Girl Scouts Create Kitchen Table Scientists

School closures. Virtual learning. Math and Science proficiencies sliding. Many students aren’t getting the basics this year, much less having fun in the classroom. Enter Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta’s (GSGATL) STEM Expo, a one-day event featuring Science, Technology, Engineering, Math activities, and workshops. The Expo, designed to engage girls in chemistry, environmental, computer, and physical sciences went virtual November 7th, serving more than 200 girls from ages 6-18. Hands-on activities included animation, LEGO workshops, bug identification, ‘weird science’, and stream erosion prevention.

“We are committed to exciting girls about math and science,” said Amy Dosik, CEO of GSGATL. “Girls need fun and engaging STEM activities now more than ever as they face unprecedented challenges to learning.”

Girls could begin their Citizen Scientist Journey, assisting scientists nationwide who utilize crowdsourcing for research projects such as monarch butterfly tracking or soil moisture measurement. Girl Scouts taking the circuity workshop learned to make their own light-up diode card from previously mailed kits. Younger girls tracked the oceanic paths of decades-old sea turtles who nest on Tybee Island while Senior Girl Scouts met with women STEM leaders to discuss career options.

“Only about 25% of professional STEM jobs are held by women,” continued Dosik. “We want to change expectations of who can be a scientist and create a more diverse workforce.”

Also debunking stereotypes at STEM Expo was Wendy Brown, Ph.D. of Science Cheerleaders, a 300-strong nonprofit comprised of current and former collegiate and professional cheerleaders who work in STEM fields ranging from biochemistry to computer programming and encourage girls to do the same.

“Programs that diffuse the intimidation of STEM to show that it is fun and rewarding are so important,” said Brown, a member of the Biomedical Engineering department at the University of California Irvine. “If we engage and empower the more than four million cheerleaders in the U.S. to consider science professions, we can greatly increase gender equity in STEM careers and invent the science of the future.”