Girls learn there is a place in STEM for them at UMass Dartmouth

Apr 1, 2019

 

Girls from all over the South Coast programmed their own video games, talked to people from Finland via ham radio, and build catapults as part of UMass Dartmouth’s STEM4Girls program on Saturday.

The program, open to third through eighth grade girls, is intended to serve as a broad introduction to all of the disciplines in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

This year, more than 250 girls signed up — a new record since the program began.

“We’re introducing them to STEM ideas and giving them a good, positive experience on a positive college campus, and we’re trying to empower them to show them women can work in STEM fields,” said Chandra Orrill, Director of the Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in STEM Education.

For five hours, participants worked in 23 workshops run by university faculty from three different departments and local schoolteachers. Each workshop related in some way to STEM principles.

In one workshop, a Lloyd Center naturalist and biology professor showed students coastal wildlife. In another workshop, a ham radio operator helped the girls talk to people from as far away as Finland with nothing more than a radio and antenna.

UMass Dartmouth nursing professors and Tufts veterinary professors showed students sounds bodies make using equipment like stethoscopes.

“The workshop ideas came from the volunteers who led the workshops,” Orrill said.

College of Engineering Dean  Jean VanderGheynst delivered the keynote address, and students ended the day with a Q&A session about what they learned and what challenges they faced.

“We want them to accomplish feeling like there’s a place in STEM for them,” Orrill said. “We hope they learned a bit about STEM, but we really wanted them to leave feeling like they can do this and they know it’s really exciting.”