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THE MSSF ONLINE COURSE
MSSF offers an online course designed for students interested in developing their own research or engineering project. The course is free to Maine teachers and students.
- Click the button below to register for an account. You will get an email to finish creating your account.
- Once your account is created, we will enroll you in the MSSF courses. You will get another email when you have been given access to the courses.
Please allow one business day for us to enroll you.
MSSF FALL KICK-OFF
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
University of Maine at Augusta
8:00-9:00 | Check-In
Arrive at UMA and sign up for Workshop Sessions
9:00-9:50 | Keynote
Failing Your Way to Success: Building Your Toolbox for Life Through Science Fairs
Paige Brocidiacono, Spark Climate Solutions
Paige Brocidiacono is a climate field builder and entrepreneur who got her start in science fairs. In 2016, she won first place in Global Good at the Intel (now Regeneron) Science Talent Search with her research developing solutions to nutrient pollution causing harmful algal blooms in her community of Bangor, Maine. She studied materials science at Stanford and started a weather company using low-cost, controllable weather balloons to improve forecast accuracy by unlocking new data sources. She now works as a climate field builder accelerating the emerging methane removal field with Spark Climate Solutions, a nonprofit. She continues to be involved in the science fair community, serving as a judge and mentor for several high school students. This presentation will be live-streamed.
10:00-10:45 | Workshop Session 1
You will choose from the sessions below. 4-Question Strategy will be live streamed. Teacher Panel is for teachers only.
- 4-Question Strategy for Developing Research Questions: Cary James presents the Four Question Strategy to help students develop strong, doable research questions. *This session will be live-streamed.
- Teacher Meetup: Meet other teachers and have guided discussions about making independent projects work in your classroom.
- STEM in the Real World: Students hear from people working at state agencies about how they make important decisions. Topics TBA.
- DataClassroom Demo: Aaron Reedy of DataClassroom shows how this powerful tool helps students explore, analyze, and display their data.
- Understanding IRB & SRC: Rebecca Clark Uchenna gives an overview of what kinds of projects require special approval from MSSF and the process for getting approved.
- Survey Design: Laura Muller gives tips on developing surveys that answer your burning questions while protecting participants from harm.
10:55-11:40 | Workshop Session 2
You will choose from the sessions below. Understanding IRB & SRC will be live-streamed. LaunchPad is for teachers only.
- Understanding IRB & SRC: Rebecca Clark Uchenna gives an overview of what kinds of projects require special approval from MSSF and the process for getting approved. *This session will be live-streamed.
- 4-Question Strategy for Developing Research Questions: Cary James presents the Four Question Strategy to help students develop strong, doable research questions.
- Judge Panel: Students can learn firsthand from judges about what to expect at MSSF, how to prepare and how judges review projects.
- LaunchPad for Teachers: Stefany Burrell introduces MSSF’s new science fair management system.
- Survey Design: Laura Muller gives tips on developing surveys that answer your burning questions while protecting participants from harm.
- STEM in the Real World: Students hear from people working at state agencies about how they make important decisions. Topics TBA.
11:40-12:30 | Birds of a Feather Lunch
Bring your lunch to one of five rooms to meet other students with common interests.
12:40-1:30 | Timeline, Next Steps, & Closing
We wrap up the day with an overview of MSSF support, our schedule of deadlines, and next steps for students who want to participate. This presentation will be live-streamed.
THE MSSF ONLINE COURSE
There is a new process for registration where each user can register themself:
- Click the button below to register for an account. They will get an email to finish creating their account.
- Once the account is created, we will enroll them in the MSSF courses. They will get another email when they have been given access to the courses.
Please allow one business day for us to enroll new registrants.
LIVE SESSIONS & RECORDINGS
Office Hours
Weekly on Wednesdays, 6-7PM,
Get help with any aspect of your project!
