

Jan. 26 – SCI FRI Night: Apollo with Tracy Scott

The third round of K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshop classes at Georgia Tech for the fall season will be held on Saturday, November 11, from 9 a.m. to noon.

K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Workshops cover a variety of topics in physical science, computing and engineering.

Cost to attend is $65 per student. Need-based scholarships, funded by the Georgia Department of Education, are available. Visit the CEISMC BOOST Scholarship page to learn more about scholarship eligibility and submit an application.

I’ve written here before about Firefly Watch, a community science project run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Each summer, Firefly Watch collects reports from people all over North America about the firefly activity around them. The project’s aim is to understand how firefly populations are changing and possible environmental factors affecting them.

The 2023 firefly season is now over, and Firefly Watch is looking for help analyzing the data it’s received during the past five years. An e-mail I received says:

“If you, or someone you know, are interested in combing through the Firefly Watch spreadsheets, please let us know. Perhaps there is a student looking for a project? Or a teacher who needs a project for a class? We have five years of data now, and it could yield some interesting information. We will be happy to share what we’ve collected.”

I’m sharing this mostly because I’m well aware of how hard it is for high-school students interested in the sciences to get hands-on experience in research. If you know a student who wants to study biology, ecology or a related field, this could be an opportunity to work on a real-world project.

If you want to learn more, contact Firefly Watch directly.