I Can Be in STEM

Goals and Outcomes

• Identify women in STEM who are making positive change in the world using their STEM knowledge.
• Identify challenges that girls and/or women face in breaking into the world of STEM and how they may combat it. 
• Leadership Outcomes
  • Treat herself kindly
  • Learn from her own feelings and experiences
  • Empower any and every girl to practice leadership
  • Challenge gender expectations
  • Make choices rooted in her values

What You’ll Need

• Women in STEM Videos 
• Large Sheets of Paper
• Colored Pencils or Markers or Crayons

Before the Activity

• Have the Women in STEM Videos accessible on a device (computer, tablet).
• On each paper, have a different question that the participants can answer using the colored pencils/markers/crayons. 
  • What are some challenges that girls and women may face when pursuing STEM?
  • What are some skills that you need to pursue a STEM field?
  • What are some other jobs that you think need STEM to succeed?
  • Why might we need girls and women in STEM?
• Participants can reflect on the following questions before starting the discussion.
  • What do you know about STEM?
  • Are you considering pursuing a STEM education or career? Why or why not?
  • Do you know of any cool women in STEM right now?

What To Do

• Watch one or all the videos from the Women in STEM series.
• Ask participants to go around the room and write their answers on the pieces of paper, individually. They may speak with other participants in the room and share their opinions. 
• Once all participants have had a chance to respond, as a group review the answers and discuss what other points may be missing. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:
  • Can anybody pursue STEM?
  • Why might women/girls feel less confident about their STEM skills?
  • What can we do to build our confidence?
• Each participant will draw an image of what they imagine what they would look like as someone in STEM and what skills they would need, some of which they may already have. 

After the Activity

• Challenge girls to learn more about STEM and role models in STEM by researching one woman in a STEM field of their choosing and making a presentation about them for the next meeting. 
• Keep the large pieces of paper and during discussions during other activities refer back to the responses they have made. 
• Participants can reflect on the activity by answering the following questions:
  • Are you interested in pursuing a STEM career?
  • What can we do in Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting to encourage more girls and young women to pursue STEM?
  • What are some behaviors we can have and encourage others have so we can empower more girls and young women in STEM?

Tips and Tricks

• Age
  • For older members, instead of watching the videos, ask them to research STEM role models before the meeting and ask them to present about one at the meeting.
  • For younger members, questions can be focused on whether they like STEM and what they may want to pursue in the future. 
• Size
  • This activity can be done with different groups. Depending on the technology available units or patrols can show the video on one device or multiple devices and then do the reflection as a big group. 
• Online vs Virtual
  • If doing virtually, tools such as Padlet or Miro can be used instead of large pieces of paper.