A video game development camp supported by a Montana Girls STEM mini-grant was held this summer in Great Falls.

Great Falls-based gaming studio Team KAIZEN partnered with the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art to offer the girls-only camp. The girls worked with Att-A-Tudz Entertainment Company and Team Kaizen to learn game design and develop their own game projects using Sony' LittleBigPlanet 2 as a development medium.

The Girl Scouts of Montana & Wyoming helped recruit girls.

"Girls represent nearly half of all game players but are sorely under-represented in the developer side of the industry," said Josh Hughes of Team KAIZEN. "To change that we need to spark the passion of game development early!"

Hughes added that the timing of the camp was perfect: "The girls were working on a parkour scene in their game (note: parkour is an acrobatic form of freestyle movement)...while they were working on the level, a woman became an overnight internet star for being the first female to complete the American Ninja Warrior extreme parkour course!"

You can see some of the girls' creations in this "sizzle reel" on youtube, and read about the camp, which was featured in the Great Falls Tribune here.

Sept 15-16. Fort Benton. Common Sense for the Common Core Workshop.  This two-day workshop is supports integrated implementation for the Montana Common Core Standards for ELA and Literacy, while supporting strong implementation of Indian Education for All for K-4 teachers. Registration information can be found here. 

October 8, 15, 22, 29, and Nov 5, 8, 9. Missoula. SciGirls Astronomy Club. Girls in 4th through 8th grade will enjoy this FREE program that explores constellations, solar phenomena, space exploration, light pollution, and more. Everything is HANDS ON! Girls will build their own telescopes and spend time in the Starlab. Girls will celebrate what they've learned with dinner, activities, and a sleepover at spectrUM Discovery Area.  Every participant also receives a free Girl Scouts membership.  This program is made possible through funding from the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative, the Women's Foundation of Montana, and the University of Montana Physics and Astronomy department.
Register by calling or emailing Sarah: 1-800-736-5243 x2306 or [email protected]. 

October 7 , 14, 21, 2014, Great Falls. Exposure to Photography. During this fun  and enriching 3 days during 3 weeks, you will be led by a photographer who  will introduce you to your camera and explore its potential while  photographing objects and people.  Open to girls in grades 6-12. www.gsmw.org

Oct. 18-Nov. 22, Great Falls. LittleBigPlanet Club meets on Saturdays at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art.  In LBP Club, participants learn the STEM and methodology behind video game design using LittleBigPlanet   (www.LittleBigPlanet.com), a Sony owned franchise of games where players   are directly given powerful -yet accessible- 3D Art and Programming   tools to create whatever they want and share it with the world! With over 8 million projects published online, LittleBigPlanet is a great way  to learn game design and be part of an exciting and passionate  community! LBP Club also is certified to give participants the Boy   Scouts of America Game Design Badge and we're currently working through   the hoops to get a similar set up for Girl Scouts. This is important because video game players are nearly equally split between boys and 

girls (adult women gamers outnumber pre-pubescent males 2-1) but the game developer community is still male-dominated and we need more girls in game design! Grades 2-12. Cost: $125 gets 6 sessions (1 each Saturday) or $225 gets 12 sessions (2 each Saturday)

Session 1 is 12:15-2:15 PM and Session 2 is 2:45-4:45 PM 

www.the-square.org

 

October 30, Across Montana. Deadline to Apply for the SMART Schools Challenge. The SMART School Initiative is divided into 3 distinct categories - SMART Energy Challenge, SMART Green Schools Challenge, and SMART recycling challenge. Schools will be assessed based on students, teachers, administrators, and/or building operators designing and implementing programs that address these challenges during the 2014-2015 school year. Schools will design and implement what they outlined in their application, and turn in a final report by no later than April 1, 2015. www.sgbcmontana.org/green-schools-challenge

 

Nov. 7, Helena. Montana Girls STEM Fall Collaboration Conference held in partnership with Helena College SAVE the DATE and stay tuned for this opportunity for professional development, networking and STEM awesomeness.