EMPOWERING GIRLSTHROUGH

By: Mark Marshall

We are always looking at ways to empower girls and create opportunities through robotics, engineering and science disciplines.

On Saturday November 19, 2022, we hosted our first ISB Girl-Powered STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics) Event for girls in Grades 2-5. This was a hands-on event which had four stations of activities including lava lamp creation, robot catapult coding, balloon boat construction and water bottle rockets.

In addition, all stations were planned and led by HS students from the SWENext Club. It was a wonderful way to build connections and to collaborate across the school. Students spent the morning rotating through each activity station and got a chance to code, create, problem-solve and design alongside their parents.

Each group of girls were assigned a team name inspired by a prominent female scientist or leader including Jane Goodall, Mae Jemison, Tu YouYou and Rosalind Franklin.

The event culminated in a celebration with a girl powered cake. We hope to continue to offer these kinds of events in the future to build understanding of the importance of diversity and equity in science and engineering.

Special thanks to the planning committee led by Sarah Steward, Libby Pool, Anthony Giles and Mark Marshall.