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Science Festival

In 2021, we are bringing you Science in the City virtually through an online platform of activities, games, and videos to demonstrate how science is at play in all aspects of City of Cambridge programming. 

News

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Upcoming Events

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Science in the City Videos & Other Things

Animal Control

Picture of the animal control team smiling in the office.

The Cambridge Animal Commission facilitates programs for animal control and welfare in the city and maintains Cambridge as a safe environment for people, pets, and other animals, through an educational and enforcement approach.

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Aquality 5

Over the course of the year, CRLS students created an education campaign for renters in Cambridge about the impacts of increased flooding due to climate change, including a video with CCTV.

Bike Mechanics Basics - AIR

Learn more about the science behind bike mechanics at the City of Cambridge bike workshops.

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Bike Mechanics - BRAKES

Learn more of the science behind bicycle mechanics at one of our City of Cambridge bike workshops

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Bluebikes

Image showing trips moving between hospitals on Bluebikes in 2020

The City of Boston made a great new Storymap to show data about trips taken during 2020. It's really great, and awfully science-y!

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Cambridge FloodViewer

Image of the FloodViewer Tool on the City website. Depicts areas of Cambridge that will flood during storms in the future.

The Flood Viewer has been developed as an informational tool for the Cambridge community to assess climate change threats from flooding and to prepare for it by implementing specific strategies.

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Cambridge Public Library

Check out the website to learn all about STEAM programming at the CPL!

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Cambridge Public Health Department Healthy Eating and Active Living

Did you know that the health of your teeth is important for your overall health? Watch this video and learn how to make good choices about drinking water, other beverages, and their effect on your teeth. Get important information about water acidity you did not realize you needed to know! A Cambridge Public Health Department Oral Health Specialist and Public Health Nutritionist make it fun and interesting to learn!

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Cambridge Solar Map

Image of 2020 Cambridge Solar Map showing City Hall and it's solar potential

Did you know that the City of Cambridge has a map that shows the solar potential on all buildings? Check it out!

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Combined Sewer Systems

Learn what a combined sewer system is and hear about a project Cambridge has undertaken to separate combined sewer systems and the many layers of work involved. 

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Curbside Compost

The curbside compost program restarts on May 17th! Learn how your food scraps create clean energy.

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Ducks in the Storm Drain

What are all those ducks doing in the storm drain???

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How Do Vaccines Work?

The COVID-19 Vaccine is free and one of the best ways to protect yourself and those around you from getting sick from COVID-19.

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Improve Local Rivers

Did you know that you can improve the quality of water in our local rivers?

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Open Data Scavenger Hunt

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Project GreenPlate

Join EF Glocal Challenge winning team Project GreenPlate as they show you the work they've done this year!

Recycling - a Virtual Tour

Learn how Cambridge's recycling is sorted at Casella's Charlestown recycling facility. See why plastic bags and other contaminants damage the machinery and how you can keep workers safer by Recycling Right.

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Sweeping & Rain Gardens

Do you know why Cambridge sweeps streets and is planting rain gardens? Learn what Cambridge is doing to protect waterways in this video.

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The Thrifting Project

CRLS students worked all summer and school year to educate Cambridge residents about the excessive water waste of the fast fashion industry.

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Water Department

Learn about the science behind how Cambridge water gets to our homes with Ranger Tim!

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Agenda for Children & The Center for Families

April 2021 At-Home Science and Math Activity Calendar

Enjoy science and math together with new ideas daily to do with your child in the April 2021 At-Home Activity Calendar! Designed for children birth to 4 years old but all ages are welcome to try the activities. The goal is to have fun! Parents – you can change the ideas to match your child’s age and interest.

Access the calendar here

Brought to you by Let’s Talk/Agenda for Children Literacy Initiative and Center for Families.

Questions: Call or text 617-800-9154 or email jbaily@challiance.org.

Aquality 5 CRLS and Glocal Challenge Project on flooding

Over the course of the year, CRLS students Aleahna, Ava, Gemma, Elaine, Elena, Ymari, and Nishat created a marketing campaign to educate renters in Cambridge about the impacts of increased flooding due to climate change.

Join us on April 23 at 4:15PM to learn more about this initiative.

Bicycle physics demystified!

Did you know that bicycles are the most energy efficient transportation machine ever invented? But how do bicycles work? Why is it easier to stay upright on your bicycle when moving at faster speeds? How and why does your bicycle use air to keep rolling?

Join us on Friday, April 23 at 4PM to learn more

In this workshop, we will answer these questions while breaking down some of the physics behind bicycles using props and demonstrations, so the next time you get on your bicycle, you will understand a little more of the science that creates the magic of bicycling!

Cambridge Energy Alliance & All In Energy

Local nonprofit All in Energy has partnered with the City of Cambridge to help the community achieve its goal of Net Zero Carbon Energy Use. The organization will be giving a talk during Science in the City on sustainable actions you can take this Earth Day, all of which are accessible through programs offered by the City of Cambridge and Eversource! The presentation will focus on renewable energy opportunities, avenues for energy efficiency, and electrification. Learn about how to get a no-cost home energy assessment, clean up your energy bill, and even start using 100% renewable electricity.

What: Take a sustainable action with All In Energy

When: Friday, April 23, 2021

Time: 1:40 PM to 2:15 PM

Join us at this link.

Project GreenPlate

Green and Yellow image that says "How green do you eat?"

Hello! We are Project GreenPlate and we are happy to introduce to you our Meatless Monday Madness Event! Project GreenPlate is a winning team of the EF Glocal Challenge, a partnership of Cambridge Public Schools, the City of Cambridge, and EF Education First.

Our mission is to impact water conservation through people’s diets. If we told you that over half of US water every year goes towards meat production, would you believe us? For this reason, we are working on reducing our community’s water footprint by raising awareness about the impacts of meat and providing spaces and opportunities for people to explore the meatless world through recipes, experiments, and games.

We believe that any small change can make a big difference! Participating in Meatless Mondays for an entire month saves up to ten thousand gallons of water on average per capita. Imagine the impact that we as a community can have, supporting each other in our water conservation!

Please help us to build a community of water conscious people, with varying backgrounds that can all make informed choices and differences in their respective lives and support our local eateries. Our target audiences have ranged from elementary school kids, to our high school community, from the customers, to our local chefs.

So far, we have hosted the following projects:

  • An Interview Series: To provide our community with the best opportunities and support local businesses, we take some time every week and spotlight a local meatless eatery through an interview with its owner! Check out our YouTube channel for episodes!

Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division

Food waste is approximately 40% of the trash in Cambridge. What are the global and local impacts of wasted food on climate change? Join DPW, the US EPA, and Eastern Research Group to learn how Cambridge is leading the region in reducing climate emissions from food waste.

Join us on Friday, April 23 at 2:15 PM to learn more!

Faucet Failures Floating Wetland Video Game

CRLS students Orlando, AK, Labeeb, Raymani, and Max worked diligently all year long to create a video game based loosely off of the newly installed wetland in the Charles River. They have been working with the wetland's creators at the Charles River Conservancy to make it a realistic as possible. Working with a video game designer, they have turned their custom drawings into a functioning video game!

Join us on Friday, April 23 at 3:20 PM to test out the game yourself!

Cambridge Historical Commission

The Cambridge Historical recently received a small collection of company materials, some of which will be shared on the presentation. A Q&A will follow, and audience members are encouraged to ask questions about Dewey and Almy or the Commission's other collections. For more information, check out the website dedicated to the collection.  

On Friday, April 23, join the Commission's archivist Emily Gonzalez at 12:40 for a brief look into the history of the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company, once headquartered in Cambridge, and some of their groundbreaking inventions. 

Stormwater Management

Stormwater @Virtual Cambridge Science Festival, April 9

You might not know about stormwater pollution, but it is happening right where you live and harms people and wildlife. Discover how stormwater picks up pollutants and washes them directly into rivers, streams, brooks and ponds. You might be surprised to learn about the invisible system of storm drains right under our streets. What are people doing to help reduce stormwater pollution? Find out and then speak up!

Page was posted on 4/15/2021 8:59 AM
Page was last modified on 12/19/2023 5:03 PM
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