April 8, 2 020 | Issue 57
Upcoming Events

April 10 - Spellman HV Clean Tech Competition registration ends.

April 20 - Submission due for Science Without Borders Competition.
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO?
Have you found yourself bored, counting the tiles in the bathroom, and pacing around the house looking for something to do? Look no further! The NorCal STEM Education is always looking for fun experiments you can do from home to keep your brain sharp, and your kitchen messy. A baking soda volcano is so 2008.

Head over to our Pinterest Page to check out some fun experiments you can do from home!
The 2020   Science Without Borders Challenge  is now open to submissions! This annual art contest inspires students from all over the world to be creative while learning about important ocean science and conservation issues. The theme for this year’s competition is “Take Action: Conserve Coral Reefs,” and scholarships of up to $500 will be awarded to the winning entries. 

To enter the 2020 Science Without Borders Challenge, follow the   Contest Rules , fill out the online   Submission Form , and send in a piece of art that illustrates one or more of the different actions that can be taken to preserve coral reefs.

The Challenge is open to all students who are 11-19 years old. Entries must be received by Monday, April 20, to be eligible to win.
The NorCal STEM Education Foundation reminds you to wash your hands frequently, and follow the guidance of your local public health officials. We look forward to healthier and happier times.
A Message from the Society for Science & The Public about the 2020 Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF): 
Given the unprecedented travel restrictions, government recommendations and protective measures being taken across the world, the Society and Regeneron believe the most responsible decision is to cancel this year’s Regeneron ISEF and avoid gathering thousands of people and students from around the world.
 
Regeneron ISEF is a cancellation and not a postponement or a virtual judging experience after much thought and consideration.  This decision was made with an awareness that many of our affiliate fairs were not able to be held and we did not want to hold an event that left out a significant portion of our community.  Likewise, we were concerned with the equity of virtual judging experience across time zones, languages and access.  
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Please visit the Society’s website for their full statement and more information.
 
We look forward to healthier and happier times and to Regeneron ISEF 2021.
2020 California State Science and
Engineering Fair Canceled
The California State Science Fair (CSEF), after much consideration, regrets to announce that due to the COVID-19 crisis, CSEF 2020 has been canceled. Students who have already paid their Application Fees will have those fees refunded. CSEF will be held once again on April 12-13th of 2021. See you all there!
Sponsor STEM Education Today!
Does your organization support STEM Education? Would you like to be more involved? Then consider becoming a sponsor of the NorCal STEM Education Foundation, today! All sponsors receive benefits such as being featured on our website and marketing materials.

All the money goes toward increasing student interest in STEM! It's a win-win! If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring the Foundation, either monetarily or with in-kind goods or services, please visit our sponsorship page on the website to learn more.
How Long Does it Take Legos to
Decompose in the Ocean?
Prior research has shown that plastic water bottles take decades to break down in the ocean, but a single Lego, which is thicker and studier than a traditional water bottle, could take hundreds of years to break down in the ocean.  
Estimating the timespan of trash disintegrating in seawater is often a challenge. Luckily, the composition of Legos bricks has changed over time, making it a little easier to narrow down when the bricks may have its way into the ocean.

Using the blocks’ chemical fingerprints, the team identified bricks manufactured around the 1970s. One key chemical indicator was cadmium, used to make bright yellow and red pigments from the early 1970s until the early 1980s, when it was phased out due to toxicity.

To gauge how worn down the beached Legos got during 30 to 40 years at sea — due to factors like abrasive sediment and exposure to sunlight — the researchers used their X-ray fluorescence measurements to match weathered Legos with mint condition bricks kept in collections by collectors since the 1970s.

The weathered versions found only had 3 to 40 percent less mass than their mint-condition counterparts. Based on those measurements, scientists estimate that it would take 100 to 1,300 years to completely break down a single Lego brick in the ocean.

Learn more here ! 
Scholarships and Competitions
Amazon Future Engineer Program Offers Free Coding Lessons!
Amazon Future Engineer is a four-part, childhood-to-career program aimed at inspiring and educating hundreds of thousands of students from underrepresented and underserved communities each year to try computer science and coding. Amazon and BootUp PD, have to worked together to offer free access to lesson plans and coding resources for students to develop creative coding projects from home. And on top of that, their partner Code.org is hosting new “Code Break” episodes with special celebrity guests every Wednesday to teach students about computer science.

Their fully sequenced course available for grades second-twelfth focuses on block-based coding and text-based coding for more advanced students, and are even available in English and Spanish!

For students in middle school and high school, Amazon Future Engineer is providing free access to sponsored computer science courses, including Introductory and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Through this offering, teachers can also access online professional development. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Amazon Future Engineer is also providing access to EarSketch, a free program that helps students learn to code through music. Grammy-award winning artists Ciara and Common have both provided songs that students can remix from home using code.

Learn more here !
Spellman HV Clean Tech Competition
Want an opportunity to win $10,000?! The Spellman HV Clean Tech competition is a sustainability focused research competition for 15-18 year olds. This event is a wonderful opportunity for students to show off their research in sustainability and innovation!

The Spellman HV Clean Tech Competition is looking for students who can come up with a solution to slow our resource drain, and as they are all virtual until our July Finals, the competition is still moving ahead!! If you are passionate about addressing this international issue with creative engineering and a revolutionary design, this is the Competition for you!

Contestants research a specific solution to this problem, register for free online in teams of 1-3 , and then submit a 5-15 page paper to be judged by an international team of engineers, university instructors and industry professionals! Registration ends on April 10 and papers are due by April 12 , so do not delay! The 2020 Finals event is set to be held on July 2nd in Washington, D.C., where Finalist teams will present their research and constructed prototypes as they vie for the $10,000 per category grand prize !

For more information, visit go to their website here , and feel free to reach out the administrator at cleantech@cstl.org or by phone at (516) 764-0045.

NorCal STEM Education Foundation | www.sacSTEMfair.org