The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative seeks to unite and support educators, parents, professionals and other champions of STEM so we can engage and inspire the next generation! |
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Montana Girls STEM Collaborative Receives Generous OSMO Donation |
The Montana Girls Stem Collaborative received a generous donation this month from Osmo in celebration of Women's History Month. Osmo makes hands-on learning games in which students utilize real-world objects and virtual tools to create an immersive physical-digital educational experience. The kits have been delivered to both the UM and MSU campuses and will be dispersed for use throughout Montana in the coming months. We are thrilled that Osmo chose Montana as a recipient of these innovative kits!
NGCP founder and CEO Karen Peterson said it best: “We are so grateful to Osmo for a gift that not only encourages creativity and collaboration, but will also provide high-quality STEM activities to programs who are often not able to access these sorts of products."
Watch for information coming soon on how we will be distributing these great tools across Montana!
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Exxon Mobile Encourages Girls to Consider Careers in Engineering |
ExxonMobil employee volunteers on Feb. 19 worked with about 20 middle-school girls at Lockwood for a special Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event, a program designed to inspire female students to consider exploring the field.
“We’re pleased to continue this annual event at a time when it’s critical that all students continue to build their confidence in problem-solving skills,” said Kim Jakub, Operations Manager at the ExxonMobil Billings Refinery. “The world will always have a need for engineers and scientists, and it’s critical that more female voices be able to share their perspectives and experiences in these fields.”
ExxonMobil engineers led an “Engineering Mystery Bag Challenge,” a hands-on problem-solving challenge to launch a small pom-pom. Students worked on solo or team projects to solve an engineering challenge. Students then learned how creativity and ingenuity can be used in all aspects of their lives, and how knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects can lead to rewarding engineering careers.
They also heard via Zoom from a young female engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory who is working on the ITER international fusion energy project.
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STEM events and opportunities |
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Happy National Women's History Month!
The national website has resources and events to celebrate women in history--take a look at some groundbreaking women in STEM fields here.
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MSU Women's Center Hosts Events to Celebrate National Women's History Month |
MentHERship, Women in STEM: The Postdoc/Mentor Relationship
MARCH 10, 2021 • Noon-1 PM
One vital component to women’s success in STEM is mentorship. Presenters Dr. Agnieszka Rynda-Apple, Assistant Professor, and Research Scientist Dr. Kelly Shepardson, are both in Microbiology and Immunology. Rynda-Apple served as Shepardson’s mentor while attaining her postdoc. This seminar will provide an open discussion about both the mentee’s and mentor’s career paths and how each have benefited from this relationship. Topics will include choosing your mentor/mentee, maneuvering your partnership, establishing expectations, and fostering development and independence.
Knowledge, Bodies, and Power
MARCH 24, 2021 • Noon -1 PM
In an era when Covid-19 is described by some as “the China Disease” and discourses about emerging vaccines too easily ignore the dark legacy of scientific practice in the U.S., this talk offered by Dr. Natalie Scheidler, professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at MSU, will discuss the ways in which scientific and medical communities have historically constructed the corporal body. Moreover, the talk will address the ways in which feminist, queer, and racial justice movements have challenged Eugenics, Population Control, Immigration Reform, and the knowledge production that supports them.
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2021 Girls for a Change
Summit Series: A virtual workshop hosted by community women in STEM fields - talking about women in stem, in leadership, and doing some fun STEM activities during our one-hour session. For all Montana girls, grades 7th-12th, register at allthrive.org/summit and we'll see you April 17th at 10:00am!
Girls' Stories, Girls' Voices: A week-long summer camp for middle school girls to explore many of the issues they face and discover ways to achieve a sense of self, deal with conflict, build relationships, and learn about our local and global communities. Our camp includes STEM projects and discussions, writing, art projects, movement, sharing, and fun! Register here for the camp July 26th-30th.
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Scholarship Opportunity in Glacier National Park
Do you have a child or a student interested in science, technology, engineering, math...or art? Then read on about an opportunity for 6–8th grade girls this summer at the Big Creek Discovery School, outside of Glacier National Park!
Glacier National Park and Glacier Institute are partnering together to provide a unique opportunity for middle school girls interested in science and related fields. During a four-day, overnight camp, participants will learn from Glacier National Park, U.S. Geological Survey, and Glacier Institute staff about Glacier’s changing landscapes. Through science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM), your child will document changes to Glacier’s landscapes as well as learn life-long skills in leadership, critical thinking, and problem solving. STEAM Camp for Girls will be held July 6–9, 2021. Applications are required and must be submitted by Monday, April 5, 2021. Apply on the Glacier Institute's website at www.glacierinstitute.org/steam or call 406-755-1211 for more information.
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Gallatin Valley Farm to School Seeks Volunteers |
Gallatin Valley Farm to School is looking for volunteers to support educators with its upcoming out-of-school camps:
* Dates: March 15-19 and April 8-9 (Min. 4 hours requested for these programs, can be at any time during the listed dates)
* What: Help facilitate activities about environmental and food science, and exploring food cultures from around the world
* Where: Museum of the Rockies
* *training will be given before camps
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Family Science Trivia Night by Exploration Works is March 11 and 2
Join Exploration Works to test your knowledge and enjoy interactive questions and exciting live science demos! First place will win an ExBox take home science kit! Other prizes for runners up!
These family-friendly events (ideal for families with school aged kids) will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday March 11th and March 25th. Zoom in on a computer and use your smart phone to answer the trivia questions on Kahoot. Pre-registration is required. Trivia is free to members, and $10 for non-members.
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Join Coding For Kids in Stevensville!
Coding for Kids in Stevensville, Montana is offering online tech classes for students as well as in-person classes this Summer. Learn how to code a computer, program a robot, use biomimicry, and more! For more information or to register for a class, visit their website.
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Meet a STEM Superhero!
This monthly panel is targeted towards middle school and high school girls, though anyone is welcome to attend! Attendees will meet two STEM superheroes who will talk about their involvement in a STEM field and answer any questions that you may have. Register below to attend this month's webinar or click here to find out more about the event.
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Opportunities for STEM educators |
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National Girls Collaborative Opportunities
"An Up-to-Date Look at Gender Equity in STEM"
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2021 - 1pm to 2pm Mountain Time
Join NGCP as we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day with an important webinar highlighting gender equity in STEM.
Sign up for the webinar here.
"Brite 2021 Application Webinar"
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - 10:00am - 10:30am Mountain Time
This 30-minute Brite Application Webinar serves as an informational webinar for informal STEM education programs interested in applying to the Brite Program.
Brite is an online, interdisciplinary STEM program built for girls ages 13-16. The Brite Pilot was offered in the summer of 2020. Brite 2021, a joint venture between the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and The Hello Studios, will be held July 12-22, 2021, and will provide a high-quality, online suite of activities centered on collaborative learning with female role models. Brite 2021 will consist of two courses: Art x Science, featuring role models and activities at the intersection of art and science, and Dream Big, Take Risks, featuring role models and activities that introduce girls to audacious careers in STEM. A customized online platform, accessed through a 1:1 device, will serve as a launching pad for girls to participate in individual, small group, and community-wide activities. Sign up for the webinar here.
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Women in STEM
Cool Career: Taylor Gold Quiros—Aquatic Biologist
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Thank you to Taylor Gold Quiros of the University of Montana and Montana NSF EPSCoR, who shares her career with girls in Montana!
Taylor Gold Quiros is a PhD student in Environmental Sustainability who studies fish on the Upper Clark Fork River. She researches factors that stress the fish communities, such as pollution or low water flow. Taylor grew up in Seguin, Texas, on the banks of the Guadalupe River.
What did you like to do as a young person? At what age and how did you know you wanted to be a scientist?
I have always been curious, and my activities when I was younger reflected this - I read countless books and jumped into literally any water body I could find (apparently it drove my parents crazy).
I knew as a kid that I loved being outside and hoped that maybe someday I could find a job that would incorporate nature into my day-to-day life, but it wasn't until college, when I interned at the San Antonio River Authority, that I realized that I could become an aquatic biologist.
It was like a puzzle piece falling into place-I knew immediately that this was the job I had been searching for.
What advice would you give to a Montana kid who is interested in a career like yours?
We need people to care, truly, deeply, wonderfully care, about nature. We need you. It's not always an easy path, and you will have to put yourself out there and challenge yourself in major ways.
Ask yourself, "What would I do if I wasn't afraid? Who do I want to become?" and let those answers guide you. There are going to be people who shut you down or tell you that you are not good enough. They do not matter. What is important is your belief in yourself and your path.
"Remember, the world needs you and your passion."
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Montana Girls STEM Featured in National Blog
The NGCP blog recently featured musings from the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative on expressing our needs in a time of need. "People are not typically very good at defining or asking for what they need. This takes thought and practice, but it's an exercise worth doing!" Read more in the new #blog about expressing our needs in a time of need.
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About the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative |
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The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative was founded as an outreach program of Montana NSF EPSCoR and has co-leaders at Montana State University and the University of Montana as well as volunteer board members across the state. This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement OIA-1757351. 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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Suzi Taylor
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
(406) 994-7476
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Jessie Herbert
University of Montana
Missoula, MT
(406) 243-4828
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