By Theresa-Marie Wilson ~
Summer break is coming to an end and many kids are trying to squeeze in as much time away from the academics arena as possible. Things, however, are a little different down a worn road that ends just short of the Arroyo Grande Creek at the Central Coast Salmon Enhancement building where a group of young girls are joyfully packing learning into a five-day science camp.
The STEAM for Girls camp engages participants in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics) education. The group of 20 girls, who age in range from 7 to 12-years-old, explored physics, engineering, biology, ecology, chemistry, geology, and aeronautics under the mentorship of women who are experts in the individual fields.
“We started this camp three years ago as the Science for Girls camp because we were doing robotics camps and only boys were signing up for the camps,” said camp co-founder Tosha Punches. “We wanted to do something to engage the girls, so we offered the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) camp for girls only. This year, we changed the name to STEAM for Girls Camp, to include art. Our goal was to offer an opportunity to girls in an area of study where women and girls are not necessarily expected or encouraged to succeed—science. We want girls to see themselves in roles and careers they may not have previously considered for themselves.”
Each subject explored included a hands-on activity that served to bring learning to a different level. The girls created primitive art and wildlife habitat gardens, made and broke geodes, fashioned fossils in Amber, and built and launched propulsion and balloon rockets.
“It is fun, and I get to interact with other girls, learn about stuff that I didn’t know before and expand my knowledge about science,” said 11-year-old Loralei Dawson, who has attended the camp ever year since its inception. “My favorite STEAM topic is astronomy. I like studying about the stars in space.”
Mackenzie Ruppe, who was attending the camp for the first time, said she had fun too.
“I like science and art, and the camp sounded really fun,” said the 10-year-old. “I was right, it is so much fun. I love coming. I want to come every single year. I liked learning about rocks, minerals and prisms.”
There was also a weeklong project with a direct focus on problem solving skills, teamwork, and innovation. The girls were split into groups and were tasked with acting as engineers and biologists to come up with a design solution for the Arroyo Grande Creek Stream Gauge that benefits the steelhead trout population among other species.
Cool projects and activities aside, a strong component of the camp is offering girls an opportunity to become engaged and confident in science—a field traditionally dominated by males.
“Women hold less than 20 percent of computer science or engineering degrees, and there are currently more high paying jobs in STEM than any other industry,” said Punches. “Our goal is to reach these girls when they are young and not as subject to stereotypes. They don’t believe stereotypes yet; they still have high self-esteem for the most part, and can imagine themselves in non-traditional roles. We expose them to women throughout history who took on non-traditional roles and made contributions in science that are just as relevant as the men of their time. Our mission is to empower girls through STEM.”
As for the girls, they didn’t miss the boys that much.
“Some boys think, ‘Oh, you are a girl; you shouldn’t be doing science,’” said Dawson, who hopes to be a materials engineer building satellites for Vandenberg Air Force Base or an aerodynamic space engineer professor. “Whatever, I can do science too.
“Girls are free to do what they want to, and boys can be very annoying,” said Ruppe, who plans to be a geologist.
At the end of it all, the girls and their families took part in the sweetest science project around—ice cream made using liquid nitrogen with a molecular fruit caviar topping.
Ice cream with friends and family after a week of discovering some of what can be accomplished through science is not too bad of a way to say goodbye to summer.
The STEAM Camp for Girls is held in partnership efforts with Central Coast Salmon Enhancement, and STEAM Trunk, and is assisted by Cal Poly’s VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program.
