Speaker
Frances Marshall
(International Atomic Energy Agency)
Description
In 2007, the Idaho Women in Nuclear (IWIN) chapter was asked to host a junior high school group of girls for "Girls in Technology," a program to introduce eighth grade girls to science and technology career opportunities. The following year, the program was renamed “My Amazing Future,” and it has grown steadily from a very modest beginning, hosting only 35 girls and four workshops, to a much more diverse program, sponsored by over ten southeast Idaho organizations, and offering 15 different workshops to over 120 girls, from ten different junior high schools in southeast Idaho. The objective of the program has not wavered from its initial aim of encouraging girls to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and to consider STEM careers.
Initially, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a US Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory, was asked to be the single sponsor of this program, and all the workshops were presented by INL scientists, engineers, and technicians, most of them women. This aligned well with one of the laboratory missions to support K-12 educational programs. As other organizations in southeast Idaho heard about the program, they asked to participate and the variety of the technical workshops expanded. Workshops topics are radiation science (“You are Radioactive!”), volcanoes, physics of carnival games, robotics, chemistry (solving crimes using chemistry), cyber security (how easy it is for someone to spy on you using your cell phone), hydrology of the Snake River Aquifer, and many others. Additionally, IWIN has sought sponsors from the private sector, state government, and from several professional engineering organizations.
This presentation will provide more details of the program, and some suggestions on how similar organizations can create programs that are suited to their specific organizational aims meeting the needs in their individual communities.
| Country or International Organization | International Atomic Energy Agency |
|---|
Primary author
Frances Marshall
(International Atomic Energy Agency)
Co-authors
Ms
Ann Marie Phillips
(Idaho National Laboratory)
Ms
Michelle Bingham
(Idaho National Laboratory)
