Category: Press Releases

Girlstart will share a number of its STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education-based experiments, activities, and other pieces of knowledge from its 14-year history of providing groundbreaking STEM education for girls ranging from third graders to high school students. The Girlstart blog debuted today as a contributing organization to the TalkingScience blog (www.talkingscience.org).

Girlstart’s initial post can be found here:
www.talkingscience.org/2011/07/engineering-the-earth-exploring-wind-energy/

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to reach STEM-minded audiences through this collaboration with the Science Friday Initiative, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it,” said Julie Shannan, Deputy Director of Girlstart, overseeing the organization’s efforts to deliver weekly content to the blog. “This is particularly important to us, as we look to expand beyond our strong base in Central Texas to reach girls all over the United States.”

This year, Girlstart, through a partnership with the AMD Foundation, will be providing STEM summer camps in California, Colorado, and Washington State, the first time that the organization has hosted summer camps across the nation. Girlstart also recently, through a grant provided by NASA, designed STEM education curriculum designed for nationwide adaption.

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to highlight the great educational resources Girlstart has created,” said Leslie Taylor, Web Editor of TalkingScience.org. “TalkingScience aims to encourage young people to get excited about science, so Girlstart, and their mission to empower and equip students for success in STEM is a great fit for us.”

The first blog post from Girlstart will share a wind energy experiment in which students outfit toy cars with turbines to test the effectiveness of wind energy.

The TalkingScience blog is part of the Science Friday Initiative’s outreach efforts. The Science Friday Initiative is the non-profit partner of the Science Friday radio show airing weekly on National Public Radio.

TalkingScience.org is intended to cultivate enthusiasm for science and a desire for scientific literacy in the general public, to encourage young people to pursue STEM subjects in school, get involved with STEM-based extracurricular activities and pursue careers in STEM fields, and to support educators (teachers and parents) in their efforts to increase scientific literacy in the next generation.

For more information on Girlstart and its programming and resources, visit Girlstart’s website at www.girlstart.org.

To see the TalkingScience blog and more on the TalkingScience initiative, visit the official website at www.talkingscience.org/.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Phil West, Orange Cone Agency
512.769.3838, phil.west@orangeconeagency.com

The grant will be used to fund the expansion of Girlstart’s renowned Summer Camp program to five communities across the nation.

Girlstart, the Austin-based organization dedicated to STEM education for girls, will receive a grant from the AMD Foundation to fund game design education programs tied to this year’s slate of Girlstart Summer Camp programming. The grant will be announced during the opening ceremonies of the AMD-hosted Game On! Texas 2011 event Tuesday morning.

The grant will be used to fund the expansion of Girlstart’s renowned Summer Camp program to five communities across the nation. Girlstart Summer Camps are week-long educational programs for 4th through 10th graders, developed to increase interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects and careers, and integrating game development as a core component of the curriculum. The camps will serve an estimated 150 girls around the nation, held in proximity to AMD sites in Silicon Valley, Calif.; Bellevue, Wash.; Ft. Collins, Colo.; Orlando, Fla. and Boston, Mass.

BRINGING PROFESSIONAL WOMEN TOGETHER TO TEACH 500 MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS ABOUT STEM CAREERS

Girlstart will host an expected 500 4th through 8th grade girls for its annual Girls In STEM Conference this Saturday. Held at the University of Texas at Austin, the day-long conference is designed for girls to learn about real-world careers from professional women from a spectrum of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, with sessions that incorporate a variety of hands-on experiments.

Roxanne Wilson, known as “Austin’s Girl-on-the-Go,” who was a contestant on NBC’s “The Apprentice” and an on-air personality on Austin radio station The River 105.9, before her current position as a host on The Liquidation Channel, will be the keynote speaker for the event. A representative from the Mayor’s office will also appear at the event, to read the official proclamation declaring March 26 at STEM Education for Girls Day.

WHEN:

Saturday, March 26 (Opening Ceremonies 10:30-11:30 a.m., programming continues through 3:30 p.m.)

WHERE:

University Teaching Center, Room 3.122 (21st and Speedway)

ON-SITE CONTACT:

Phil West, 512.769.3838 (cell/text)

As part of the new SXSW.edu program – a two-day series of panels on education and technology hosted by the Texas Education Agency and South by Southwest – Girlstart Executive Director Tamara Hudgins will participate in a panel specifically geared to addressing issues around STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for girls.
The panel, “Collaborating and Communicating to Engage More Girls in STEM,” was organized by Tricia Berry of the Texas Girls Collaborative Project, and in addition to Hudgins, will include representatives from UTeachEngineering and the Austin Children’s Museum. Hudgins will not only elaborate on innovative ways in which Girlstart has developed STEM education for girls, but also plans to address the importance of furthering STEM education for girls.

WHEN:
Wednesday, March 9, 4:15 p.m.

WHERE:
AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, 1900 University Avenue
Classroom 107

ON-SITE CONTACT:
Phil West, 512.769.3838 (cell/text)