Month: April 2017

Showcase

 

In this final week of Girlstart After School, the girls had the opportunity to pick some of their favorite experiments of the semester and redo them in order to show their parents the amazing things they had learned! The week before, the girls chose the top five experiments of the semester which included Lights Out, Cookie Mining, Sedimentation Rock Cups, River Pollution, and Miner Rescue.

 

The girls were split up into five groups and were in charge of rebuilding the experiment and creating informative posters. Along with this, the girls had to put together a presentation that explained the subject matter of the experiment and career that went along with it. Each group had a unique way of presenting that showed a bit of their personality. Some groups came up with a skit, others made a script, while others focused more on visual elements and allowed the experiment to do the talking. 

 

 

 

Once it came time for parents to arrive the girls were nervous but full of excitement.  As the girls presented, their understanding of the subject manner shined through. They answered all the questions and proudly displayed their Girlstart journals to show the scientific process they had to take in order to complete their experiment. At the end, many girls were sad to say goodbye but super excited to receive their Girlstart shirt and continue their journey through STEM!

 

 

Girlstart Clipboards

 

As the semester comes to a close, Girlstart To-Go students are planning for their future! During this clipboard activity, each student thought critically about their dreams and set stepwise goals to shoot for throughout their academic and professional careers.

STEM Crew leaders engaged their students in a discussion about their dreams and passions. Crew leaders asked girls about their favorite school subjects, where they envisioned themselves after college, and what topics made them feel excited. Groups talked about the steps that each individual person would need to take in order to reach their goals, as well as the obstacles that could stand in the way.

After discussing their goals at length with each other and their STEM Crew leaders, students decorated their own clipboards. Girls attached bright ribbons with colors representing the different stages of their academic and professional careers. The resulting bouquet of colors symbolized how each stage of education and professional life (including middle school through graduate school and beyond) would prepare students to accomplish their dreams. One color also represented the help from family and friends that would motivate and propel each girl’s success. Finally, students used markers to decorate their clipboards with pictures and words, describing their goals for the future. Each clipboard was just as unique as the girl that created it!