There is an urgent need for young change agents to take strong action against climate and biodiversity loss. This need is transforming our economy and our culture and creating many new job opportunities in the sustainability sector. From science, to finance, to education, there are innumerable ways to make positive impacts for the environment and have an enriching career that helps save nature and people.

In this session with Cleary Vaughan-Lee, executive director of the Global Oneness Project, discover tools which challenge students to consider changing ecosystems around the world. Multimedia stories are shared which explore ecological understandings from various perspectives, including ones from Indigenous artists and writers, sounds ecologists, astronauts, scientists, and students.

We often hear references to “careers in the life sciences” without much context about what this actually entails. The goal of this conversation is to introduce some of the key roles in the life science industry, the skills employers are looking for, and the opportunities for students with diverse interests to contribute to this industry.

The Christa McAuliffe Center hosted an official NASA-sponsored Webb Space Telescope Community Event to celebrate the launch of the telescope, currently planned on December 18, 2021. The keynote speaker was Dr. Kathryn Flanagan, Astronomer Emerita at the Space Telescope Science Institute and former Webb mission head. Dr. Flanagan introduces us to the largest astrophysics mission in NASA's history and the science it will return.

Eight teams of high school students from Marlborough, Milford, and Framingham presented their projects for improving sustainability and environmental impact in the MetroWest community. These teams have been working diligently with industry professionals on their projects since October 2020. Learn more about the 2020-21 team mentorship program here.

Join local MetroWest students as they illustrate local environmental challenges that they are working on solving. Working together with mentors, students created two-minute-long videos that illustrate local environmental challenges that are connected to global issues and their ideas for solutions. All recorded Science on State Street: Planet Earth Edition events are available here.

Hear from students, female leaders, mentors, and mentees speak about personal K-12, career, and mentoring experiences. Learn about the importance of mentoring, how BIPOC students can navigate their paths to success in STEM, and how non-BIPOC individuals can best support them.

While still in development, the prototype of this pandemic-specific tent highlights the collaborative processes designers, engineers, and builders pursue while engaging their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills to advance emergency healthcare facilities such as for COVID-19.

In order to design better technologies that are helpful and beneficial for all, we can consider principles of antiracism--the idea that all races are equal-- and intersectionality--the idea that our identities around factors like race, gender, and class influence how we experience the world. When we design technology with these principles in mind, we hope to create better outcomes for all.

The STEM Advisory Council coordinated with seven organizations across the state to offer schools and afterschool programs a menu of options for STEM-focused Design Challenges during Mass STEM Week 2020. MSEN facilitated presentations by the Design Challenge hosts for the September 30 Quarterly Meeting.