Science Action Club deadline TONIGHT + lots more STEM

STEM events and opportunities for you

Science Action Club Cloud Quest deadline Oct. 10

Montana Girls STEM Collaborative was selected to continue with Science Action Club, including the newest curriculum: CloudQuest! (The previous curricula were Bugs and Birds)

Cloud Quest explores the impact of clouds on weather and climate. Using the GLOBE Observer citizen science platform, youth identify sky conditions and report their discoveries to NASA. Researchers map these observations against satellite image data to study how clouds influence the flow of energy through Earth's atmosphere.

The curriculum is designed for middle school youth in afterschool/out-of-school time.

SAC was developed by the California Academy of Sciences and is supported nationally by the National Girls Collaborative. It is hosted in Montana by the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative and MSU Extended University.

Applications are due at midnight Tuesday, Oct. 10! The workshop is at MSU-Bozeman on Oct. 19. For more information and application link, visit http://eu.montana.edu/sac

CryptoClub launches in Montana Dec. 2

The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative and the University of Montana were selected to host CryptoClub, a hands-on curriculum for middle school youth that explores cryptology, decoding, and mathematics. A training for interested sites will be held in Helena on December 2 at La Quinta Inn & Suites. Some support for travel is available.

CryptoClub was developed by the University of Chicago and is a network-wide project of the National Girls Collaborative Project. Additional support has been provided by the Women's Foundation of Montana.

Interested sites should reach out to Jessie Herbert-Meny at Jessie.herbert@umontana.edu or at 406-207-1010.

Thank you, Laura and Heather!

The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative thanks

Laura Gittings-Carlson of Billings and

Heather Bilden of Lavina
for serving for many years on the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative board.
We appreciate your long-time support!

Girls STEM helps host Montana STEM Summit Aug. 8

The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative assisted the Montana Afterschool Alliance and Montana State University in hosting the first annual Montana STEM Summit on Aug. 8, 2017. More than 160 people from around Montana gathered to strategize on how MTAA could further develop its network to increase STEM-based learning opportunities for youth outside the school day. The STEM Summit helped to identify programs, priorities, and opportunities for Montana to build a strong STEM eco-system across Big Sky country.

The Summit was supported by STEM Next and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation along with many other sponsors. Information about the Summit, including a summary report that outlines suggested priorities and next steps, will be posted on the MTAA Website later this month.

Every Kid in a Park Programs and Opportunities

The Every Kid in a Park

program is in its third year of delivering a nationwide call to action to connect kids to nature. As part of the Every Kid in a Park Program, every fourth grader is eligible to receive a pass that allows free access to federal lands and waters across the country for a full year!

Also, the Forest Service will once again make available a free holiday tree permit to every interested fourth grader with a valid Every Kid in a Park durable pass or paper voucher. This will allow them to experience the joy of harvesting their own tree for the holidays. Tree permits can be obtained at any Forest Service Ranger District office.

And an opportunity for EDUCATORS who work with 4th graders:

through the Every Kid in a Park Program, and in partnership with the Montana Environmental Education Association, Glacier National Park is offering $300 travel grants to educators of any kind who work with fourth grade students. Funds are offered on a first come, first serve basis- so apply today! These travel funds can be used to get kids outside on ANY PUBLIC LAND (not just to Glacier)! Apply here

Participating agencies in Every Kid in a Park include the National Park Service, Forest Service, Department of Education, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Montana Afterschool Alliance welcomes new director

The Montana Afterschool Alliance, which is a partner with Montana Girls STEM on the Science Action Clubs and other projects, is pleased to announce the hiring of a new full time Director- Laurie Bishop!

Laurie has worked to support children and families in Montana for the last 15 years. After seven years as an Executive Director of a small nonprofit in Livingston, she moved on to work with Graduation Matters Montana at OPI, supporting schools and communities across the state to improve outcomes for youth from Pre K thru high school. Her passion for community inspired Laurie to run for the State Legislature and she is in her first term as a House Representative. Laurie just celebrated 25 years of marriage to her college sweetheart, Storrs. They have three children aged 13, 17 and 20. She is a soccer mom, avid reader and happy hiker.

Laurie's first day was September 25 and she can be reached at LaurieB@mtafterschoolalliance.org. Join us in welcoming Laurie to MTAA!

Report on the state of Girls and Women in STEM available

The National Girls Collaborative Project™ (NGCP), the parent organization of MGSC, strives to disseminate project findings, successes and lessons learned in order to raise awareness about the project and contribute to the knowledge base in the field of gender equity in STEM. NGCP Publications include scholarly articles and the Collaboration Guide.

Their most recent report is on the State of Girls and Women in STEM and provides data bout the state of girls and women in K-12, higher education, and the workforce.

STEM Volunteers Needed in Billings!

Professionals who work in STEM are needed to speak about their careers and other aspects of their work where they use STEM at STEM Day at Skyview High School in Billings on Tuesday, November 21.

- Speakers can present for 20, 30, or 60 minutes. Speakers less than 60 minutes will be paired up with other speakers in similar fields.

- Speakers can volunteer for the morning (8:00 - 11:10, 3 groups of students) or afternoon (11:50 - 3:00, 3 groups of students) or all day.

- Lunch is provided.

To volunteer, contact: Emily Bruce brucee@billingsschools.org

Women in STEM: Montana girls need you!

The FabFems directory is a national database of women in STEM professions who are inspiring role models for young women. The FabFems directory is accessible to young women, girl-serving STEM programs, and other organizations that are working to increase career awareness and interest in STEM. Unfortunately, we have very few Montana women profiled here! You can c reate a Fab Fems p rofile to expand girls' career options, dispel stereotypes and spark their interests - just by being you. Visit http://www.fabfems.org

Upcoming Events

Oct. 19 - NASA Aerokats and Rovers Education Network workshop, Bozeman. Free teacher workshop at MSU-Bozeman, 3:45-5:15pm. Learn about a NASA project through which classrooms fly scientific instruments on kites. The first 25 teachers to register get a free kite kit! Register

Oct. 24 - Rocketry Workshop, Terry. Join the Prairie View Curriculum Consortium, the Office of Public Instruction, MSU Extended University, and the NASA Northwest Earth and Space Science Pipeline project for a free teacher workshop at Terry High School. Email Kim Stanton at pvcc@midrivers.com with your name, grade, school and cell number.

Oct. 28 - Exploration Works, Helena - The 10th Annual Nightmare Affair. With a theme of Weird Science, this event will feature a dinner buffet, live music by the Stand-Ins, a live auction, hands-on science experiments, and a costume contest. This fun-filled event helps support bringing science education to Helena and surrounding communities. We hope to see you there!

Nov. 18 - Exploration Works is celebrating its 10th birthday and having a party! They will be open for free all day, complete with cake!

Nov. 21 - Science Olympiad, MSU-Bozeman.

Dec. 2 - CryptoClub workshop, Helena. Join the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative and the University of Montana for a hands-on curriculum that helps middle school youth explore cryptology, decoding, and mathematics. Contact Jessie Herbert-Meny at Jessie.herbert@umontana.edu or at 406-207-1010.

March 1, 2018 - NanoDays/MicroDays, MSU-Bozeman. The biggest event for the smallest science.

March 22-24, 2018, Great Falls. Montana Environmental Education Association annual conference.