Taking STEPS to Get More Girls into Science
As an associate professor of engineering and technology at UW-Stout, Wendy Stary knows that her gender puts her in the minority among science and technology professionals. That’s why she and her colleagues at UW-Stout are working to alter that equation for the next generation of women.
Stary is director of the university’s STEPS Program, which in 2016 will mark its 20th summer of inspiring girls between their sixth- and seventh-grade years to develop their aptitudes and interest in science and technology, fields that remain dominated by men. STEPS – the name is an acronym for Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer – offers four five-day sessions each summer, during which 40 girls at a time stay on campus and get hands-on experience using high-tech equipment, solving problems with science and math, and building their own robots.
“They discover things about themselves or things they are capable of that they didn’t previously know,” Stary says of the campers. “They learn about some fields that they may have previously thought of as ‘boys only.’”
Whether because of societal pressures, biases in the educational system, or other factors, girls who excel in math and science during their elementary years often convince themselves they’re not good at these subjects once they reach middle school. Stary knows about this trend from personal experience: During her first two years of college, she majored in music. Even though her father had once owned a manufacturing company, she says she had never considered engineering or science as career paths. That began to change as an undergraduate at UW-Stout, where as a newly minted manufacturing engineering student, she served as a lab assistant during the second summer of the STEPS program in 1998. “It was almost as beneficial to me to solidify my decision to go into engineering as what our campers tell us today,” she says of the experience.
For the girls – and adults – involved, the STEPS program is a mixture of experiential learning, teamwork, and summer-camp fun. On Sunday, participants start out bonding on a ropes course, learning how to work together as well as to push their personal limits. For the following four days they attend classes in math, chemistry, physics, and biology, as well as take part in lab activities where they manufacture components by, for example, casting aluminum or wiring their own circuits. The program takes them into UW-Stout’s Fab Lab, which features fabricating tools such as 3D printers, as well as on visits to local technology companies.
Of course, STEPS isn’t all work and no play. This being a summer camp, there’s also swimming, bowling, and a pizza-and-karaoke party, and the girls get to stay overnight in a campus dorm.
Ultimately, each girl builds a “Bugbot” – an obstacle-avoiding robot – that they can take home. Hopefully they also take home an enhanced appreciation of science and technology and the understanding that they can succeed in these fields as women. Part of this inspiration is offered by the presence of female lab assistants and junior counselors, all of whom are former STEPS campers.
While it’s hard to measure the exact impact of STEPS – there’s been no long-term survey of its more than 3,000 alumni to see how the program affected their educational and career paths – there’s anecdotal evidence that it has influenced some young women. Consider the two daughters of UW-Stout Chancellor Robert Meyer: Both are STEPS alumni, and both now hold engineering degrees.
While tuition is $450 per girl, that’s only a portion of the actual cost. The rest is paid for in part by the university and a host of corporate and foundation sponsors, including Xcel Energy, Phillips Plastics, and Cardinal Glass.
As the camp nears its 20th summer, Stary encourages parents and their sixth-grade daughters to consider applying for STEPS. “If I had a daughter, I would tell her that this is an amazingly fun experience that you can’t have at just any camp,” she says. “ There’s nothing quite like this experience – just seeing how much you can do that you can’t even imagine.”
What is STEPS?
The Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer for Girls (STEPS) is designed to inspire girls entering seventh grade to prepare for and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
What are the dates?
There will be four sessions in the summer of 2016: July 10-14, 17-21, and 24-28; and July 31-Aug. 4.
How can I learn more?
If you’re interested in applying, donating, or simply want more information, visit www.uwstout.edu/steps, call (715) 232-5510, or email STEPS@uwstout.edu.
