It is year three of the Frontiers of Flight Museum’s Spring Break Camp “Step Up To STEM” for Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative.
Middle school girls from Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and Grand Prairie’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Arnold will participate in the Museum’s annual ‘All Girls’ STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) camp. Campers will participate in hands-on learning, collaborative projects and team building exercises through activities that include building and programming a robot, building and launching a rocket, flying drones, traveling through the Solar System in SPOC (our portable planetarium) and participating in an engineering challenge.
In addition to STEM, the Museum incorporates business management into the camp, which includes marketing, finance, customer service, operations and strategy to create a futuristic ‘Spaceline” business. This year a career luncheon and panel discussion with women in business and academia is being added to the program.
On Wednesday, a luncheon for the girls will include one-on-one interaction with women from different backgrounds who are STEM professionals as well as college students studying STEM fields. On Friday, a panel of businesswomen will speak with the girls about their personal experiences and empowerment to succeed. The panel includes the celebrity chef from Ellements Cuisine and Pastry Concepts, and a doctor from the VA Hospital.
The week of learning culminates in a ‘Shark Tank’ style competition, as the girls will pitch their business plan to potential investors to create their futuristic ‘Spaceline’ business. Judges include an IT professional and others.
“The objective of the Spring Break STEM camp is to cultivate an interest in STEM while showing the power of collaboration and team building through informal learning opportunities”, says Dr. Jason Treadway, Director of Education at the Museum.
The luncheon is Wednesday, March 15 from 12-1 pm
The women’s panel is Friday, March 17 from 9-11 am
The Shark Tank competition is Friday, March 17 from 2-3 pm
The Frontiers of Flight Museum’s Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative (YWSLI) is a collaborative effort between Dallas ISD’s Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and Grand Prairie ISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Arnold. Both are public all-girl’s schools in the D/FW area that emphasize leadership, as well as STEM education.
The YWSLI provides under resourced young women in middle through high school informal educational opportunities to stimulate interest in STEM studies leading to careers in STEM fields. The initiative broadens students’ awareness of STEM through the introduction to aviation and space content while strengthening leadership skills through multiple programming opportunities.
The Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative for the 2016-2017 year is made possible through grants from United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Gulfstream, Rosewood Foundation, Rockwell Collins, Boeing, ExxonMobil, PPG Industries, Fluor, and the Fannie & Stephen Kahn Foundation.