Outreach Events - Past
December 14, 2015 | 1:00-2:30PM | Webinar
The Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) presents: Meet the Editors
Thinking of publishing an article about environmental public health? Interested in what journal editors are looking for these days? In this webinar, you will hear from three editors who will present some general ideas about what it takes to get an article published, styles and formats appropriate for environmental public health, and the possibility of special issues and supplements. This webinar will include a dedicated Q&A session.
Registration is required. Please register at http://bit.ly/PEPH_Meet_Editors
See pdf flyer for list of speakers and further information.
November 5, 2015 | 9:15AM - 10:15AM | Holiday Inn, Boxborough, MA
Climate Change & Air Pollution
Massachusetts Associate of Science Teachers Annual Conference
To register for the conference please visit www.MassScienceTeach.Org. This conference generally has a great turnout of science teachers from across the State. The conference sessions have been chosen to represent a range of topics and grade levels, so every science teacher will be sure to find valuable resources, information, and materials.
The COE2C workshop will provide a NGSS crosscutting lesson about matter, illustrating that atoms are the basic building blocks of nature. Using LEGOtm bricks to represent individual atoms, the combustion products of fossil fuels can become a discovery experience for everyone, providing for climate change literacy. We will show how to use these materials to teach climate change and air pollution fundamentals at public events, as well. Join us!
October 29, 2015 | 8:00AM - 3:00PM | 1 Blackfan Circle, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
A Genetics Primer for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses: A “Hands On” Workshop
After providing hands-on training for the workshop leaders at Boston Children’s Hospital last year, MIT COE2C continues to loan out these molecular models to the staff for their workshops. This is actually the fourth workshop where genetic counselors at Children’s have utilized the MIT models of DNA and Proteins, now a success story in translational outreach. There is more information about our translational work in genetics here: http://cehs.mit.edu/outreach/healthcare-professionals
October 14-16, 2015 | | University of Maine, Presque Isle, Maine
New England Tribal Leaders Fall 2015 Summit
Hosted by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs; With Tribal Leaders, EPA Senior Leadership, and Staff and Invited Participants
Conference Theme: “Preparing the Next Generation of Tribal Stewards for Emerging Environmental Challenges”
MIT CEHS events on Thursday, Oct 15:
10:00-10:45 and 2:30-3:15 A Learning Table for all Ages: “Understanding Air” Dr. Vandiver (MIT COE2C) assisted by Amanda Giang and Abby Harvey (MIT students) from the Selin Lab.
3:45-4:15 Talk: Global Mercury Modeling and Implications for Local Communities—Noelle Eckley Selin (MIT CEHS Faculty member)
October 7, 2015 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | UMass Amherst Integrated Science Building (ISB), Room 145, 661 N Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003
Modeling Molecular Biology with Agile Atoms DNA/RNA/Protein modeling sets (Amherst)
** This workshop is full. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please contact Rachel Krebs rachel.krebs@massbio.org **
Explore how molecular models can help your students experience what DNA, RNA and protein molecules do, not just what molecules look like. Manipulate representations of molecules to perform the cell functions of DNA replication, mRNA transcription and tRNA translation. Chains of amino acids can be produced and folded into working protein shapes. This workshop qualifies for PDPs based upon completion of the designated assessment.
Presenters:
Kathleen M. Vandiver, PhD MIT COE2C Director
Amanda G. Mayer, PhD MIT COE2C Staff
Sponsor: MassBioEd https://www.massbioed.org/
Audience: Teachers in the MassBioEd Schools
October 2, 2015 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | MassBioEd, 300 Technology Square, 8th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
Modeling Molecular Biology with Agile Atoms DNA/RNA/Protein modeling sets (Cambridge)
** This workshop is full. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please contact Rachel Krebs rachel.krebs@massbio.org **
Explore how molecular models can help your students experience what DNA, RNA and protein molecules do, not just what molecules look like. Manipulate representations of molecules to perform the cell functions of DNA replication, mRNA transcription and tRNA translation. Chains of amino acids can be produced and folded into working protein shapes. This workshop qualifies for PDPs based upon completion of the designated assessment.
Presenters:
Kathleen M. Vandiver, PhD MIT COE2C Director
Amanda G. Mayer, PhD MIT COE2C Staff
Sponsor: MassBioEd https://www.massbioed.org/
Audience: Teachers in the MassBioEd Schools
September 18 - 25, 2015 | | Olympic Park, Beijing, China
Beijing Science Festival
“Understanding Air: Teaching Key Concepts about Climate Change and Air Pollution in Beijing”
COE2C Outreach Director Kathleen Vandiver was invited by the Beijing Association of Science & Technology (BAST) to bring MIT’s hands-on science teaching materials to Beijing Science Festival to teach the public about climate change and air pollution. To prepare booth volunteers to lead the activities, Vandiver led a training workshop last June for 80 bilingual Chinese students who visited the MIT campus. (See COEC Events/ June 26) Additional students were trained on site. The site was an enormous tent situated in Beijing Olympic Park between the two iconic buildings, The Bird’s Nest and The Water Cube. Our tent was filled with active learning tables and displays from many international Science Centers.
During the six-day festival at our MIT booth, the public was invited to build models of molecules using LEGO® bricks. The bricks represented individual atoms. They were used to illustrate the process of combustion. Combustion produces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, thereby contributing to climate change. The visitors also modeled an incomplete combustion reaction that produces pollutants such as carbon (soot) and carbon monoxide. Burning fuel such as coal can cause increases in the levels of lung-damaging molecules such as SO2, NO2, and O3, and can add more particulate matter (PM 2.5) into the air as well. This combination of unhealthy molecules and particulates is can be found in many urban areas around the world. By helping the general public understand air better, we hope that more people will be motivated to do their part and work towards improving the world’s air quality.
Here is a photo journal.
Smog in Olympic Park! The light poles disappeared off into the smoggy distance during this midday shot. Someone said, “Beijing looks like Los Angelesin the 1960s!” We saw blue sky only 2 of 7 days.
Dads and their boys build a model of air….It’s mostly nitrogen molecules! Note that one dad is wearing a mask. Next, the boys learned what carbon dioxide molecule is. The instructor is on the right.
Notice that it is not just young boys who discovered new ideas about air! The modeling tools drew older visitors as well. They had a good time and their friends liked helping.
The volunteers at the booth were very kind and respectful. They enjoyed sharing their knowledge and remarked how they liked being able to teach important ideas!
Here is our banner at the 2015 Beijing Science Festival booth. Student helpers pose with Dr. Kathleen Vandiver, COEC Director for the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences.
These Beijing middle school girls were great role models, leading the activities at the festival. They also thanked me for teaching them too!
September 3, 2015 | 3:00-6:00PM | MIT Media Lab Complex
Scaling STEM Education--using technology to reach all students
MIT President Rafael Reif and Congressman Joe Kennedy invite you to join a discussion of how technology can provide opportunities to expand quality STEM education to all K-16 students. RSVP at http://scalingstem.mit.edu/
3pm - 4pm: Demonstrations and Exhibits
Learn about cutting edge K-16 outreach programs where you can meet individuals engaged in STEM education, and light refreshments will be served. The CEHS COE2C will have two exhibit tables shared with the MIT Edgerton Center. At Table 1, COE2C will be demonstrating the new Agile Atoms DNA/RNA Sets for teaching about genes and the environment. At Table 2, COE2C will be presenting the Atoms and Molecules Set with the “Understanding Air” climate change and air pollution lesson. See the descriptions of the two MIT CEHS and Edgerton Center Exhibits below:
Presenters at the CEHS and Edgerton Center Exhibit:
Dr. Kathleen M. Vandiver, COE2C Director
Dr. Amanda G. Mayer, COE2C Staff
MIT Edgerton Center and CEHS – Table 1
MIT has submitted design patents on Agile Atoms DNA/RNA Sets, an innovative breakthrough in biology education. The DNA/RNA Sets will be followed soon by the production of the Protein and tRNA Sets as well. These molecular models can simulate the key processes in cells that are difficult to learn such as replication, transcription, and translation. The sets can also illustrate DNA and protein structures, demonstrate protein folding, and display examples of how a protein’s shape determines its function. Using a curriculum perfected over the last 10 years utilizing LEGO®-based prototypes, educators in grades 6-16 can vary the complexity of the lesson that is delivered with the models. The first question educators typically ask us at our workshops is, “Where can I get these?” or “I wish I had these when I was learning this!” Additionally, health professionals and biotech industry leaders looking to advance workforce proficiency in genetics are finding our instructional methodology ideal for this purpose. As we move forward, the next MIT Edgerton Center challenges will be: 1) scaling up the professional development of instructors, 2) designing self-paced modules for individual kit owners/borrowers, and 3) thinking about global dissemination. As one educator exclaimed, “It’s a game-changer!” We welcome you to come and visit our exhibit to see for yourself.
Audience: College (13-16), High School (9-12), Middle School (6-8) as well as health professionals and other adults.
MIT Edgerton Center and CEHS – Table 2
Developed by the MIT Edgerton Center, the Atoms and Molecules Set has been presented at CEHS teacher workshops for the past seven years in Texas, Florida, and Boston. It is catching on. Educators are using it now in 30 different states! Clearly, these materials are “scale-up ready” for STEM Education. The sets are comprised of LEGO® bricks whose colors match the chemical color standards for the elements. Thus the bricks represent individual atoms such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, etc. With the MIT curriculum, students build concrete examples of elements, compounds, and mixtures instead of memorizing definitions. Middle school educators are also excited they can address two Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These are: 1) cross-cutting concepts about the atomic nature of matter and 2) the use of models in science. The MIT lessons include difficult to teach concepts from biology (photosynthesis and respiration), and earth science (climate change and air pollution), as well as chemistry (traditional chemical reactions). For scaling this MIT project, our focus will include developing additional lessons, online professional development, and a reference catalog of LEGO shapes for molecules. Hope you can visit our exhibit!
Dr. Kathleen Vandiver would like to thank MIT Blossoms http://blossoms.mit.edu/home for creating two teacher professional development videos that employ the Atoms and Molecules Sets, “Roots Shoots and Wood” and “Recognizing Chemical Reactions.”
Audience: High School (9-12), Middle School (6-8) as well as informal educational events for all ages.
Second Annual Maine trip to visit with Native Americans
Aug 4-7, 2015 | Community Engagement Trip | Maine Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Tribes
This Maine trip to visit with Native Americans was arranged by the COE2C for the purpose of listening and learning about the environmental health issues of these communities, so that the CEHS might better serve the northeast region. Our traveling visit serves remote populations as a Community Advisory Board session.
In August of 2014, CEHS visited three of the five tribes in Maine: the Maliseets, Micmacs, and Penobscots. Meetings took place with Tribal Nation educators and environmentalists. As planned this year (August of 2015) the group will travel to the northern-most coast of Maine and meet with the two Bands of Passamaquoddys. On the return trip to Boston they will meet with the Penobscots on Indian Island near Bangor.
The 2015 CEHS Group is comprised of Kathleen M. Vandiver (COE2C Director), John Essigmann (CEHS Center Director), Dr. Robert Croy, and Nancy Dalrymple.
July 16, 2015 | 9:00-3:30PM | Northwest Forest Conference Center, 12715 Telge Road, Cypress, TX 77429
15th Annual Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute Teacher Workshop: “Teaching Abstract Chemistry Concepts in Concrete Ways”
Presenters:
Kathleen M. Vandiver, COE2C Director
Amanda G. Mayer, COE2C Staff
The schedule for this full day workshop includes leading teachers through three hands-on lessons with MIT's Atoms and Molecules Sets, which demonstrates three core middle school science concepts: 1) in biology (photosynthesis); 2) in chemistry (the chemical reaction of baking soda and calcium chloride); and 3) in earth science (climate change and air pollution by modeling the chemistry of combustion). Teachers who participate in this workshop will receive a professional development certificate. This collaborative workshop with Texas A&M Health Science Center demonstrates how the NIEHS P30 COEC programs can partner with middle school teachers to disseminate environmental health science lessons and increase environmental health literacy. The MIT CEHS material is posted here.
- Sponsor: Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center
- Audience: Texas Science and Math Teachers
July 15, 2015 | 9:00-3:30PM | Northwest Forest Conference Center, 12715 Telge Road, Cypress, TX 77429
15th Annual Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute Teacher Workshop: “Teaching Cell Biology with the new Agile Atoms DNA/RNA kits and protein models at Basic and Advanced Levels"
Presenters:
Kathleen M. Vandiver, COE2C Director
Amanda G. Mayer, COE2C Staff
In this full day workshop, the instructors will focus on building key concepts utilizing hands-on molecular models. For more information on this workshop, please visit: http://www.k12summerinstitute.org/workshops/teachcellbio.html. This is the seventh year that MIT’s CEHS COE2C has participated in the Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute Teacher Workshop in Texas. This collaboration demonstrates how the NIEHS P30 COEC programs can partner with high school biology teachers to disseminate environmental health science lessons and increase environmental health literacy. This teacher training session includes materials about genetic toxicology and DNA damage and repair mechanisms. Teachers who participate in this workshop will receive a professional development certificate. The MIT CEHS material is posted here.
- Sponsor: Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center
- Audience: Texas Science and Math Teacher
June 26, 2015 | 9:00AM, 12:30PM, and 2:15PM | Building 4 Room 261
"Understanding Air," a Workshop for 80 Chinese Students Visiting MIT
Students graduating from Beijing No. 5 Middle School (http://www.bjwzfx.com.cn) will be on campus on June 26th. The MIT COE2C will lead a workshop where these students will experience a hands-on American science lesson. This includes both chemical reaction (a wet lab) and a LEGO brick exercise that simulates the rearrangement of the atoms in the reaction. The lesson materials can be found here. Additional reactions with the bricks will be modeled to learn about climate change and air pollution. This event is preparation for a CEHS and MIT Edgerton Center booth on “Understanding Air” at the Beijing Science Festival where the students may be invited to volunteer to help teach the public at the festival in September 2015.
June 25, 2015 | 9:00-11:00AM and 1:30-4:00PM | Building N51 Room 310, Cambridge, MA
"MIT Science and Engineering Program for Teachers" with a CEHS workshop: 'Genetics Deconstructed-Picking up Molecular Processes by Manipulating Models'
Information about this CEHS session: For one week this summer, teachers from five countries and around the U.S. will meet each other at MIT for the 26th annual Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT) event! The CEHS has participated in this event for the past eight years by leading two hands-on sessions. In this workshop, teachers receive an introduction to environmental health and will engage in simulating cell processes with molecular models. This will allow them to learn about DNA damage and repair processes in human health. Here is a video link to the learning videos: http://ttv.mit.edu/collections/cehsdna.
Information about this MIT Program: Since 1989, over 1,200 middle and high school teachers have been selected to participate in SEPT (https://sept.mit.edu/) - all recognized as innovative, creative, and dedicated leaders in their schools and communities. Similar to the prior years, the SEPT Class of 2015 will attend lectures from top scientists, test the latest technology developed on campus, and talk shop with an outstanding group of passionate educators, where professors, students, researchers, and teachers are together during the sessions for this week long event. An agenda of the presentations, tours, and hands-on workshops are scheduled for June 21 - June 27, 2015.
June 4, 2015 | 6:30PM - 8:00PM | Malden Public Library
Public Forum Regarding 378 Commercial Street, Malden, MA
As requested by a Public Involvement Petition (PIP), Honeywell will be presenting information about the history and remediation of 378 Commercial Street, Malden, MA. This business property is on the west bank of the Malden River. The PIP was initiated by the Friends of the Malden River and signed by Malden residents who are interested in cleaning up the river. Honeywell will present and answer questions raised in the first hour of the program, followed by an open question and answer period. For maps and additional information visit https://maldenriver.wordpress.com/
To view the article in the Mystic Messenger Spring 2015 edition “Malden River is Beyond Dirty Water!", please click here”
April 18, 2015 | 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm | Cambridge Public Library
Cambridge Science Festival
“A Closer Look at Exposures”
As part of the week-long Cambridge Science Festival, this exhibit for families at the popular Science Carnival is the result of a long standing collaboration between the MIT CEHS and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health CEH outreach programs. Here is the event description: Ever wonder why some environmental exposures are bad for your health? Come check out our exhibit! You can measure your airway health, inflate lungs and check out what smoking can do, build a DNA strand using LEGO® and replicate it, learn how UV rays and smoking damage your DNA, and lastly--- build a model of air using LEGO® bricks and create the common air pollutants too!
Rescheduled for April 9, 2015 | 8:30 am - 1:00 pm | EPA New England, Court Room 6, 15th Floor
The Mystic River Science Forum - New Rescheduled Date
The Mystic River Science Forum - has been rescheduled for April 9 with the same agenda, and same location at EPA Region 1 headquarters.
Open to the public, this event will be held at EPA Region 1 offices on Thursday, April 9 as part of Mystic River Watershed Initiative . The forum will include presentations and discussions on local water quality and related topics. The meeting will be held at EPA Region 1 Headquarters, Suite 100, 5 Post Office Square, Boston beginning at 8:30 a.m. (Use the Commercial St Entrance and bring your ID.) The organizers recommend arriving early to leave time for EPA's airport style security. Coffee and snacks are available for sale on the 3rd floor. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by emailing glivinski.elizabeth@epa.gov.
EPA New England, Court Room 6, 15th Floor, 5 Post Office Square*, Boston, MA
(Use the Commercial St Entrance and bring your ID.)
The forum will include presentations from the EPA, MyRWA, MIT & others, and will include discussions about local water quality.
Prof. Harold Hemond, presentation at 11:15 am
MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
Mystic River Watershed: CEHS and MIT Engineering Field Lab Experiences for Students Past and Present
http://mysticriver.org/myrwa-blog/2015/2/13/mystic-river-watershed-initiative-science-forum-april-9th.html
4/6/2015 | 5:30PM - 7:00PM | Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA
Fuel Your Mind with Local Ingenuity
The Cary Library Foundation presents their annual community celebration at the Cary Memorial Library this year: Fuel Your Mind, A Celebration with Local Ingenuity, on Saturday, April 11, 2015, 5:00pm - 7:00 pm.
Come meet some of Lexington's most creative and inventive neighbors all-willing to share their passions and expertise with people of all ages. Leading Entrepreneurs and Educators will offer a mix of hands on interactive stations and TED-style short talks with plenty of time for questions. Tickets are $25.00 for adults and $10.00 for students and will be available at the door and at the Foundation's website.
COE2C Director, Kathy Vandiver will be giving a brief talk about the manipulatives she invented for teaching molecular biology. She will bring some pieces for building the genes and proteins and you can try them out at her tabling station.
Further details are here: http://www.carylibrary.org/fuel-your-mind
March 15, 2015 | 9:00 am - 6:00 pm | Curry Student Center, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Local Environmental Action Conference 2015
Local Environmental Action 2015 is a great opportunity to join community leaders, environmental advocates and activists from across New England for an exciting day of skills training, networking, and inspiration. Whether you have been to every conference or are attending for the first time, be sure not to miss this amazing opportunity to connect and grow our grassroots movement. The CEHS has co-sponsored this event, along with other great environmental justice organizations!
March 12-14, 2015 | | Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Cambodia Science Festival
Join us at the CEHS Booth “Understanding Air” at the 1st Cambodia Science & Engineering Festival
“Cambodia’s first National-level event is designed to motivate Cambodian Youth to consider futures in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through a positive, accessible and absolutely fun atmosphere!” The CEHS is one of the sponsors of this event. With the help of local volunteers, the MIT CEHS COE2C will present a public health booth about climate change and air pollution for three full days. We will engage the public in activities from our “Understanding Air” materials, utilized previously at Cambridge Science Festivals, but now freshly translated into the Khmer language. The COE2C Director, Dr. Vandiver, will train the booth volunteers on how to use these kits. The MIT CEHS and the MIT Edgerton Center have donated the Atoms and Molecules Sets to three Cambodian schools. Dr. Vandiver will also provide a half-day teachers training workshop for the Phnom Penh science teachers. http://www.cambodiascience.org/
More information about the lesson plans can be found here: http://edgerton.mit.edu/k-12/teacher-resources/k-12-curriculum/atoms-molecules/understanding-air.
February 26, 2015 | 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Bridgewater State University
A CASE Conference for K-12 Teachers, “Teaching STEM with Biomimicry”
As part of this Massachusetts science teacher training conference, the MIT CEHS COE2C presented a workshop at the Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) on the campus of Bridgewater State University on February 26. Our workshop, “Learning with the New Agile Atoms DNA/RNA Sets,” was one of several concurrent sessions presenting different ways to raise students’ interest by close examination of natural phenomena. This event was COE2C’s first official workshop field-test with middle and high school science teachers with MIT’s newly designed DNA/ RNA models, called the Agile Atoms DNA/RNA Set.
