SparkFun Stories of Success
Inspiring Girls to Pursue STEM
Peggy Lee, Program Director, Made by Girls
Digital Media Academy, Los Gatos, CA,
Made by Girls, an initiative of Digital Media Academy, aims to build tech confidence in girls.
As part of the program, female role models from STEM fields lead courses for girls ages 8–17 throughout North America that focus on building community. The theory behind these courses stems from research showing that role models, community and early exposure to STEM are crucial to building lasting confidence in girls and can help them reach their full potential as creators and innovators.
As the program director for Made by Girls, Lee works to create new classes, collaborate with female mentors and build programs with partners. One such program was “When I Grow Up,” which was organized by NASA and Girl Scouts of Northern California in 2016. As part of this event, Made by Girls conducted two game design workshops, participated in a career panel for sixth grade girls and ran a booth where girls could build a paper circuit pin. The hands-on pin project was chosen for this event because it fit right in to Made by Girls’ overall mission to provide accessible, relevant and engaging opportunities to learn about STEM. As an added bonus, the activity resulted in something tangible and fun: a light-up pin that girls could wear and share with others.
At the event, the reaction to the paper circuit pin, which uses copper tape to connect an LED to a battery, was even better than Lee anticipated. “The pins were perfect for Girl Scouts, who wear sashes or vests that display their scout badges,” Lee explains. “They were pinning the light-up circuits to their sashes and vests and displaying them proudly. The whole event had girls with light-up pins walking around the grounds. I overheard a group of Brownies exclaim to their troop leaders, ‘Circuits! We want to build circuits!’ ”
“I was surprised by how accessible the project was to everyone who participated and how girls of all ages could relate and get excited about it. The girls could also have varying knowledge about electricity or circuits and still relate to it on a variety of different levels.
Though she knew the power of LEDs and light-up projects to get kids excited and connected to circuitry, Lee was surprised at how accessible and relevant this particular project was for girls of all ages. She said girls in Daisies (5-year-olds) all the way through Seniors (up to 18 years old) were equally excited and involved in building the pins.
“All the girls showed an immediate sense of pride and excitement when flipping the binder clip and lighting up their pins,” Lee says. “I was surprised by how accessible the project was to everyone who participated and how girls of all ages could relate and get excited about it. The girls could also have varying knowledge about electricity or circuits and still relate to it on a variety of different levels.”
Even more exciting was the “sense of camaraderie” between the girls working on the pins. Lee noted that many of the girls at the table would help one another troubleshoot and complete their pins and that many asked to take one home to their siblings who were not at the event.