Girl Scout event inspires girls to pursue STEM careers

Hundreds of young girls listen intently as Dr. Bonnie Dunbar talks
about her adventures in space
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Emily Goergen, Girl Scout Junior, Troop 41002

Over 400 girls in Kindergarten through 6th grade, 200 adults, and 140 exhibitors and volunteers participated in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) event organized by a troop of 4th and 5th grade Girl Scout Juniors on Saturday, May 11th, at Einstein Middle School in Shoreline.

Dr. Dunbar autographed photos
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The event featured speakers including retired female astronaut Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, who was recently inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame,® and video game designers Bronwen Grimes and Kristine Ishii. Girls also participated in hands-on activities, such as learning about needs and wants with a CPA, extracting DNA from strawberries, and constructing penny boats.

Solar cooking, bicycle powered smoothies, slugs under a microscope
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The troop decided to host the event when they heard that kids decide whether they are interested in STEM fields by about third grade, while most STEM programs target middle- and high-school students. Additional research shows that meeting an inspiring person and doing a hands-on activity are more likely to get kids interested in STEM fields than book-based classroom instruction.

Women in STEM fields talked to the girls
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Participants had plenty of opportunity to do both. Dr. Dunbar shared her photos from space and stressed the need for more females in scientific fields, including the need for more female astronauts. Ms. Grimes and Ms. Ishii spoke to Junior Girl Scouts about how video games are developed. In addition, scientists, developers, physicists, and other women in STEM fields met with small groups of girls to talk about what they do.

Parent volunteer Tami Berry and organizer Emily Goergen
try the egg drop
Photo by Heather Fitzpatrick

The event also featured an egg drop sponsored by University Mechanical Contractors Inc. Over 100 girls submitted entries for the competition. After the first round, which involved dropping an egg 20 feet, 12 submissions survived the 30 foot drop in the final round.

I believe I can fly
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Other featured activities included the University of Washington’s planetarium exhibit, the Shoreline Solar Project’s hands-on solar oven construction workshop, a demonstration of the robotic life suit from They Shall Walk, bicycle powered smoothies from the Cascade Bicycle Club, and assembling and flying balsam wood gliders with Boeing and Alaska Airlines volunteers.

Junior Girl Scout Troop 41002 with Dr. Bonnie Dunbar
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The event was organized and managed by the girls in Junior Girl Scout troop 41002. From the ideas about what to include in the event to the design of the badge, from the registration form to the rules for the egg drop, the event was developed by girls who are nine to eleven years old, with help from adults who coached them along the way.

Heather Fitzpatrick is the leader of the troop, which includes girls from Edmonds, and Shoreline.