GSEMA was thrilled to welcome over 240 Girl Scouts to Camp Cedar Hill for our 10th Annual STEM Conference & Expo on April 30! Thirty-five amazing local organizations and dozens of STEM professionals gathered to share their work, teach something new, and get girls excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. This was the first year that our STEM Conference was offered for all ages and we are thrilled to report that it was well-received by all! Visit our STEM Conference webpage for a recap and photos from our annual event.

The day began with a morning session, designed for 187 Girl Scouts in grades K-5. Then in the afternoon, 57 Girl Scouts ranging from grades 6-12 joined in on the fun. We are proud to have reached a total of 360 attendees, including Girl Scouts, their families, and their Troop Leaders. Some of the hands-on activities included designing and printing a 3D product, engineering a bridge, sending messages using Morse Code, extracting DNA from a strawberry, holding caterpillars and other interesting bugs, and piloting a robot!

Our STEM Conference Committee included eight female STEM professionals and graduate students representing Harvard, VMWare, MathWorks, and more. They managed to bring together 35 different participant organizations including the Society of Women Engineers, MIT Koch Institute for Integrated Cancer Research, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, and Suffolk Construction. Participants also had the opportunity to hear from Alyssa Ann Goodman who is the Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy at Harvard University, the event’s Keynote Speaker.

 Some of the most exciting findings came from our post-event survey, in which Girl Scouts indicated strong interest in the fields of construction, firefighting, veterinary medicine, medicine (nurse, doctor, or surgeon), engineering, astronomy, marine biology, chemistry, military, and architecture. Additionally, 100% of girls who completed the survey indicated that they felt they were good problem solvers and that this event helped them build their knowledge about how science and technology play an important role in being a good citizen.

Be sure to check out all the photos from this fantastic event!