My Story
In 2017, I competed alongside my teammates in the National Championships of the Rube Goldberg competition in Columbus, Ohio. Through the competition, I had the hands-on opportunity to work with teammates and build a complicated machine to apply a band-aid. The teamwork and creativity aspect of the competition really sparked my interest in STEM and engineering, since we had the opportunity to build something that would directly accomplish a goal. This led me to try other collaborative competitions like FIRST Lego League. FIRST Lego League really opened my eyes to the problem solving and collaboration aspect of engineering, something that has stuck with me ever since I started competing. Through all of the competitions and programs I have participated in, I really enjoyed working with others and discovering new things, something I hope I can pass on to other girls.
My Project
I have coordinated with my sponsor to hold virtual MakerSpace sessions once a month that will address different engineering projects. To spread word of it, we have created a monthly newsletter, giving parents the opportunity to sign their children up in our program. At these MakerSpace programs, I, along with other volunteers/mentors, will teach participants about an engineering concept, idea, or project through presentations that we have created. After a brief overview and lesson, girls will be able to work together to accomplish the goals we set up for them. Some examples of what we will be doing are building Rube Goldberg Machines using common household materials, introducing them to 3-D printing, and having guest speakers talk about their role in engineering. We also hope to be able to answer any questions they have about STEM in middle school and high school, encouraging them to continue to pursue their interests.
Our philosophy is that we do not directly tell the girls what to do, but instead we try to gently push them into answering their own questions and making their own discoveries. We feel this is incredibly important because girls will be able to gain a better understanding for how to approach and solve a variety of problems.