Good question! SciGirls is a program that offers fun science experiences for girls across the country. SciGirls get together in camps, clubs, and science centers to watch DFTV videos that showcase girls and women doing science. Then SciGirls take the wheel, doing their own investigations that relate to the science seen in the videos.
The SciGirls program is still young and small-scale, so SciGirls programs only exist in a handful of places across the United States. However, every year the number of places offering SciGirls camps or clubs grows. If there are not SciGirls opportunities in your home town just yet, there might be soon!
In 2009, SciGirls grants went to organizations that work with Latinas. Here is a list of SciGirls programs and the organizations run them. If you do not see a club near you, be sure to check out other groups that host great science programs for girls. Girls Scouts, Girls Inc., YWCA, and your local science museum are all good places to try. Some schools also have after-school science clubs for girls. Good luck!
SciGirls en Español Programs
- The Imaginarium of South Texas in Laredo, TX
The Imaginarium is organizing afterschool science clubs in two community centers, each in a former "colonia" for girls in grades K-8. - Key Middle School in Houston, TX
Key Middle School is conducting three sessions of a free 4-week Spanish-language summer camp, each meeting 5 days per week. - Explora in Albuquerque, NM
Explora is offering a science club to Hispanic girls in grades 4-8. The club will be taught by bilingual educators in Spanish and meet weekly at Explora. - Hayes Bilingual Elementary School in Milwaukee, WI Hayes Elementary is providing an afterschool club for girls in grades 3-5 with science fair preparation and involvement. The club will meet twice a week with mentors and take field trips to Discovery World, the Milwaukee Zoo, and the Milwaukee Planetarium.
- The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL
The Museum is training 5 teenage Latina mentors (as part of an internship program) to lead hands-on science activities at 5 sites across Chicago. For 5 months, the teen mentors will conduct meetings 3-4 times per week. - Sahuaro Girl Scout Council in Tucson, AZ
The Girls Scouts are incorporating SciGirls activities into Girl Scout programming at 3 sites in Tucson. - SciPort in Shreveport, LA
SciPort is offering eight Saturday morning science programs, conducted entirely in Spanish, for groups of girls. If girls participate in 4 Saturday sessions, they earn a parent-daughter camp-in experience, and their families receive a free year-long membership. - The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys
The Girl Scouts Council will provide Girl Scout troops with hands-on science programming. The SciGirls grant will support many STEM experiences for more Latina Girl Scouts through November 2009. - Girls Inc. of Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN
Girls Inc. is offering a month-long, full-time bilingual summer camp for girls ages 6-14. Part of the camp includes field trips to the Hands-On Museum in Huntsville, AL, and to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Challenger Center.
