Overview
The Pacific Northwest Girls Collaborative Project (PNWGCP) brings together organizations in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Beginning in 2009, the Pacific Northwest Project will reach out to Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana.
As the first replication site for this collaborative model, the Pacific Northwest Girls Collaborative experienced tremendous success during the initial months of funding from the National Science Foundation. The collaborative has provided many opportunities for individuals in the region to meet or reconnect, learn about each other’s work, and develop ways to work together to better serve girls and young women in STEM in the northwest. Representatives from various organizations, businesses, and educational institutions in the region have come together in person at PNWGCP events and through mini-grant projects, and virtually through the PNWGCP Web site and listserv.
Project Splash is an exciting new opportunity to engage girls of the Pacific Northwest in robotics. As partners in a National Science Foundation ITEST Scale-Up grant, the Pacific Northwest Girls Collaborative Project offered their first Project Splash educator training to organizations from Washington and Oregon on January 23-27, 2012. In this five-day workshop, educators were introduced to new curriculum in underwater LEGO™ robotics called WaterBotics, developed by the Stevens Institute for Technology’s Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE). Educators were presented with research on exemplary practices in gender equity and engineering messaging, and discussed strategies and tools for implementing a summer camp for high school girls.
Training participants will host their summer camps across Washington and Oregon in the summer of 2012, engaging more than 200 girls in hands-on robotics experiences. Training participants will receive access to materials, expert guidance throughout camp planning and implementation, and will participate in a supportive learning community.
For more information on summer camps, upcoming trainings and volunteer opportunities, feel free to contact us.
More on WaterBotics
WaterBoticsis the curriculum component of a National Science Foundation ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students & Teachers) Scale-Up grant, known as the Build IT Underwater Robotics Scale-Up for STEM Learning and Workforce Development (BISU) Project (Award #0929674). This five-year, $2.5 million program aims to reach between 6,000 and 11,000 middle and high school students and youth nationwide with an intensive science and engineering experience based in a series of underwater robotics design and programming challenges.
