Middle school girls inspired by hands-on STEM activities
CRANBERRY TWP — Butler Intermediate High School eighth-grader Lily Hillard gripped and grinned in excitement Thursday as her teacher put pennies one-by-one inside her team's boat made of aluminum foil and straws.
“Please don't sink, please don't sink” was the phrase that ran through her mind.
After 165 pennies sat inside the makeshift boat, the shiny surface buckled.
“Engineering is a male-dominated industry and this is supposed to introduce us to what we can potentially do in our careers,” said Lily, 14. “Learning more about it, it's making me decide that I might want to be that when I grow up. I've always wanted to be some form of scientist.”
Lily was one of 38 girls in seventh and eighth-grade who spent time creating and learning during “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,” an event designed to showcase the unique and real-world applications of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as they worked together on two experiments.
“We are here to show girls careers in engineering that aren't just for guys, and can show them what they can do in their life and take on for future careers,” said eighth grader Bailee Kauffman, 14. “It's really cool to use the math and science you learn in school, outside school.”
For “Raft Rally,” the students were challenged to construct a vessel to safely transport their team back from an island to their ship using only aluminum foil, graph paper and straws that could bear the weight of the most pennies. In “Marshmallow Mania,” students had to design and create a launcher out of supplies — including duct tape, rubber bands, foam, tongue depressors, paint sticks and straws — to shoot a marshmallow to a target area on the floor.
The groups had to think outside the box, said eighth grader Jessica Mohney.
When Jessica attended the event last year, she decided to look further into becoming an engineer, the 14-year-old said.
The experience lets students express their ideas as they work through the scientific method, said science teacher David Andrews. It also introduces the students to successful women in the career path.
“Here's women actually doing these jobs, and they were in your shoes 10 years ago. Look what they're doing now,” he said. “It's a real point for schools right now to make these connections to kids.”
This is the company's sixth year to offer the opportunity to Butler county girls, said Karen Matusic, public and government affairs manager for XTO Energy.Of the workforce, women make up a quarter of STEM careers; about 15 percent of engineers are women, Matusic said.“As an oil and gas company, STEM subjects are very important to us and we really like to increase the number of girls and women going into these fields,” Matusic said. “Here at XTO, we are really blessed to have some women engineers working here.”Ally Vendetti, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate, floated around the room helping the students with their designs. Vendetti became an operations engineer for XTO Energy about a month ago.Growing up, Vendetti excelled in math when she was a middle schooler, but her school would not allow her to take classes outside of her grade level, she said. Her math teacher, a woman, helped her on the path toward advancement.At the end of the school year, Vendetti was able to take a high school-level test to advance her level of study, which she passed.“In high school, I had really good support from teachers. They really pushed me,” Vendetti said.Teachers and parents should support middle-school girls in their interests, she said. Women should also support other women to build each other up, she added.“People think math and science are boring, but if you're interested in animals, get into biology or biomedical engineering. If you're interested in art and designing, look into computer science,” she said. “Follow your passions.”
