AGSS Goes To The STEAM Maker Festival

By Danica Chen, Del Norte High School

 3, 2016, the STEAM Maker Festival, made up of over 25 booths and attended by over 600 attendees, hosted the All Girls STEM Society. Run by 18 volunteers from five different high schools, the booth invited the festival's attendees to make mathematical origami, launch their own paper rockets, and watch a demonstration of a Scribbler robot at work. 

"I think it's really interesting what they're doing here," one parent said as their child gleefully colored a paper rocket. "There should be more organizations like these in the world."

​This is one of many of the All Girls STEM Society's outreach efforts designed to engage young girls in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Founded in 2015, the non-profit organization has put together dozens of workshops designed to spark young girls' interest in STEM. Since then, the organization has seen 1300 participants from over 170 schools and 23 school districts. The ultimate goal of the AGSS is to lessen the impact of social factors that keep women underrepresented in STEM, as women only occupy 25% of all jobs in related fields.

However, judging by the delight of the nearly 400 participants at the AGSS booth, that is bound to change. Students from over one hundred schools came to the booth; all walked away with a greater appreciation for STEM and a smile on their faces. Based on the continuing success of the All Girls STEM Society, the future is certainly looking bright