More than 100 fifth- and sixth-grade Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. girls explored science, technology, engineering and math during an interactive event.
The school corporation hosted the Girl UP! event Oct. 26 at Columbus North High School as a way to provide young women an opportunity to learn about engineering, welding, biomedical engineering and coding, said Gene Hack, Columbus Area Career Connection director.
This was the second year for the Girl UP! event. About 130 participants worked with C4 students to try welding, coding video games or building with LEGOs with the help of a Cummins Inc. engineer.
Forty high school volunteers from C4 also contributed their time, including students who have graduated and are now working in the welding industry, Hack said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Davida Harden, Smith Elementary School sixth-grade teacher, said the theme for this year’s event was Mission I’Mpossible, based off a quote from Audrey Hepburn: “Nothing is Impossible, the word itself says I’m Possible.”
“It is our belief we need to host such events to expose and empower fifth- and sixth-grade girls in our district to the STEM disciplines so that they see nothing is impossible for them to do,” Harden said.
“As educators, we have a responsibility to help encourage young girls to overcome barriers, both spoken and silent, and develop their passions to pursue future education and careers in the areas of STEM,” Harden said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to learn more” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
To learn more about Girl UP!, contact Corie Williams at [email protected] or Davida Harden at [email protected].
[sc:pullout-text-end]
