NGCP March Webcast
Girls Communicating Career Connections
Thursday, March 25, 2010
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific
Learn about Girls Communicating Career Connections (GC3) youth-produced video series and companion educator materials developed by Education Development Center, Inc (EDC). These videos, developed by middle school girls, share career information, highlight 21st century skill development, and focus on the positive social impact of science and engineering careers. Among the many careers profiled are Robotics Engineer, Forensic Scientist, Marine Biologist, Biomedical Engineer, Atmospheric Scientist and Game Designer. Materials include an Educator's Guide, with suggestions for using videos in both formal and informal settings, and a Video Production Curriculum, which aids educators in creating videos of their own.
Register: http://www.ngcproject.org/events/events.cfm? eventid=162

NGCP Regional Collaborative Mini-Grants
The Maine Girls Collaborative Project is currently offering mini-grants. The deadline for submitting is March 5, 2010. NGCP mini-grants are designed to enhance access to and build collaboration between programs and resources. Mini-grant application resources, including a sample application, research based strategies, and evaluation requirements are available online at http://www.ngcproject.org/mini-grant/app-resources.cfm.

Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative Project Hosts Successful Forum
On February 23, 2010, Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative held a forum co-hosted by the Louisville Science Center. The forum brought together girls, parents, teachers, community organizations, and industry to learn how six successful women working in Kentucky have developed their careers. Representatives from local universities and science-related organizations exhibited during the forum and gave short presentations. Mini-grant recipient, Dr. Gary Rivoli, University of Louisville, Speed School of Engineering, described his partnership with an all-female middle school engineering club, "In the Middle of Engineering".

Maine Girls Collaborative highlighted on WAGM TV
In a news segment called Breaking The Glass Ceiling on WAGM TV, Anja Whittington, AAUW liaison for the Maine Girls Collaborative Project, discussed women's career opportunities. Whittington commented on the importance of strong mentors and of support networks such as the Maine Girls Collaborative Project in promoting non-traditional careers for women. Find the video clip here:
http://www.wagmtv.com/newssource8/story/20 10-02-23-breaking-the-glass-ceiling

Connecticut Girls Collaborative Project April Forum
Hartford, Connecticut
April 5, 2010
Both formal and informal educators will come together to network with peers who support and create programs for girls in the science, technology, engineering, and math. Forum attendees will hear from a panel of women scientists and engineers about their career paths. There will be three workshops available for attendees to choose from: Resources and Learning Strategies for Middle School Girls, Family Engineering activity showcase, and Evaluating Your Program. The new Connecticut Science Center will be open for participants after the forum.
Register: http://www.ngcproject.org/events/events.cfm?eventid=165

National Science Teachers Association Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 18-21, 2010
This national conference on science education offers the latest in science content, teaching strategies, and research.
Register: http://www.nsta.org/philadelphia

Infinite Possibilities Conference
Los Angeles, California
March 19-20, 2010
The Infinite Possibilities Conference (IPC) is a national conference that is designed to promote, educate, encourage and support minority women interested in mathematics and statistics. Sponsors include Building Diversity in Science (BDIS), The Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM), the National Security Agency (NSA), Symantec, Oracle, and UCLA Office of Faculty Diversity. The conference will include workshops, panel discussions, student poster sessions, activities for high school students and round-table discussions on experiences in mathematics.
Register: http://www.ipcmath.org/

Public Voting for the Spirit of Innovation Awards
Deadline is April 9, 2010
The Spirit of Innovation Awards is looking for volunteers to help choose the 2010 winners of their high school competition on innovative product designs using science, technology, and entrepreneurship. The winners will receive the Pete Conrad Scholars recognition along with $300,000 in grants, scholarships and research opportunities. Amongst this year's nominees are the "Nutrition Sisters' with a space nutrition bar, a team of Navajo student-entrepreneurs with a solar frybread oven, and a group of Alexandria, Virginia students with piezo-electric wallpaper.
Vote: http://www.conradawards.org/

No Boundaries Competition
Deadline is April 15, 2010
The No Boundaries contest is a joint project by NASA Education and USA TODAY Education to help students explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Teachers will assign students groups one of the four STEM fields, from which they will research career options at NASA and beyond. The students use marketing techniques to promote these careers in an advertisement to other youth. The project encourages students to learn about and work toward the STEM careers that are vital to the growth and security of the country. The winners receive monetary awards and are eligible for a trip to a NASA center.
Register: http://www.noboundaries-stemcareers.com/

National Lab Day Educational Resources
The National Lab Day Web site has added a Resource area to provide teachers and students with a wide range of hands-on learning modules. Content providers such as NASA, RAFT, NIH, PBS are contributing to this Resource site. You can search and filter the resources to quickly locate educational tools by type, subject and other attributes to fit your needs.
http:// www.nationallabday.org/resources

March is Women's History Month
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Women's History Month, the National Women's History Project (NWHP) has created the Writing Women Back into History Program Kit. It includes a 12.5 minute History Revisited DVD with guidelines and activities that address the question: "Why Women's History?" Choose the theme "Girls Think of Everything" and celebrate the historical achievements of women in Science and Math.
http://www.nwhp.org/

USA Science Festival - The Nifty Fifty
The USA Science & Engineering Festival will be the country's first national science festival and will be held this Fall in Washington D.C. The "Nifty Fifty" are a group of professionals who will visit various middle and high schools across the Washington, DC area from October 11-20 to speak about their work and interact with students. Look online at the bios of these speakers, as well as to nominate a Nifty Fifty speaker yourself.
http://usasciencefestival.org/

AAUW Report Release this month
In March 2010, AAUW is releasing its new report Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The AAUW report identifies leading research that documents the measurable impact of stereotypes, bias and the educational environment on the achievement and interest of women and girls in the STEM fields. The report sheds light on this puzzling question and provides new ideas for what each of us can do to more fully open the fields of science and engineering to girls and women. Contact an AAUW regional liaison for more information.
http://www.aauw.org/education/ngcp/

PBS Design Squad Teacher's Guide
Design Squad has developed a new guide for middle school science and technology teachers. The guide blends hands-on engineering challenges with 3 core science topics - force, electricity, and sound. The challenges use low cost, readily available materials and are linked to national science and technology standards. Order your free copy of the Design Squad Teacher's Guide.
http://pbskids.org/designsqua d/parentseducators/teachers_guide.html

Making Science Cool - Videos from The After-School Corporation
The After-School Corporation (TASC) released a series of short videos that provide rationale for why doing science after school is so important. These videos show kids and engaging in hands-on science activities in after- school settings. TASC explains that after school science is not a substitute for in-school math and science learning, but rather it is a way to excite kids about acquiring science knowledge and to engage them in real-world applications.
http://www.njsacc.org/wordpress/? p=2981

Mixing in Math
This Web site is a free resource for those looking for easy ways to integrate math into out-of-school time. The activities are geared toward K-6 grade and are available in English and Spanish. Educators and parents can use these activities to put math into a variety of topics such as cooking, telling stories, gym exercises, and arts and crafts projects.
http://mixinginmath.terc.edu/

NGCP Program Directory - Register your Program Today!
The online Program Directory lists organizations and programs that focus on motivating girls to pursue STEM careers. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and collaborate on STEM-related projects for girls. When you sign up for the Program Directory you will enter your program description, resources available within your organization, program and/or organizational needs, and contact information.
http://www.ngcproject.org/directory/

American Association of University Women (AAUW) members across the country are serving as Regional Liaisons for the National Girls Collaborative Project. These Regional Liaisons help the people involved in the NGCP to make connections - to one another, to resources on gender equity, and to AAUW.

AWE is the Assessing Women and Men in Engineering Project, which provides exportable assessment instruments, literature resources, and methodologies for Women in Engineering and similar programs. AWE is developing resources for use by K-12 STEM programs as part of NGCP services.