Engineering a better world with girl power
Students from ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools open their doors to youth from across the Valley
Nearly 200 girls from Girl Scout troops and schools around the Phoenix metropolitan area stormed Arizona State University’s Tempe campus for GEAR Day on Saturday, March 30.
GEAR Day is an outreach initiative hosted by ASU’s Society of Women Engineers chapter. The event offers girls and boys a glimpse into science and engineering through interactive activities and design challenges, such as building solar cars and experimenting with buoyancy. Participants from second to 12th grade have the chance to explore new interests and see the impact of science and engineering on everyday life.
“Engineering is all about using different tools to solve issues facing society,” said Elizabeth Jones, the outreach coordinator for ASU’s Society of Women Engineers chapter and an electrical engineering major in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. “If girls like building things, creating new tools and using their imagination to solve problems, we should encourage them to do so through engineering.”
This year’s event had a sustainability theme to help girls and boys understand how the work of engineers can be applied to practical applications and prominent issues in the world. The participants learned about the importance of clean drinking water from the crisis in Flint, Michigan; the need to protect marine life from oil spills and the demand for renewable energy as a clean alternative to power the world.
Equipped with newfound knowledge, the participants put their skills to the test and started building solutions. They created water filtration systems, devised methods to clean up oil pollution and constructed solar-powered cars.
Girl Scout Emma Rice (right) and other troop members pose with Sparky after a morning filled with interactive activities and design challenges at GEAR Day, an outreach event hosted by Arizona State University’s Society of Women Engineers. Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
“Too many girls believe they can’t do engineering simply because they are a girl,” said Kamawela Leka, a volunteer at the event and a biomedical engineering major in the Fulton Schools. “It’s important to inspire these young girls to pursue engineering because the more minds we have tackling some of today’s biggest problems, the better we have a chance to solve them.”
Girl Scout troop leader Roberta Rice and her daughter, Emma, have been attending GEAR Day for about eight years. She believes the event dispels common misconceptions about science and engineering: It’s for boys, it’s boring or it’s too difficult for girls. She says it’s important for girls to know these fields are fun.
“I love GEAR Day,” said Emma Rice, a sophomore at Highland High School and a Girl Scout member. “You get a taste of everything. When I was very young, I built a catapult and solar-powered car. Now, I’m creating a device to help the ocean get rid of oil and trash — a serious problem for the Earth today.”
In addition to solving pressing societal needs, Emma Rice enjoys meeting new people and learning how to collaborate and work as a team. These are critical components of the engineering design process.
“An engineering tool to solve a problem is only as strong as the diversity of the team that creates it,” Jones said.
Jones grew up in a small town where the idea of a female in engineering wasn’t accepted. She decided to pursue engineering because people told her she couldn’t — even though she knew she could. Now, she is dedicated to being a role model for young girls and an advocate for getting more women into engineering professions.
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Two Girl Scout members collect and identify minerals from hardened sand blocks to learn about the Earth’s resources and their importance to engineers in building everyday objects.
Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
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Girl Scouts show their Sun Devil pride during GEAR Day. The annual event hosted by Arizona State University’s Society of Women Engineers offers a glimpse of science and engineering through fun activities.
Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
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Rhiannon Lewis (left), an aerospace engineering major, helps a group of participants brainstorm creative solutions to clean up oil and trash pollution in the ocean.
Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
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Girl Scout Amariah Brown Hart (left) and her new friend display their Fulton Schools-branded kalimba thumb piano, which they constructed to examine certain variables that affect its pitch.
Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
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Emily Ford (left), a doctoral student pursuing a degree in civil, environmental and sustainable engineering, shows a young girl how engineers can build tools to filter dirty water more efficiently.
Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
Cynthia Arebalo, a bilingual elementary education major in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, brought her daughter, Madison, to the event with the hope of showing her all the possible career paths available.
“Madison really likes science and math, and does really well in them,” Arebalo said. “I just want her to know she has options and she gains more confidence in her ability to do whatever she wants.”
Arebalo was also incredibly grateful the Society of Women Engineers didn’t charge admission for the event but instead hosted a school supply drive to donate to middle and high school teachers across the Valley.
Nearly 60 volunteers from the Society of Women Engineers and other student organizations in the Fulton Schools helped ensure GEAR Day was a successful event. The volunteers were committed to showing parents and participants the breadth of engineering and the importance of diversity of thought in the field.
“Young girls still see so many paths cut off for them simply because of the prejudices and stereotypes that still surround them,” Leka said. “Girls can do so much more than people believe.”
Top photo: Madison Arebalo, 9, channels her inner engineer as she builds a filtration system to clean contaminants from water during the afternoon session of GEAR Day on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Photo by Erika Gronek/ASU
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