Optical Illusions
Now you see it, now you don’t! Make your own optical illusion craft to see how your brain reacts. Our brain often uses shortcuts to process the information we come in contact with everyday. Test out your craft and see if it “tricks” your eyes and brain into thinking the two separate images are on the same side of the paper!
Biofuels
At Girlstart, we encourage our students to create solutions to pressing scientific problems. This week, girls discussed the dwindling amounts of Earth’s nonrenewable resources and learned about biofuels, before creating their own! Girls discussed the pros and cons of using nonrenewable and renewable resources. Each group offered examples of renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity, solar, and wind energy. After refreshing their memories by reviewing important vocabulary, girls were ready to create their own biofuels.
Each group was given three bottles of warm water which were marked “yeast + water”, “yeast + corn syrup + water”, and “yeast + bran + water”. Students worked together to carefully add the ingredients, then covered the bottle openings with balloons. Girls wrote down a hypothesis for each bottle, stating what they believed would happen to the balloons.
After waiting a few minutes and shaking things up, the girls had their results! The bottles with yeast, corn syrup, and water had balloons with lots of air, while the bottle with yeast, bran, and water had a little less air, and the bottle with yeast and water had little to no air at all. Students had a lively discussion about their reasonings for the difference in balloon sizes. Girls were amazed at the results of the chemical reactions they created, and linked it back to the conversation about nonrenewable and renewable resources.
This activity allowed the girls to be biofuel engineers for a day, comparing the fuel production of different plants. With a few items that can be found in most kitchens, Girlstart is equipping girls to create innovative solutions for the future!
Exploring Water Pollution
At Girlstart After School To-Go, we encourage students to create innovative solutions to problems like pollution. In order for our girls to design quality solutions, they first need to see the problem’s effects firsthand. In week 6, students created the pollution problem, then brainstormed and tested creative ways to solve it. Read on to learn about some of their designs!
Groups were given a cup of clean water and followed the development of a beautiful meadow into an urban parking lot. Human actions, such as littering in parks, fertilizing their yards, and pouring paint down storm drains, have a significant effect on the quality of our drinking water. By adding pollutants like oil, plastic, soil, detergent, and styrofoam to their cup of water, girls were able to see the pollution process for themselves. Everyone agreed that the cup of clean water was now too gross to drink!
Having seen the disgusting effects of pollution on clean water, girls designed a filter system to try to bring the water to a drinkable state once again. Groups were given water bottles and filtering materials, such as charcoal, cotton, and pebbles. After the students layered their filtering materials, they tested the efficiency of their designs. After observing the filtered water, leaders encouraged groups to assess their layers and think of future improvements.
At Girlstart, we encourage future environmental engineers to examine the causes of pollution in order to help them create excellent solutions!
Dave Stump, Pierpont Communications VP for Business Development, joins Girlstart Board of Directors
Girlstart is pleased to announce that Dave Stump, the Vice President of Business Development for Pierpont Communications (based in Houston, with offices in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio), has joined the Girlstart Board of Directors.
Stump is the first Girlstart board member outside of the Central Texas region, and his election to the board reflects both the expansion of Girlstart programs and the increasing importance of its programming in the Houston area.
“We’re thrilled to have Dave as a member of our Board of Directors,” said Tamara Hudgins, executive director of Girlstart. “Dave is an energetic and active participant in Houston’s business community, and he is fully committed to our vision of inspiring girls toward STEM degrees and STEM careers. We look forward to Dave helping us inspire more girls in Houston, throughout Texas, and beyond in the years to come.”
“I’m excited to be joining the Girlstart Board of Directors,” Stump said. “I’d like to see more girls develop the interest in STEM education that my two daughters have developed, and I look forward to working with an impactful organization to help girls across this great city and state become inspired to learn.”
Stump joins an active board that has been instrumental in sustaining Girlstart’s award-winning, nationally-scalable STEM education programs for girls, lauded by the likes of the Afterschool Alliance, Change the Equation, SXSW Interactive, and most recently, the Atlantic Media/Allstate Renewal Awards.
Stump is also the Past President of Ballet Theatre Houston, a current board member of the TKB Foundation and the Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church, and the past chair of multiple committees at the Greater Houston Partnership, including Business Development, CEO Roundtables, and Leadership Roundtable, as well as participation on its Membership Services Advisory Committee.
ABOUT GIRLSTART
Girlstart, founded in Austin in 1997, is the only community-based informal STEM education nonprofit in the nation specifically dedicated to empowering and equipping girls in STEM, through year-round programming that promotes girls’ early engagement and academic success in STEM, encourages girls’ aspirations and persistence in STEM education and careers, and incubates a talented and diverse STEM workforce. Its innovative, nationally-recognized programs include after-school and summer camps for students, professional development for teachers, and community and online STEM education outreach programs. Girlstart cultivates a culture where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected. As a result, Girlstart girls are connected, brave, and resilient. Girlstart makes girls more successful, and inspires them to take on the world’s greatest challenges.
