Girl Scouts to Take STEM Experiences on the Road

Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming (GSMW) is more than half way to its goal of taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) experiences on the road to girls, K-12.

Through grants and additional sponsorships, GSMW has raised 67% of its goal for a cargo style van that will be outfitted to store and deliver a myriad of technology, resources and experiences. Briana Rickman, Director of Fund Development for GSMW, hopes folks will consider supporting the Mobile STEM Learning Center when it comes to choosing where to direct their end-of-year giving.

“We’re asking the community to support this initiative which will allow us to meet girls where they are and let them experience STEM in a whole new way. We are hoping to reach our goal before we flip the calendar to December.”

Rickman’s reference to timing matches up with Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity that falls on November 30th this year.

“Funding for the Mobile STEM Learning Center will help to bridge both gender and geographical gaps by ensuring that girls of every age in rural areas have opportunities to explore STEM possibilities as a future career.”

One goal of the Mobile STEM Learning Center is to show possibilities, provide knowledge and hands-on STEM experience to girls at an early age. While more than half of the U.S. workforce consists of females, less than one quarter of STEM careers are held by women. From their initial interest in STEM as a child to majoring in a STEM subject in college to pursuing a STEM career as an adult, the gender disparity needs to change at every stage of girls’ and women’s STEM engagement.

The second goal is to address STEM “deserts” created by uneven distribution of STEM opportunities across the country. Approximately 67% of Montana and Wyoming is rural. This translates to hurdles that can include a lack of access to honors courses, high-level technology business exposure, as well as limited access to quality curriculum and vigorous and engaging math and science courses.

“With the Mobile STEM Learning Center, we take the STEM experience to girls. This mobile Learning Center allows us to create and optimize an environment where girls explore freely, expand their perspectives and, hopefully, pique their interest and confidence to explore STEM even more. When there’s space for a girl’s imagination to grow, there’s no stopping where she’ll go.”

GSMW has plans to deliver STEM programming to girls in every county of Montana and Wyoming within its first two years.