Last Saturday, April 17th, was the last day of our VIRTUAL Spring 'Planet Earth' Clubs! This past semester, girls have learned Earth’s layers, animal habitats, biomes, volcanoes, and more. In the final week, girls presented on their favorite things about Spring Clubs and our planet to their peers, mentors, and families. In a virtual poster session, the girls and mentors turned Science Club into a science conference with over 100 participants! Each young scientist practiced their presentation skills sharing detailed features of their posters, while listeners were encouraged to give analytical feedback, uplifting their peers. Our girls have truly given us a glimpse of what the future of the STEM workplace looks like: inclusive, supportive, with many women leaders. The mentors and Junior Mentors gathered to share what they appreciated about their co-mentors. Through the testimonials, the mentors expressed how they felt such a strong connection with each other and how their group dynamic enabled them to lead clubs effectively. One shared, "As a first year mentor, I've felt incredibly welcomed into the community and have had a great time being a mentor. The staff prepared me well for the clubs, and I have felt appreciated the whole time." This experience allowed everyone to leave the meeting feeling empowered and recognized for their dedication to the mission of Science Club for Girls: engaging girls in STEM through experiential learning and strong mentorship.
To learn more about the experiments that clubs did this semester, you can watch the #WeekinReview videos created by our Junior Mentors. In Week 4, Junior Mentors Ali and Sophia collaborated to create a video about animal habitats including tundras, rainforests, and grasslands. Keep an eye out for more Spring #WeekInReview videos coming soon!
Currently, our week-long Coding Club is underway. From learning the basics of coding in HTML and CSS such as header tags and adding color to web pages, each coder is able to expand their horizons with regard to computer science and run programs and create their very own web pages. Clubs incorporate movement breaks such as Just Dance and Guess That Song, along with daily icebreakers where girls discuss, with SCFG staff and each other, their daily lives and favorite hobbies. The tight-knit cohort includes 17 excited middle school girls from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM, and is led by Nimisha, our Program Intern from UMass Boston's UTeach Program.
To complement hands-on clubs for our scientists, Science Club for Girls recently began a Career Empowerment Series for Mentors and Junior Mentors. This series of three seminars and panel discussions allows women to network for their career in STEM and hear inspiring stories from women with similar backgrounds and interests. Following the last session of our Spring 'Planet Earth' Clubs, SCFG hosted a career panel with members of the New England Women in Energy and Environment and the American Association of Blacks in Energy. Panelists shared insight as to what career paths are available for individuals interested in energy conservation and the environment. “Play your strengths and prove them wrong,” was a consistent, yet powerful statement voiced throughout the panel. On April 28th, Catalyst Awardee Dr. Rana el Kaliouby will join SCFG for an interactive conversation about her book Girl Decoded: A Scientist's Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology. Dr. el Kaliouby will share her journey into STEM, how to overcome obstacles, and how to embrace your own emotions to find your inner voice.
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