Gloucester Volunteer Opportunities

For all opportunities, please contact:
Jessica Garrett
617-253-2865
MIT Edgerton Center
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-408
Cambridge, MA 02139

Technology Donations

If your company or lab is getting rid of equipment, please contact us! It might be very useful in the classroom. Particularly needed are scientific calculators and laptops.

Classroom Visits

The story of how you became inspired to study science, mathematics, or engineering, and what you work on each day is important to share with students. You can inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers! If you would like to speak to a classroom, please contact us so that we can connect you to the appropriate teacher.

History of the MIT Edgerton Center and the Gloucester Project

Carrying on the legacy of Institute Professor Harold E. Edgerton, the Edgerton Center creates opportunities for students to engage in challenging, hands-on activities and projects in engineering and science. For over twelve years, the MIT Edgerton Center has been working to inspire K-12 students to pursue STEM careers and apply to MIT. Projects began in our backyard with neighboring community schools, but two years ago, we reached out a school system further away: Gloucester. The Gloucester pilot project is a collaboration between Gloucester Public Schools, the Gloucester Education Foundation, and the MIT Edgerton Center to provide in-school support for STEM subjects and connect schools to MIT outreach resources. During the last year, the Edgerton Center staff worked with the MIT Alumni Association to assess the potential for a nationwide MIT alumni volunteer program and to begin a pilot project in eastern Massachusetts, placing alumni in school systems like Gloucester. During the Cape Ann Alumni event in March, we met many alumni who were interested in helping begin this work in Gloucester.

2008-2009 MIT ALUMNI VOLUNTEER PLACEMENTS • Two alumni talked with 6th graders at teacher Caitlin Sumner’s science and technology career fair. • Another alumnus, who currently works at the MIT Nuclear Reactor, visited 8th grade classes and gave students a tour of the Nuclear Reactor and the Plasma Science and Fusion Center a few days later. • A Gloucester High School chemistry teacher was invited by an alumnus to attend a meeting of the New England Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NESCC) where she met a number of chemists interested in assisting her develop a curriculum based on cosmetics. • For the entire spring semester, a group of Gloucester middle school students learned about traditional wooden ship hull design and construction, and applied those methods to their own CAD designed hulls with their 6th grade science teacher and an alumnus. • The son of an alumna volunteered for the two-week MIT-Gloucester Science Summer program at the Maritime Heritage Center. • Another alumnus continued his work with the Gloucester High School FIRST Robotics team.