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Montana Girls STEM is coming to Great Falls!
Join us for a Collaboration Forum on May 16
All organizations and individuals interested in the advancement of girls in STEM fields are invited to attend the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative's 2017 Collaboration Forum on Tuesday, May 16 from 10am to 2pm. Learn about exemplary practices for engaging girls in STEM, meet potential collaborators, learn some new ideas for hands-on STEM, and contribute your own thoughts and resources for how we as a community can support girls and girl-serving programs.
Anyone who is interested in STEM is welcome to join us: educators, administrators, industry representatives, non-profit groups, government agencies, students, etc. [NOTE: While young people are welcome to join us, Montana Girls STEM forums are designed for the adults who work with girls, not the girls themselves.] The conference is $25; University students can attend for a special rate of $5. Scholarships are available.
Many thanks to the Women's Foundation of Montana for sponsoring this event and for being champions of STEM!
This event is hosted by DoD STARBASE with support from the Women's Foundation of Montana, Great Falls College-MSU, and the West Region Transportation Workforce Center. Special thanks to our MSU and UM homes - MSU Extended University and spectrUM Discovery Area and Montana NSF EPSCoR.
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CryptoClub is here....but we need your help
 The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative has been chosen to be part of the CryptoClub Network, a national afterschool project and online program that covers crypotography (secret codes and ciphers) and math. Two University of Montana faculty have been trained and will soon be teaching the curriculum to
after school program leaders. We are looking for individuals or corporate sponsors who can support this program. A donation of
- $100 can help support an afterschool educator's travel to the training
- $250 can buy CryptoClub curriculum materials for one Montana town
- $1,000 can sponsor the entire CrytpoClub training
This is a great opportunity to bring an exciting math-based curriculum to kids in Montana!
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DNA Bootcamp for Teachers
Learn how to integrate DNA technology into the curriculum
Flathead Valley Community College is hosting a free DNA Bootcamp for Teachers workshop April 28-29, 2017. It is for middle and high school teachers who want to integrate DNA technology into their curriculum. FVCC credit or OPI renewal units are available. Mileage, lunch and accommodations are also available. Contact Ruth Wrightsman at 406-576-3878 or at rwrightsman@fvcc.edu for more information and an application. Please let Ruth know that you heard about this opportunity through the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative!
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Aviation Career Exploration (ACE) Academy for high school students
The 2017 Aviation Career Exploration Academy for high school students will be conducted in Helena on June 19th and 20th. The two-day resident camp will immerse students in wide ranging aspects of aeronautics that will include flights in general aviation airplanes; a tour of a state-of-the-art aerospace manufacturing facility; a visit to a hangar that is restoring an all-wood airplane from the 1930's; visits to a static Boeing 727 flight deck, the Army Aviation Helicopter squadron, the cab of an air traffic control tower, and the aviation maintenance technician program at the Helena College. There will be an aerobatic demonstration flight, and demo flights by hang glider and paraglider pilots. Students will have the opportunity to speak with general aviation pilots of float planes, amphibians, and tail draggers at a fly-in at Canyon Ferry airport. The aerodynamics of hot air balloons will be presented in a ground school session and students will serve as ground crew for a tethered balloon inflation.
Cost of the academy is $120 and includes all meals and lodging at the Wingate Inn. Contact Harold Dramstad, Safety and Education Bureau Chief for questions at 406-444-9568 orhdramstad@mt.gov . For further information, email Harold Dramstad or call him at 406-444-9568. Click here to apply.
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MSU offers free STEM camp for middle schoolers
Deadline to apply is April 28
MSU-Bozeman hosts a STEM camp for middle school students June 25-30 and is encouraging applications from students who have not had the chance to attend a university program or STEM camp before. Through exciting classes and evening activities, the camp, called MSU Explore: Earth and Space Science, introduces students to STEM careers and role models as well as college life.
Applications are due April 28. Two adult recommendations are required.
The camp is hosted by MSU Extended University in collaboration with NASA Science Mission Directorate Education and the
Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline (NESSP)
program.
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Updated Scholarship Page
Thank you, Lindsey!
Our Montana Girls STEM scholarship page got a March makeover, thanks to Lindsey Tollefson of Absaroka Energy, who dedicated her time on International Women's Day (March 8) to volunteering for a group that serves girls. Thanks, Lindsey!
If you know of other STEM scholarships that should be featured on this page, please email Suzi Taylor at taylor@montana.edu
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Students in Livingston Links for Learning afterschool program practice using binoculars |
Science Action Club: Birds In Your Schoolyard is underway!
18 communities are hosting this citizen science program
Educators from 18 Montana communities are hosting an innovative after-school STEM program for youth called Science Action Club: Birds In Your Schoolyard. SAC was developed by the
California Academy of Sciences and is hosted through the National Girls Collaborative Project network. Montana was chosen by competitive application to be one of the participating states.
Through games, projects, and hands-on activities, youth in SAC investigate nature, document their discoveries, connect with scientists, and design strategies to protect our planet. Educators receive in-depth training on SAC kits, activity guidebooks, and best practices for teaching STEM in the informal learning environment.
Science Action Clubs: Birds programs are in Bigfork, Billings, Boulder, Bozeman, Butte, Everygreen, Fortine, Frenchtown, Helena, Lame Deer, Lewistown, Libby, Livingston, Malta, Ronan, Seeley Lake, Sidney, and White Sulphur Springs.
In Montana, Science Action Club is supported by the
Women's Foundation of Montana with additional support from the MSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Thank you!
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Montana Girls STEM helps bring Dream Big: Engineering Our World to Montana
 The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative was one of several co-sponsors that worked with the
Bozeman Film Society and Science on Screen to bring
Dream Big: Engineering Our World to Montana on March 4.
The visually spectacular film is the first of its kind to promote the STEM movement. Through the eyes of four engineers (including several women), viewers go on a journey of discovery, from the world's tallest building and a bridge higher than the clouds to a solar car race, underwater robotics and smart sustainable cities. The film presents a unique opportunity to turn kids on to science and engineering.
The film, which showed at 2pm and 5pm at the historic
Ellen Theatre, opened with "The Art of Problem Solving," a lively introduction by Shari Eslinger, vice president of Montana's American Society of Civil Engineers, and Dr. Michael Berry, assistant professor of civil engineering at MSU-Bozeman. After the screenings, kids took part in fun engineering activities
Science on Screen
is made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan and Coolidge Corner Theater foundations. In addition to Montana Girls STEM Collaborative, support for
Dream Big
was provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers-MT Section, KLJ Engineering, MSU Extended University, West Region Transportation Workforce Center and MSU Western Transportation Institute.
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Five Montana Teams Advance to the 2017 F1 in Schools STEM Challenge
Congrats to Drummond, Sheridan, Hot Springs, Simms, Hamilton
 The Montana Office of Public Instruction in conjunction with the Highlands College of Montana Tech and Downshift Into STEM recently hosted the Montana F1 in Schools competition. Five Montana high school teams will advance to the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge Cup of the Americas U.S. National Championships in Austin, TX. The competition will be held June 8-10.
Drummond High School's team was the overall Grand Champion at the state competition. They will advance to the national competition along with teams from Sheridan, Hot Springs, Simms, and Hamilton High Schools.
F1 is the largest STEM world competition. It is designed to interest student from around the world in STEM careers by involving them in a hands-on project using science and engineering principles. Teams design, construct and race the fastest Formula One Car of the Future, powered by compressed air cylinders. Each team must have a marketing design, portfolio, and pit display. Each team has a manager, engineer, market and social media person, and a graphic designer.
 Jenny Scrivner (see photo at right), is a ninth grader at Hot Springs High School and manager of her school's F1 team, Hot Pursuit, which was one of the youngest teams to compete at Montana Tech. According to event organizers, "Jenny stepped out of her comfort zone and really exceled as a leader," especially when she picked up the duties of a teammate who had to drop out of the competition.
Congrats to all the Montana teams and students. Good luck in Texas!
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Women in STEM: Sign up for
FabFems and be a role model for Montana girls!
Free advertising for your STEM events in
TheConnectory!
The Connectory is a database where families can find current STEM opportunities available in their area. Anyone with STEM programs can post them here! Let's get lots of Montana events and opportunities there!
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 create a
Fab Fems p
rofile to expand girls' career options, dispel stereotypes and spark their interests - just by being you.
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About Montana NSF EPSCoR
The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative was launched under and is supported by
Montana NSF EPSCoR
(Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research),
a Montana University System program focused on stimulating sustainable improvements in Montana's research and development capacity and competitiveness in science and engineering research. Montana NSF EPSCoR partners with the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program to develop and manage strategic projects funded by competitive NSF EPSCoR awards to the state.
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant EPS-1101342. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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