• It was a challenge this year to recruit enough judges for the whole school science fair. The program manager conducted outreach efforts within MGH and at local universities and community organizations. Many judges were unable to participate during the week of the fair due to an outbreak of the Norovirus. To supplement the daily number of judges the program manager worked with the school administrators to recruit math, science and literacy coaches as well as school volunteers and parents. The new judging rubric created by the program manager helped the judges to assess students more efficiently and reduced the amount of time needed for each interaction. Judges were able to spend less time on scoring and more time talking with the students about future projects.
• The state science fair board increased the restrictions for student projects again this year. It is increasingly difficult to meet the requirements. Mentored middle school students are not allowed to use the same range of materials and procedures as high school mentored students. The MGH program is unique because most mentoring programs bring high school students into the lab. This year the program manager had to work with the committee to gain permission for several of the mentored projects. Even with a qualified scientist signature some materials and procedures are not allowed.
• The most challenging aspect of the program evalaution has been the development of scales and measures to assess student-level outcomes. There is a paucity of research and literature on assessment instruments for the constructs of interest in this project (e.g., attitudes towards science and science class, interest in science, interest in a career in science). While several of these constructs have been measured in high school, college, and adult populations, they have not been adequately explored among middle grades youth. The solution adopted by MGH staff and the external evaluators was to using existing measures when available and appropriate, to create new measures by adapting items from existing measures when possible, and to create new measures only as a strategy of last resort. Using a participatory approach to the evaluation, the evaluators and the Program Manager have finally created a student assessment instrument that we feel accurately captures the constructs of interest.

• MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, BOSTON AND ORTHO-MCNEIL NEUROLOGICS, INC. PARTNER TO ENGAGE NEW ENGLAND CHILDREN IN THE WONDERS OF THE BRAIN (BOSTON), APRIL 27, 2007. More than 9,000 students in New England schools will discover the intricacies of the human brain through the IMAX® film Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France, and explore popular Exhibit Hall offerings spotlighting the human body as part of a new educational program at the Museum of Science, Boston. Sponsored in part by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc., the "Wired to Wonder" program is designed to engage children from underserved communities in the wonders of the brain and extend the lessons of the Museum of Science into the classroom. Teachers who bring students to the Museum may request educational materials, which can be used during classroom activities following the field trips. The "Wired to Wonder" program kicks off on Friday, April 27 when teachers, parents and students from Timilty Middle School in Boston tour the Museum and watch a special screening of Wired to Win. The remaining Ortho-McNeil-sponsored trips for underserved schools take place during the following school year, from December 2007 through April 2008. Beginning this June, teachers can find more information and an online order form for complimentary Wired to Win materials at mos.org/educators. Teachers who are interested in registering their students for a sponsored field trip to the Museum of Science can apply by calling 617-723-2500. www.mos.org
• Design Squad is a PBS show where students are given a design challenge that they must address using engineering strategies and teamwork. A student from the Timilty has been on the show this year. Auditions are held around the country. The website has many resources for parents and educators. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/
• The U.S. Department of Education Fact Sheet, "Gender-Specific Approaches in Mentoring" http://www.edmentoring.org/pubs/factsheet16.pdf has information about mentoring relationships that will be helpful for new mentors.

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