October is a popular month for Girls in STEM programs. There are 45 Girl Power events in Robotevents, there may be some in your area. (February is also popular with National Engineering week.)
STEM Robotics has been doing Girl Power, Girls in STEM, Gears and Girls, etc. programs since 2009. In the last 5 years we’ve partnered with JROTC programs in Delaware and for the third year with the Cecil County (Maryland) School District. This has really brought programs to middle school Girls in Delmarva. Based on studies, if girls have a desire for STEM, specifically science and math by the end of middle school (8th grade in the US) they will most likely keep that through high school and university.
This year STEM Robotics and the University of Delaware chapter of the Society of Women Engineers an multiple sessions for 40 middle school girls. They all built a Mia Robot. Mia was created in a partnership between RECF and the Girls Scouts. https://recf.org/documents/2020/01/vex-iq-mia-kit-daisy-robotics-guide.pdf/
Mia is powered by dual rubber bands. It’s about 100 parts and can be assembled in 40 minutes. I like it because it showcases simple machines of levers, wheels and axles and gears of two different sizes. People think robots are all about the programming, but the mechanics is key. Simple machines are the way to start.
After building, the girls get a chance to test their Mia on a 2’ wide by 20’ long track (VIQ field). They can experiment with different rubber band sizes, different gearings, wheel sizes, etc. (I take extra parts that can be added). This year got a new “personal best for Mia” in 12’ 8". Awards were given to the best Mia drivers in each group.
But the key activity was the girls being able to interact and talk to the women engineering students. This gave a way to share info about how they got into the sciences, how they picked their majors, things to do in school, and what future plans they have. This interaction allows the girls to build connections, see that what they want to do is possible and for ways to get additional support.
Thanks this year to the Cecil County School District, the Cecil County School of Technology for a great facility and the women from the Society of Women Engineers. STEM Robotics is happy to play a part in getting new generations of women into STEM careers.