Hello VEX Community,
Engaging females in STEM is a topic close to many of our hearts, and it’s so important we make conscious efforts to bridge the gap and encourage girls to engage in STEM early! While this is a universal need, I recently came across a fantastic resource that is AU-specific and wanted to share it with all of you.
THE GiST offers an inspiring Poster Series that showcases women who have made significant contributions to STEM fields, both past and present across all ages. I loved the idea that these women are accessible and their stories are relatable.
Please share what you are doing in your classrooms to inspire girls in STEM.
- Have you used similar resources?
- Do you have any classroom activities that are designed to engage girls in STEM?
- Are there any success stories you’d like to share?
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@Nicole_Champagne What an awesome resource! I actually opened up the Community to post something related, so I will share it here! I just came across this series of positive blog posts that synthesize some hopeful research related to closing the STEM gender gap. Each post links out to the research articles they are discussing, so if you want to dig in further, you can!
The series is called “But They just aren’t Interested in Computer Science” and is from csedresearch.org. Check it out!
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@Nicole_Champagne this is so awesome!! Thank you so much for sharing! 
@Aimee_DeFoe I love this resource too! This is great.
@AlainaHaws and I did an interview with other women from VEX for a Women in Science video a year ago, it was really amazing to be able to share our experiences.
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In honor of International Women’s Day, I thought this was a great thread to revive! The posters that @Nicole_Champagne shared to kick it off are a fantastic resource! (Just a couple are pictured here).
This year’s International Women’s Day ‘theme’ is “Inspire Inclusion” - which is a message that applies so broadly, and in STEM fields as well.
I’m curious to know if anyone is doing anything specifically around women in STEM or “inspiring inclusion” with their students? Have you found any good books or resources that you can share, to add to the resources in this thread?
I’ll tag some of you to get the conversation going… @Desiree_White-Price @Tina_Dietrich @Danielle_McCoy @Anna_Blake
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@Desiree_White-Price and I have implemented a Mother/Daughter VEX Club. They are building robots and competing in the Ocean Science Exploration Competition together. We have also had a variety of local Women Engineers come in to speak to the girls/moms about their experiences in their careers. We have had an alumni who works in the engineering field, as well as representatives and current students from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineer (Women in Engineering Program) speak about their experiences in school.
@Desiree_White-Price and I are doing a poster presentation at the VEX Educators Conference with more information about this program!
This is one of our greatest passions at the moment!
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That is amazing!! I can’t wait to learn more about this initiative at the conference!
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