You couldn’t tell it was the first day of fall break looking at all the students packed into the Waiakea High School library for Girls Engineering Day on Saturday, Oct. 4. Thirty-seven girls in grades 4-8 attended the second annual
You couldn’t tell it was the first day of fall break looking at all the students packed into the Waiakea High School library for Girls Engineering Day on Saturday, Oct. 4. Thirty-seven girls in grades 4-8 attended the second annual event run by the Waiakea High School Robotics Club, with funding from the Zonta Club of Hilo.
Participants came from schools all over the island, i
ncluding Keaau, Waiamea, Hilo, De Silva, Kamehameha, Waiakeawaena and Waiakea Elementary. A parent or teacher was asked to accompany each girl to the day-long workshop to assist them with the activities and provide encouragement for the day’s goal: getting young girls interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Participants experienced seven hours of science and engineering activities and speakers, focuses around this year’s aviation theme.
The girls built and launched foam-plate gliders, balloon helicopters, Delta Darts (rubber band powered propeller planes made of paper and balsa wood) and water-bottle rockets.
The activities not only excited the girls but seemed to inspire the wonder of flight in parents and teachers, as well. Speakers advocating women in STEM careers included Tasha Kobashigawa, a former newscaster turned commercial airplane pilot, who talked about the obstacles she overcame to eventually secure her career in aviation. She stressed the importance of persistence when pursuing personal goals and the rewards of getting to do what you love. Waiakea High School junior
Olivia Murray told the audience about her dreams of going into an engineering field and how events like Girls Engineering Day helped sparked her interest at a young age. Murray was also the student organizer for the event.
“For several years I’ve been wanting to do a girls engineering day to expose more young ladies to career paths in STEM,” said Dale Olive, Waiakea High science teacher and club advisor. He said this year’s event “exceeded [his] expectations,” with 17 girls who attended last year’s event returning this year.
“We organized different activities this year because I anticipated some repeat participants. My hope was to develop a cadre of young ladies who have interest and abilities in STEM, and to do something new yearly to sustain that interest till they reach high school, where they can enroll in one of the many STEM programs, like robotics.” It was, in fact, the consistently large number of girls in the Waiakea High Robotics Club that prompted the original event last year.
“When we asked our female alumni what attracted them to robotics they almost all said it was due to exposure to STEM at an early age,” said Olive. “Many had been to one of our robotics demonstrations in elementary or middle school. Those conversations gave us the idea of doing a Girl Engineering Day.”
With the talent that is found on the Big Island and the number of wonderful female role models working in the community, Olive said he is sure that events such as these will continue to be successful. Interested parties can contact him about participating in next years Girls Engineering Day at scienceguyme@yahoo.com. To learn more about the Waiakea High Robotics Club visit https://www.facebook.com/WaiakeaRobotics.
