WiE celebrates ten years of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
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The Ohio State University's Women in Engineering (WiE) program welcomed more than 100 elementary school girls from dozens of central Ohio schools to campus on February 22 for Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED), sponsored by Ashland, Inc.
Launched in 2002 by the National Engineers Week Foundation, IGED is celebrated nationwide to introduce future women engineers to the creative and collaborative field of engineering and show how engineers are changing our world.
This was the tenth year Ohio State’s Women in Engineering program has offered Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day activities. Since 2004, the College of Engineering has introduced 1,328 girls to engineering through its IGED activities alone.
The day began with an enthusiastic welcome from WiE Interim Director Shawna Fletcher, who talked to the students about the role of an engineer in our everyday lives.
“Reaching girls at an early age is critical," said Fletcher. "Our IGED program targets girls in third- through sixth-grade to expose them to engineering concepts in a context that’s engaging and fun."
After the introduction, students were mentored by WiE undergraduate and graduate student volunteers in a variety of activities.
Launched in 2002 by the National Engineers Week Foundation, IGED is celebrated nationwide to introduce future women engineers to the creative and collaborative field of engineering and show how engineers are changing our world.
This was the tenth year Ohio State’s Women in Engineering program has offered Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day activities. Since 2004, the College of Engineering has introduced 1,328 girls to engineering through its IGED activities alone.
The day began with an enthusiastic welcome from WiE Interim Director Shawna Fletcher, who talked to the students about the role of an engineer in our everyday lives.
“Reaching girls at an early age is critical," said Fletcher. "Our IGED program targets girls in third- through sixth-grade to expose them to engineering concepts in a context that’s engaging and fun."
After the introduction, students were mentored by WiE undergraduate and graduate student volunteers in a variety of activities.
- In "Lava Lamps" the girls explored chemical engineering concepts such as density and chemical reactions by creating their own lava lamps that run on Alka Selzer.
- "Electric Speakers" taught girls electrical engineering concepts by enabling them to create their own speakers using paper, wire, magnets and pieces of drinking straws.
- "Feed an Alien" interactively taught participants about computer programming and algorithms. They wrote instructions for an alien to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
- After training from local nonprofit Tech Corps, students utilized MIT’s "Scratch Animation" computer program to create their own outer space video game.
Participants also attended a career fair, where they were introduced to a variety of engineering disciplines—including food, agriculture and biological engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, welding engineering, and chemical and biomolecular engineering—through short, hands-on demonstrations.
During an educational session for parents, WiE staffers provided a summary of 30 years’ worth of research on women in STEM. They also discussed the low number of women in engineering and why women are underrepresented in certain engineering fields. Fletcher gave parents tips and ideas on how to encourage their daughters to pursue engineering, as well as information on programs that can help keep their interest and build excitement.
“It’s important that parents and family members help to develop these girls’ interest and let them know that there is support for their career aspirations in engineering,” Fletcher said.
View more photos from IGED 2014 here. If you are interested in sending your daughter to IGED in 2015 please email wieoutreach@osu.edu or call 614-688-4137 to be placed on the 2015 consideration list.
“It’s important that parents and family members help to develop these girls’ interest and let them know that there is support for their career aspirations in engineering,” Fletcher said.
View more photos from IGED 2014 here. If you are interested in sending your daughter to IGED in 2015 please email wieoutreach@osu.edu or call 614-688-4137 to be placed on the 2015 consideration list.
