Middle School Scientists Head to MCLA For Region I Science Fair

03:38PM / Tuesday, April 14, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will host the Massachusetts Region I Middle School Science Fair on Wednesday, April 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.

The event brings together approximately 110 middle school students from across the region to showcase their original research projects.

Seven schools are participating this year: BArT Charter School, Hoosac Valley Middle School, St. Agnes School, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion School, Greenfield Middle School, Drury Middle School, and John F. Kennedy Middle School.

Students will present approximately 50 projects across five STEM categories: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Engineering, Environmental Science, and Behavioral and Social Science.

Projects will be evaluated by a panel of approximately 30 judges, including MCLA faculty, staff, and students, as well as representatives from McCann Technical High School, Berkshire Museum, Flying Cloud, Fuss and O'Neill, and Williams College.

"Participation in the middle school science fair introduces students to the practice of scientific research, and gives us a chance to celebrate their work," said Ann Billetz, Professor of Biology. "It also gives students the opportunity to spend the day on a college campus and interact with faculty, undergraduate students, and STEM mentors.

The event is open to community members who wish to attend.

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MCLA STEM Week Brings Hands-On Science to Berkshire Students

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
06:20AM / Saturday, October 31, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — From exploring the night sky in an inflatable planetarium to measuring the copper content of pennies in a college chemistry lab, students from across Berkshire County visited MCLA for a hands-on opportunity to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts welcomed elementary, middle and high school students throughout the week of Oct. 19 through 23 as part of the state's STEM week.

The college serves as the regional center for the Berkshire STEM Network, a state-funded partnership that aims to broaden efforts to expand science education through partnerships with local schools, museums and community organizations, said Ann Billetz, Berkshire STEM network coordinator and MCLA biology teacher.

The week's activities benefited both local students and the college community by providing hands-on learning experiences for younger students while giving MCLA students opportunities to apply their classroom knowledge by interacting with them, Billetz said.

Throughout the week, MCLA welcomed students from Abbott Memorial Elementary School in the town of Florida and Clarksburg Elementary School, and from Hoosac Valley Middle School in Cheshire for hands-on activities exploring astronomy, biology, chemistry and marine science, along with opportunities to interact with college students.

The excitement among younger students was evident throughout the week, Billetz said, recalling a seventh-grade physics activity in which a student correctly identified Galileo during a discussion of Newton's work and later excitedly shared the moment with her teacher.

"To see them excited about what they're doing, to have them be able to go home and talk about the experience they had at MCLA is phenomenal," Billetz said.

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