Girl Scouts around the Chippewa Valley area in Wisconsin, recently spent a day learning in depth about science. The Women and Gender Minorities in STEM club at UW-Eau Claire partnered with The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great lakes to hold the Science Trekkers event.
Attendees were able to experiment with liquid nitrogen, visit the planetarium, and see several other demonstrations. The ultimate goal of the event is to allow girls to realize that they have a place in the wonderful world of STEM careers and classes.
Meghan Roeser, Girl Scouts intern stated that, “There’s a lot of gender stereotypes that come with STEM, The idea that somehow girls don’t belong in science, technology, engineering and math, but also there’s not a whole lot of role models for them at this age. By having this opportunity, they not only get to directly connect with a student organization on campus that is trying to break those barriers and break those stereotypes down, but also by doing this in this fun environment, it’s a noncompetitive way for them to be able to explore science and explore areas of STEM that make it really fun and engaging for them.”
Overall, Roeser said that a total of over 40 Girl Scouts attended the Science Trekkers event and earned either a home scientist or mechanical engineering badge.
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