More than 500 Girl Guides from P.E.I. and New Brunswick spent a weekend at camp aimed to encourage participants to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) disciplines.
On May 12 and 13, Girl Guides between ages nine and 18 participated in All SySTEMS Go, hosted by the Atlantic Association for Research in the Mathematical Sciences.
The two-day camp was held at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus.
"This event gives girls the opportunity to experience the world of mathematics and science, because they may not be able to in the communities that they live in,” says Beth Campbell, Girl Guides provincial commissioner of N.B. and P.E.I.
“It gives them a wider view of what job opportunities are available to women."
Over the two days, the girls participated in activities that promote and increase awareness and engagement of women in STEM fields.
On Saturday morning, the girls had their first of six 45-minute workshops, one in each of the STEM disciplines, to expose them to different aspects of the field.
The girls also attended a Q&A panel where they will have the opportunity to pose questions to scientists from the various STEM fields.
“Girl Guides always strives to provide an environment that challenges girls to push themselves outside of their comfort zone. One of the things that AARMS was striving for was to get more girls involved in STEM fields. We thought that this would be a great partnership and that's how we developed this program,” said Campbell.
There was a variety of mini-workshops, in such fields as chemistry, geology and civil engineering. Each lab gave the girls a chance to learn and discover the possibilities within mathematical science. The sessions included programming drones and robots, and solving a mystery in a chemistry lab.
The event was part of Science Odyssey, a ten-day celebration of discovery and innovation that engages and inspires Canadians of all ages with activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
