This past summer, on day three of Cool-ology’s five-day Engineering Camp, I asked the young participants (a mix of boys and girls ages 6-10) to draw what they thought an engineer looked like. We had previously discussed what engineers do, and the children were familiar with the engineering design process. In fact, campers had completed several engineering design tasks of their own. Here are their drawings:
Nine out of their ten drawings depicted men. We discussed why and how they thought this was so. And how it just shouldn’t be- that we NEED more people in the field- especially women!
It was an eye-opener for me. Even though I suspected this result, it was still shocking and was very disappointing to see. We have a long way to go!
I recently launched a Girls Mindful STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) series of classes for girls. The first class focused on mindfulness and chemistry. We discussed the chemical properties of and made slime- connecting the experience to being present and fully aware of their senses. The girls seemed to love it!
The next class was to focus on mindfulness and biology. The premise behind this class was to look at mindfulness through the lens of a biology teacher who was invited as a guest speaker (a female). We hoped to connect the mind-body experience in the class- using mindfulness as a relaxation technique and observing the results on the human body. Unfortunately, this class was canceled due to low enrollment. It was right before the winter holiday break (a crazy time for all), but I wonder if that was truly the reason more girls didn’t sign up.
The upcoming Girls Mindful STEAM class will focus on mindfulness and physics- specifically the physics of movement, sports, and dance. In this class, girls will learn how to better control their “blocks” (anxiety, fear, etc.) to be more successful in athletic competition (and in general). I am really hoping there will be enough participants to run this class!
If you know of a girl in your life who might be interested in enrolling, details can be found HERE. I am truly hoping that girls who participate will be inspired by STEM and eventually pursue a career in a STEM field!! There is so much more work to be done…
Until next time!
