STEMinistas: Science Clubs Just Got a Whole Lot Techier

by Alyssa Guarino
Junior Project Manager

When I was in high school, the science club was like a dusty old chalkboard, largely forgotten and barely acknowledged, even by department faculty. And while writing lab reports and conducting investigations were enjoyable, it didn’t occur to me that I could have been performing experiments after school. But for others, this idea has occurred. The award-winning Science Club for Girls (SCFG) takes extracurricular activities to a new level. The club was established in 1994 by Beth O’Sullivan and Mary McGowan, two parents concerned that their daughters would be left behind as math and science students. O’Sullivan was influenced by a study published by the American Association of University Women, “How Schools Shortchange Girls,” and observed, “We have this tendency to say a child ‘just isn’t good at math.’ But we don’t accept, except on rare occasions, that a child can’t learn to read.”

SCFG uses a curriculum targeted especially for girls and currently offers after-school programs in four eastern Massachusetts cities: Boston, Cambridge, Lawrence and Newton. The group also has previously run a program in Pokuase, Ghana. Started in the science hub of Cambridge, the club is a nonprofit geared toward girls of all ages, especially those in underrepresented groups. An average of 1,000 girls, aged 5–18, participate each year. The club is designed to not only give girls opportunities to work on hands-on, interactive science projects, but to also give them a greater awareness of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a real-world context. SCFG aims to show girls what the opportunities in the STEM field consist of, to narrow the achievement gap, and to give girls a competitive edge once they reach the college level and, in turn, the job market. Club programs are run by volunteers and include female STEM professionals such as scientists and engineers, as well as students from the undergraduate, graduate and medical levels.

SCFG offers programs each semester on an application basis. Girls can choose from several different programs, each geared toward a specific grade range. The K–5 science clubs, which are the core programs for elementary-aged girls, are focused on exploring and inspiring through activities led by teen junior mentors and volunteer mentor-scientists. Girls also have the opportunity to attend Show Me the Science, an event where adults facilitate activities and demonstrations of different scientific principles.

Programs for teen girls in grades 6–12 fall under the Career Exploration, Leadership, & Life Skills (CELLS) umbrella, which primarily exposes girls to careers in STEM and helps them to develop specific STEM skills. Core programs allow girls to explore STEM through “inquiry- and project-based team learning” in STEMinistas (grades 6–8), Challenge Teams (grades 8–12) and through the leadership-focused Junior Mentor Program, which allows girls to assist teaching in the elementary clubs. Students in grades 11 and 12 also have the opportunity to enroll in STEM internships. SCFG is aligned with local universities and supported by a variety of companies and institutions, such as tech giants IBM, Microsoft and Verizon, as well as biotech forerunners EMD Serono, Genzyme and Novartis.

The clubs offered by SCFG don’t just end with the school year, however; high school girls can enroll in the summer program, Young Leaders in STEM. And while the club does take a break between each semester and the next, SCFG also finds reflection an important aspect of the club’s success, making sure that its participants recognize the value in the process of learning. During Science Fest, girls can take the opportunity to share what they have learned, showing off their newfound knowledge and successful science experiments as well as their failures—proving that the scientific method is a never-ending journey, helping determine a new path for every unsuccessful one.

Whether it’s in the lab or the classroom, the work done through such clubs give students a better idea of the kind of work involved in STEM careers. With new skills and a better understanding of the fields, young students are given more options when it comes time to decide on a career choice or life passion, and some are creative enough to combine both.

Did You Know?

SCFG isn’t the only program of its kind. Also started in 1994, Girls Excelling in Math and Science (GEMS) clubs were created by Laura Reasoner Jones. GEMS clubs are started on a voluntary basis and have successfully expanded to over 40 locations around the country. Central Texas’s Girlstart offers after-school programs similar to those at SCFG as well as a summer camp program for girls entering grades 4–8. The Science Center of Iowa (SCI) offers programs through their Girls in Science Initiative, focused on giving girls the chance to meet with female mentors working in STEM fields.