USA Science & Engineering Festival

Dogwood GEMS Club Attends USA Science & Engineering Festival
Thanks to a grant from the National Girls Collaborative Project urban school children from Reston, Virginia were able to attend the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, DC. Fifty girls in grades 3 - 6 who are members of Dogwood Elementary's GEMS Club (Girls Excelling in Math and Science) packed a lunch and headed for the festival.

At the festival the girls experienced many hands-on activities lead by the biggest names in science - NOAA, EPA, National Geographic, the Smithsonian, to name just a few. It was such an exciting day! The girls learned about fossils, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics and came back wanting to know more.

A dozen chaperones also attended and as parents of girls who are enthusiastic about math and science, they were able to learn more about career opportunities. When asked how Nikayla enjoyed the day, her only response was, "I'm going back tomorrow!" And she did!

NGCP Webcast Recommendations from the July 19, 2010 Meeting
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
9:00 AM Pacific
On July 19th, 2010, a group of people who know the research and practice on women and girls in science and engineering met in Washington, DC. Their goal was to pick best strategies for increasing the numbers of girls pursuing STEM careers and recommend them to the Educate to Innovate Campaign launched by President Obama in 2009.

What's the use? The "July 19th Collaboration" offers a refreshed list of 39 focused areas that describe current work as a systemic effort to change and correct for historical biases and exclusion. Every strategy can be tied to root causes for the low numbers of girls and women identified in research, and pilot programs with results. The Memo and report are available at www.stemcollaboration.org.
Register for the webcast.

NGCP Webcast NGCP Collaboration Conference Highlights
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
11:00 AM Pacific
The National Girls Collaborative Project held the first national NGCP Collaboration Conference on October 20th-22nd in Washington, D.C. Over 160 participants engaged in meaningful networking and professional development activities, all focused on engaging more girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This webcast will feature highlights from the conference, including a summary of resources provided for those who were not able to attend. Participants will also share their perspective of the event and outcomes for their projects or organizations.
Register for the webcast.

Scientists in the Garden
The Giving Back Kids Science Camp was a collaboration between the Felege Hiywot Center and the Marion County Commission on Youth, Inc. in Indianapolis, IN., helping girls learn basic skills in gardening, health and nutrition. Girls did hands-on science in the garden and had the opportunity to meet and work with women scientists from the community. The participants developed hypotheses related to growing vegetables and then carried out real-life experiments in the garden to test those hypotheses. The girls involved thought that science was out of their reach, but experiencing it first hand and meeting real women scientists helped the girls see science in a new and exciting way and believe that they, too, can 'do' science.

STEM 2011: Bridging Research and Practice Conference
Renaissance Hotel in Austin, Texas
January 19-21, 2011
Goals for this conference include raising awareness and promoting STEM education best practices and the importance of STEM careers. There will be opportunities for individuals, both students and professionals, to present posters and workshop sessions.
Register for the STEM 2011 Conference.

New Digital Library Offers Informal Learning Fun in Science and Mathematics
Check out howtosmile.org - a new Web portal created by UC-Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science and funded by the National Science Foundation. Howtosmile.org serves educators and others who teach school-aged children in museum-based programs, zoos, aquaria, planetariums, libraries, science festivals, camps, clubs and homes.

Howtosmile.org includes thousands of freely accessible online interactive activities that include lesson plans, field trips, how-to videos, and online games. Sign up for the newsletter at howtosmile.org blog, and on Facebook.

NCWIT Talking Points - Moving Beyond Computer Literacy: Why schools should teach computer science.
NCWIT Talking Points are short advocacy and conversation cards to help people talk to others about computing and IT. This card provides information about the value of computer science curriculum for students, educators, local and national economies as well as global society.

AWE Online Resources
Spanish versions of elementary-level school surveys, new adult surveys for parents and caretakers of children attending elementary activities (English and Spanish versions) and revised mentor surveys. Where to find them? Go to AWEonline.org.

Facing the Future
Facing the Future is an inter-disciplinary standards-based curriculum that includes hands-on lessons to engage students in learning by making academics relevant to their lives. Through inquiry based learning, simulations, and differentiated instruction, Facing the Future empowers students to think critically, develop a global perspective, and participate in positive solutions for a sustainable future. Many curriculum resources are free of charge at www.facingthefuture.org and can be sorted by subject, grade level, and resource type. The Web site also features webinars, service learning projects and 60-second tours of various topics like biodiversity, food and water security, energy, and health.

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.
Program Directory

2010 Global Education Conference
November 15 - 19, 2010
Online and Free
The Global Education Conference is a collaborative community effort to significantly increase opportunities for globally-connecting education activities and initiatives. Sessions will be held in multiple time zones and multiple languages over five days. All sessions are public, will be broadcast live, and will be available in recorded formats post-conference.

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.