Carla Clark | For The Republic Girl Up “Out of My Mind” themed 3d printed keychain during Girl Up, a C4 STEM event for BCSC girls in 5th and 6th grades, held at Columbus North High School, Columbus, Ind., Friday, October 21, 2022.
Nearly 130 fifth and sixth grade girls were able to try activities ranging from precision machining to the culinary arts at a recent event.
The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. held its 2022 “Girl Up!” night on Oct. 21 at Columbus North High School. The purpose of the annual free event is to “develop BCSC girls in fifth and sixth grades to better understand non-traditional roles in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and see female role models and mentors in these career paths.”
During this year’s event, 127 female students participated in a variety of activities, said BCSC curriculum specialist for STEM initiatives Davida Harden.
“Every single room that I walked in, the girls were engaged,” she said. “The adults were engaged. Just the talk amongst the girls — talking about what they really enjoyed, and the excitement of ‘Yes, I really like welding,’ or ‘I really enjoy culinary arts. Didn’t know if I would, but I ended up doing that.’”
Girl Up! offered three 45-minute rotations where students could explore activities from the following options: biomed, culinary arts, engineering, graphic design, precision machining and welding.
Additionally, the night included a STEM fair where Toyota Material Handling allowed students try a virtual reality forklift simulator, and Columbus Robotics offered the chance to test out their bots. Cummins, Inc. had activities set up regarding aerodynamics, angular momentum, buoyancy, electricity, robotics and thrust.
There 105 volunteers from BCSC and the community who helped present Girl Up! this year, according to Harden. C4, Cummins, Toyota, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation, the Sunrise Rotary Club of Columbus, Columbus Robotics, Flambeau and the Tony London Co. also contributed to the event.
“The main goal is to introduce the girls into careers, STEM careers, and see what is possible for them out there in the world,” said Harden. “Because oftentimes, they don’t have an opportunity to do that. So we just want to make sure that they see women in those roles but then also see themselves in a role that they might not have even thought of.”
