110+ Middle school students to showcase adaptive toys to Boston Children's Hospital doctors, designed for cerebral palsy patients

Boston Children's Hospital doctors and STEM professionals to provide authentic feedback to students' applied learning projects

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

        WHO:               Gov. Charlie Baker,
                            Governor of Massachusetts


                           Sandra Fenwick, CEO of
                            Boston Children's
                            Hospital


                           Joanna Jacobson, President
                            of One8 Foundation


                           Katherine Skrivan,
                            Director of Mass STEM Hub


                           110+ middle school
                            students from 17
                            Massachusetts schools,
                            and their teachers




        WHAT:                         Mass STEM Hub, a program
                                       of the One8 Foundation,
                                       will host the second
                                       annual Design Showcase
                                       with Boston Children's
                                       Hospital at Merck
                                       Research Labs on June 4,
                                       2019. 110+ middle school
                                       students from 16
                                       Massachusetts schools
                                       will present adaptive
                                       toys prototypes created
                                       as part of their
                                       engineering Project Lead
                                       The Way (PLTW) coursework
                                       to STEM professionals.




                          In PLTW's middle school
                            Design & Modeling unit,
                            students learn the
                            engineering design
                            process, critical
                            measurement and
                            mathematical modeling
                            skills, computer-aided
                            design software, and
                            about cerebral palsy. The
                            school year's culminating
                            project challenges
                            students to design, test,
                            and fabricate an adaptive
                            toy for a child with
                            cerebral palsy.




                          Students will receive
                            expert, authentic
                            feedback from doctors
                            from Boston Children's
                            Hospital's Cerebral Palsy
                            & Spasticity Center and
                            STEM industry
                            professionals from
                            organizations including
                            Merck Labs, Microsoft,
                            Smith & Matthews, and
                            National Grid, who will
                            then determine showcase
                            winners. Governor Charlie
                            Baker and Boston
                            Children's Hospital CEO
                            Sandra Fenwick will
                            attend and present awards
                            to students.





     
     WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:




                          In today's rapidly
                            changing world, students
                            need to learn to be
                            adaptive, critical
                            thinkers ready to solve
                            complex problems and
                            clearly communicate
                            solutions. The applied
                            learning curriculum of
                            PLTW covers critical STEM
                            content and allows
                            students to use what they
                            have learned to solve
                            real world problems. The
                            One8 Foundation and the
                            Baker-Polito
                            administration are
                            scaling PLTW in the
                            Commonwealth. Today
                            35,000 students are
                            engaged in PLTW
                            classrooms across the
                            state.




                           View video recap of last
                            year's event here.




                                     Mass STEM Hub is a project
                                       of the One8 Foundation and
                                       its mission is to provide
                                       schools with access to and
                                       support for the next level
                                       of STEM education that
                                       engages students and
                                       prepares them to succeed
                                       in a rapidly changing,
                                       high tech world. Mass STEM
                                       Hub has helped scale
                                       Project Lead The Way's K-
                                       12 curriculum in
                                       engineering, computer
                                       science and biomedical
                                       science to over 35,000
                                       students in Massachusetts,
                                       enabling students to learn
                                       how to take theory to
                                       practice with real world
                                       problem solving.




        WHEN:              Tuesday, June 4, 2019




                                      Suggested media arrival
                                       time: 10:45 a.m.


                                     Speak with students,
                                       teachers, industry
                                       judges, staff. Capture
                                       photos, B-Roll of full
                                       range of student
                                       projects. B-Roll, photos
                                       of Governor with students
                                       available for use
                                       promptly after event by
                                       request.




                                      Alternate media arrival
                                       time: 12:15 p.m.


                                     Capture photos, B-Roll of
                                       Governor viewing select
                                       student projects, remarks
                                       by the Governor, and
                                       Showcase Awards




                                      Schedule of events:


                           10:00-11:45                              Students present projects to industry
                                                                     judges


                           11:45-12:30                            
     Lunch/transition


                  
            12:30-1:10                               Governor to view student projects;
                                                                     Presentation by Cerebral Palsy &
                                                                     Spasticity Center at Boston Children's
                                                                     Hospital


                  
            1:10-1:30                              
     Remarks by Governor & Awards




        WHERE:             Merck Research
                            Laboratories


                           33 Avenue Louis Pasteur


                  
            Boston, MA 02115





     
     PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:


                           Collins Middle School,
                            Salem


                           Community Day Charter -
                            Gateway


                           Community Day Charter -
                            Prospect


                           Community Day Charter -
                            Webster


                           Granite Valley Middle
                            School, Monson


                           KIPP Academy, Boston


                           KIPP Academy, Lynn


                           Kuss Middle School, Fall
                            River


                           Lafayette School, Everett


                           Leicester Middle School


                           Medway Middle School


                           Morton Middle School, Fall
                            River


                           Randolph Community Middle
                            School


                           Sandwich STEM Academy,
                            Sandwich Public Schools


                           Stoneham Central Middle
                            School


                           Thomas Prince, Princeton





     
     ASSET OPPORTUNITIES:


                           Spokesperson access for
                            interviews


                  
            Photos


                  
            Video, B-Roll





     
     MEDIA CONTACT:


                  
            Andrea Kisiel


                           One8 Foundation | Mass
                            STEM Hub


                                      akisiel@one8.org


                  
            857-202-6238

/PRNewswire/ -- May 31,2019/

SOURCE Mass STEM Hub, a program of the One8 Foundation