MCLA, Berkshire County STEM Network Celebrate STEM Week

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire County Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Week will be held on Oct. 17-22. 
 
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and the Berkshire County STEM Network will offer virtual programming for local public-school students, K-12 educators, and the general community.  
 
Berkshire County STEM Week's theme is "See Yourself in STEM." 
 
The week is free and open to the public and will feature a virtual series of panels, workshops, speakers, virtual tours, and information about opportunities that exist in science, technology, engineering, and math in the Berkshires and beyond.   
 
Pittsfield Community Television (PCTV) will be the platform host for the week's series of events. Community members can access programming on cable access or at www.pittsfieldtv.org. See a full program schedule at www.mcla.edu/stemweek.  
 
Monday, Oct. 17 sessions will include "How to Keep Farmers Farming" with Berkshire Grown, "Fall Owling" with Williams College, "Organic Agriculture" with Full Well Farm, and "A Star Show" at the Williams College Planetarium.  
 
On Tuesday, PCTV will air a workshop on "Predictive Motion." General Dynamics staff will be at MCLA assisting with a science course and the North Adams Public Library will be celebrating STEM Week with an Afterschool STEM Craft at 3:30 pm.  
 
Wednesday at 11:00 am, Berkshire Community College will be celebrating its new One Stop Enrollment Center, Berkshire Science Commons, and other new facilities with a Ribbon Cutting event, and at 3:00 pm the Berkshire Museum will hold a "Berkshire Backyard Exploration" workshop.  
 
Thursday's events include "STEAM Challenge Night," organized by the Flying Cloud Institute, starting at 4:30 p.m. at Hancock Shaker Village. It will include hands-on science, art, and engineering challenges for those in grades K-8 and their families all throughout the Village.  
 
On Friday, at the Berkshire Innovation Center, MassHire will be sponsoring a STEM and Manufacturing Job Fair, in-person from 10 a.m. - noon.
 
STEM Week will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Canoe Meadows Community Garden, where Mass Audubon will conduct a Sparrow Migration Workshop as part of its Fall Birding programming series.  
 
Berkshire STEM Week is part of the state initiative Massachusetts STEM Week. For more information and a listing of all statewide program go to www.massstemweek.org.   
 

Tags: MCLA,   STEM,   

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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.

Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.

We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.

In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.

Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear. 

The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.

"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."

Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.

In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.

The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.

"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.

They are hoping their display carries on the tradition of the Arnold Family Christmas Lights Display that retired in 2022.

The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.

In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.

"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said. 

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