Ambassador Girl Scout Kourtney Collier recently completed the main component of her Gold Award Project with a STEM workshop aimed at giving 4th and 5th grade girls a glimpse into the world of science and math. The girls learned about atoms and non-newtonian substances by making “slime,” learned about phases of mater while making ice cream, and explored kinetic and potential energy working with catapults. Here a few of the comments the girls made at the conclusion of the workshop,
“We learned new things in the STEM field.”
“You have to be a problem-solver.”
“STEM is fun!”
“It is important for girls and women to be in the STEM field.”
In addition to the workshop, Kourtney, a senior at Valpo High School, used social media to provide information about STEM. On Facebook Kourtney has reached out to 645 people with 175 followers on Instagram. Another outreach component of the Gold Award project was provided by Kourtney’s project mentor, Mary Costa, a chemist at Arcelormittal. Donated bags and a flyer which was developed about females in STEM fields are being distributed to women clients at Housing Opportunities.
“I believe the project went well and think I may have sparked an interest in some future female STEM graduates that will last a lifetime,” Kourtney concluded.