Girls' STEM 2019 Wrap Up

The 2018-2019 school year has been full of new STEM activities, all thanks to a generous grant made possible through the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.  It's been exciting to watch the Girls' STEM Leadership Group evolve throughout the year!  The focus of our earlier months had been preparations for the district-wide Iroquois Family STEM Night.  Starting in May, we were able to switch gears and direct our efforts more towards STEM programming of interest to our group members.  Here are the highlights from May and June:

May 1, 2019 Meeting
This was our first meeting after Family STEM Night.  The majority of our meetings up to this point have been hectic and jam-packed due to all the planning needed for STEM Night.  However, this meeting took on more of a relaxed tone.  During the meeting, we had a chance to debrief about STEM Night.  We discussed what went well, our favorite memories from the evening, and what we would like to improve upon for next year.  This conversation was really helpful as we were able to gather feedback directly from the girls who ran each station.  We then talked about all of the events and ideas that the girls would like to see implemented during the remainder of 2018-2019.  They had great programming ideas which we were able to put into action during our subsequent meetings.

Although this was a slower-paced meeting than most, it was probably my favorite meeting of the year.  It was valuable to get time to reflect on the year and make plans to move the group forward.  We don't normally have the chance to spend this quality time together as a group, so this meeting was a welcomed change of pace.


May 8, 2019 Meeting
At the May 1st meeting, the girls expressed that they felt that they had missed out on the chance to participate in many of the STEM Night events.  We decided to dedicate this meeting to trying out the VR Goggles and the drones (two popular STEM night activities).  The group had a wonderful time flying the drones throughout the library!

We also took time at this meeting to publicize other STEM-related events planned throughout the year.  The upcoming events included a Women in STEM Career Panel, a field trip to STEM workplaces, and a robotics/circuitry workshop.


May 15, 2019 Meeting
This meeting continued the theme of enjoying the Family STEM Night stations.  On May 15th, we met in Mrs. Ferger's room so the girls could enjoy making slime and bath bombs.  This was a fun time to try out the hands-on activities that they had worked so hard to plan for others.

Students follow the directions they created in order to make slime.

Mixing the slime.

Students enjoyed making homemade bath bombs.

May 21, 2019 Events
We had two larger events scheduled for May 21st.  During the school day, students were invited to attend a career panel featuring women employed in STEM fields.  After school, a cryogenics demonstration would be taking place.

Invitation to the May 21st events.

Women in STEM Leadership Panel
We were lucky to be able to secure seven women willing to speak with our group about their schooling and careers in STEM.  The panel included current science undergraduates, a Ph.D. student, a vet tech, a pediatrician, and engineers.  The women on the panel shared the reasons why they decided to enter a STEM field and what they find interesting about STEM.  Each woman shared their own unique stories about getting interested in STEM and the people that inspired them along the way.  A common theme that emerged in their responses was to not be afraid of failure.  Often, people have the misconception that you need to be super smart or perfect to enter a STEM field.  Instead, it is more important to be hard-working and curious.  Middle school is an opportune time to try out new interests and see where those interests may lead.  After the panel, students had a chance to "network" with our guests by asking them their own questions.  Over 50 girls took the time out of their schedule to attend this event.

The Women in STEM panel sparked lots of great discussion.

Praxair Cryogenics Demonstration
As the panel concluded, the girls were then treated to a cryogenics demonstration organized by employees at Praxair (now known as Linde after a company merger).  During our Family STEM Night, the Praxair room was very popular.  The girls that attended on May 21st were excited to get to see what they had missed while running the stations.  This demonstration included lots of information concerning physical science.  Infused within the presentation, the employees from Praxair provided information about their jobs and what makes STEM so exciting for them.  This was the perfect follow-up activity for after our career panel.

Employees from Praxair (now Linde) treated our group to a cryogenics demonstration.

STEM Workplace Field Trip
The morning of Monday, June 10th, 50 girls from Iroquois Middle School embarked on a field trip featuring a showcase of STEM workplaces in Western New York.  Our group was slated to visit Moog, Praxair (Linde), and the Niagara Power Vista.

Upon entering Moog, we received a tour of the area where engineers design products aimed at being light and efficient.  It was interesting to hear how each engineer uses the design process in order to optimize items for performance.  They mentioned that 3D printing, as well as lots of trial and error, play a role in this process.

Receiving a tour of Moog's facilities.

After our tour of Moog's lab area, we were then treated to a presentation from three different women employed at Moog.  Each shared their interests in STEM and what led them to pursuing a career with Moog.  One presenter shared her experience on NASA's "vomit comet", which simulates what it is like to be in outer space!

Hearing about experiences on NASA's vomit comet!

Receiving an overview about interest in STEM careers.

Getting another perspective on why engineering is an engaging career field.

Our group was then onto the next stop, which was Praxair (now known as Linde) in Tonawanda.  Students were already familiar with Praxair's work from their cryogenics demonstration and their Family STEM Night visit.  We were eager to see the Praxair workplace!

As our Praxair tour began, it was easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer size of the workplace.  It consisted of multiple lab spaces, as well as outdoor testing facilities.  Praxair did an amazing job organizing the workplace tour.  At each area we visited, we were greeted by female engineers who discussed their STEM interests and the basics of their careers.  It was valuable for our students to see such incredible female representation throughout the tour.

Praxair was generous enough to provide our group with a delicious pizza, salad, and chicken finger lunch before we left for our next destination.  The lunch even included liquid nitrogen ice cream, which was a huge hit!  We are grateful for the planning and attention that went into this special visit.

The final destination for the field trip was the Niagara Power Vista.  Although this is a STEM workplace for professionals, it also contains interactive displays for people of all ages visiting the facility.  Students enjoyed the flexibility to visit the displays at their own pace.

Posing at the Niagara Power Vista.

Enjoying the interactive displays!

The field trip was jam-packed, but it was a great day of STEM learning.  Our group plans on hosting another workplace tour next year.  We will look for other workplaces within the STEM field as well.  Many group members have expressed an interest in veterinary or health care workplaces as potential visit sites for 2020.


Robotics and Circuitry Workshop
Our group decided to hold one hands-on weekend workshop in order to give students some in-depth exposure to STEM concepts.  We couldn't think of a better way to accomplish this than providing students with the opportunity to learn from someone their own age!  Rose Scordo, now in seventh grade, has been interested in coding and robotics since the age of six.  She would serve as our leader for a four hour workshop on Saturday, June 15th.

Flyer announcing the Robotics and Circuitry Workshop

After a quick breakfast, Rose introduced the group to the various robots she had assembled and designed.  Students were then allowed to try their hand at coding and manipulating the robots.  This time to interact with the robots provided the group leaders with some ideas for next year's STEM purchases!

Rose introduces the group to her robots.

This robot had some amazing dance moves!

Some robots had a remote control.

Sphero was fun to chase around the library.

Rose is a true professional!

It was now time to delve into the circuitry and coding portion of the workshop.  Although our students had been introduced to coding concepts in the past, this was their first time using Microsoft MakeCode and the Adafruit Circuit Playground toolkit.  Rose showed students how to use the coding software, and how to create codes featuring the LEDs embedded into a circuit board.

Rose introduces students to Microsoft MakeCode.

Students individualized the projects by creating their own codes.

Next, the Adafruit supplies were unpacked.  Students were able to upload their codes into the circuit boards.

Unpacking the Adafruit supplies.

Connecting the circuit boards to upload the codes.

After the codes were successfully uploaded, students were then instructed to sew the circuit boards onto two scrunchies.  There was lots of deliberation involved in choosing the perfect scrunchies!  We were surprised to see that the girls ran into some difficulties with the sewing.  We thought that the coding would have been the hardest part, but that wasn't the case.

Sewing circuit boards onto scrunchies.

The final products were individually coded, LED scrunchies that responded to the girls' movements based on what they uniquely coded.  To celebrate their creations, the girls even created a dance to highlight the features of their scrunchies!

Proud of their hard work!

Showing off the finished products.

Dancing to show off the capabilities coded into their projects.

All of the workshop's participants.

Students expressed how much they enjoyed this opportunity.  It was a great day for all involved, and we're grateful to Rose for sharing her expertise with us.

We appreciate Rose's expertise.

Celebration!
Our final meeting of the year took place after school on Tuesday, June 18th.  We began the meeting by thanking the girls for their hard work, then invited them to participate in a short survey requested through the PEAR Institute and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.  The feedback collected via this survey will assist us in implementing even better STEM programming next year.

Invitation to the last event of the year.

After completing the survey and enjoying some refreshments, the girls participated in coding challenges featuring Terrapin Learning's Blue Bot coding tool.  We have plans to include the Blue Bot in the Family STEM Night offerings next year.

Coding with the Blue Bot.

Students coded the Blue Bots to avoid the "lava" placed on the mat.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

What a year it has been!  One of our main takeaways is that support for our program has been significant.  As we continue to network within the STEM community, people are eager to offer their advice and assistance.  We are grateful for all of the help we have received from so many in order to offer this program to our students.

Another takeaway is that empowering girls in leadership roles helps to bolster their confidence.  We advertised our STEM group as a leadership opportunity, and we believe that this has made all the difference in girls’ eagerness to partake in these learning experiences.  The girls involved in the leadership group displayed a keen sense of pride with their many accomplishments, including the Family STEM Night with hundreds of attendees!

We will be making programmatic changes in regards to our approach with high school students.  Although we are pleased that so many middle school girls have enjoyed our program, we also know that this will be a valuable opportunity for high school students as well.  Instead of offering programs at our middle school only, we will be branching out by hosting meetings at our high school.  We will also be partnering with high school administrators and science teachers in order to learn more strategies aimed at reaching high school students.