Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Hill's Diversity Matters Summit

9th grader Kaleia joins Qualcomm's Susie Armstrong in representing us on Capitol Hill:

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Updated FLL Schedule (9:45am)


Nova Labs Robotics FIRST Lego at Thinkabit

Saturday, 10/26/2019  9am.




The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) introduces students ages 9-14 to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a 4 ft x 8 ft playing surface that changes each year to match a real world challenge theme.
  • Design, build, test and program autonomous robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology
  • Apply real-world math and science concepts
  • Research challenges facing today’s scientists
  • Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills
  • Participate in tournaments and celebrations
FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches, discover exciting career possibilities and, through the process, learn to make positive contributions to society.  What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

How to use Micro:Bits like a MaKey MaKey

from Makerbus (just acquired Micro:bit):

jbmppnxrmicrobit_1_of_6_ee69734e-45d4-429d-8f9f-a3ed26a7b3f3_1024x1024
A micro:bit is a tiny, programmable computer made by the BBC and it retails for under $25 CDN! With the weaker Canadian dollar a single MaKey MaKey sells for around $75 these days. That means for the price of one MaKey MaKey, you could buy three micro:bits!
The micro:bit website is filled with downloadable programs for the tiny computer. One program allows you to create a “banana keyboad,” aka a MaKey MaKey. Simply download the script, attached a few alligator clips to the micro:bit, and voilĂ , you have just made a much more affordable MaKey MaKey!
If you own a micro:bit and want to try this experiment, you can find the instructions here.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Part-time Instructor Positions

We have two part-time positions (6 to 24 hours/week) open at our Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center campus next to West Falls Church Metro Station (Orange Line).   Our Thinkabit engineering education lab serves over 7000 Washington, D.C. area school-age students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other visitors in technical career exploration and hands-on, early exposures to microelectronics, programming, and 5G IOT and Smart Cities technologies. 

We also lead regional and international teacher professional development programs in STEM and STEAM education.



These are hourly positions ranging from $20 to $35/hour depending on experience, licensure, and skills.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Virginia STEM Essay Contest

Seal of the Commonwealth of VirginiaGovernor Northam and Virginia Council on Women Announce 9th Annual STEM Essay Contest

Governor and First Lady Northam to serve as honorary co-chairs

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam and the Virginia Council on Women today announced the 9th Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Essay Contest for young women in their senior year of high school.

“As we build the workforce we need to compete in a 21st century economy, we must step up our efforts to encourage young women across Virginia to explore their interests in innovative industries like science, technology, math, and engineering,” said Governor Northam. “This annual essay contest is a tremendous opportunity to reward some of the Commonwealth’s brightest young women and open new doors for girls seeking to pursue their educational and professional goals in these high-demand fields.”

The STEM Essay Contest was launched in 2012 with 170 young women from across the Commonwealth submitting essays focused on their vision for pursuing a STEM career. In the first