For Hatboro-Horsham Girls, It's Full STEAM Ahead!

The Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation (HHEF) launched its Girls’ STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) initiative in 2016 with a series of presentations at Keith Valley Middle School. The speakers, all trailblazers in STEAM fields, shared their journeys, as well as the many exciting aspects of their careers, with the middle school girls. The initiative has since grown to include presentations for Hatboro-Horsham High School students. Committed to supporting STEM education, the HHEF has continued to invest in Girls’ STEAM, Hatters Robotics, and numerous teacher-inspired grant programs to integrate cutting-edge technologies into Hatboro-Horsham classrooms.

Why a girls STEAM focus?

According to a report released by Microsoft, girls and young women, even in 2018, remain less likely to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The same study found that participants expressed a preference for careers that allowed them to help the world or included a creative component, but were not aware that these interests could be combined with STEM opportunities. Given the limited awareness among girls about the wide array of careers in STEM, it is vital for girls to hear first-hand accounts from women who have successfully integrated these areas of study. Evidence suggests that girls are much more likely to consider STEM careers if they have a role model who inspires them.

Stephanie Yoder, Executive Director HHEF, said, “If we want more girls to choose careers in STEAM, it is our role as educators to inspire them with accomplished female engineers, scientists and mathematicians and to help our girls identify with the challenges these women overcame to reach their professional goals.”

Through a series of HHEF-organized presentations aimed at demystifying STEAM careers, young women at the District’s middle school and high school are seeing STEAM careers in a new, excited and multifaceted light.

These presentations have been well-received and thought-provoking. One of the highlights of the 2017-2018 school year was a lecture featuring NASA’s Dr. Morgan Cable, best known for her role leading the Cassini Mission to Saturn. A Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, she earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech where she developed a new way to search for the toughest forms of life. She worked on the Cassini Mission, performed field work in extreme places like the Atacama Desert and Mt Kilimanjaro, and developed new instruments and mission concepts to seek out life in the solar system. Currently, she is part of the Project Science Team on the Europa Lander mission concept and creates mini Titan methane lakes in the laboratory.

In September, The Girls’ STEAM Series kicked-off its 2018-2019 school year program with a presentation by Hatboro-Horsham alumna Janelle Benjamin and Stephanie Llamas of SuperData Research, a market intelligence company in the digital gaming industry. Benjamin is a successful entrepreneur who specializes in mathematics and statistics. Llamas is global expert in virtual reality.

There are four presentations scheduled for 2018-2019 at Keith Valley and the high school.

Hatboro-Horsham School District Superintendent Curtis Griffin said, “Connecting our young women with women who are leaders in STEAM is facilitating their understanding of the many creative careers paths out there. As a District, our goal is to empower all students---regardless of gender---to confidently pursue their interests in the STEAM fields.”

The impact of Girls STEAM

The HHEF has been monitoring enrollment in high school STEM courses and the declared college majors of graduating students. Data will be assessed when the first cohort of female students impacted reaches 11th grade. However, in a recent survey administered to Hatboro-Horsham high school students, 72% indicated that attending a Girls’ STEAM event has made them more likely to consider a STEM career.

“Student feedback has been exceptionally positive and shows that our young women are interested to explore the opportunities that are currently available---and those that will be available as technology moves forward. We hope with the guidance of powerful role models, students are becoming increasingly aware of the myriad careers that can be pursued with a STEAM background,” shared Yoder.

Increasing opportunities for all

To expand STEAM interest and opportunities for all students, the HHEF recently provided funding for VIVE Virtual Reality System equipment for Keith Valley’s Makerspace. The VIVE equipment includes a headset, hand controls and base stations that connect to the main computer. Using the headset and hand controls students are able to access virtual environments, which can be projected onto the 50 inch Smartboard, enabling all students in the classroom to participate and observe the virtual environment.

The equipment is used for exploration during morning Makerspace and after school Tech Club. Students can explore and interact with a variety of environments from undersea exploration to interacting with materials in a virtual lab. In addition, 7th graders explore the inside the human body and assemble skeletal parts in conjunction with their studies of the human body. Other curricular connections include virtual visits to different countries, the planets and solar system and art museums. In addition, through the Coding and Design course offered through the Creative Arts Rotation, students learn how Virtual Reality is created and used.

Students are excited to experience new environments and learn about virtual reality – how it works, where it is used and how it is made. They are even beginning to develop their own virtual environments using Unity software.