Hands-On STEM Resources for Girls
Not all science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education takes place in the classroom. Our hands-on STEMpacks and community programs take the first step toward inspiring girls and teaching them practical STEM skills. These activities create an environment in which girls are encouraged to indulge their STEM interests through fun, accessible, and interactive learning. Our community-run programs, AAUW Tech Trek and AAUW Tech Savvy, take place on a national scale but draw on the hard work and community knowledge of local AAUW members. We also fund innovative local STEM initiatives across the country through our Community Action Grants.
AAUW and our partner organizations have successfully teamed up to produce STEMpacks: innovative and easy-to-use curricula for advocates and educators working with middle school girls. STEMpacks cover engaging topics from cyber security to mobile apps to aerospace engineering. Not only do students tackle cutting-edge coursework, but they also remain inspired to pursue their STEM passions long after the lessons are finished.
We partnered with the Arconic Foundation to introduce middle-school students to physics and engineering through constructing a hot air balloon, a rocket, and more. A total of seven lesson plans across 12 hours of instruction, the curriculum is designed to encourage perseverance and inquisitiveness through experimentation.
The world’s leading cyber security company, Symantec, partnered with AAUW to ensure we’re developing a diverse next generation of cyber security talent. A total of five days of instruction and activity, the curriculum is designed to inspire and introduce participants to cyber security and computer science. Get more details and download the full curriculum, and also check out our Symantec Scribbles coloring book for engaging computer science activities. Download the full curriculum now.
BONUS: Print our Symantec Scribbles coloring book for engaging computer science activities.
Our AAUW Tech Savvy one-day career conferences have been providing middle-schools girls with opportunities to explore STEM for more than 11 years. The conferences offer interactive programming for girls while simultaneously engaging parents and guardians in discussions focused on preparing girls for college and pathways to STEM careers. Use our resource to bring the program to your community.
In 2015, we partnered with the Verizon Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to build the Mobile App Inventor program. Piloted at our STEM camps and currently hosted online by MIT, the tool teaches girls mobile app design and basic programming skills.
Clorox Green Works® to design fun and easy at-home science experiments for adults and children. The activities, including creating “elephant toothpaste” and “fizzy foam,” help spark a girl’s creativity and encourage her to pursue her interest in STEM.