More than 300 B.C. girls gathered at Vancouver’s Science World on Saturday for a day of workshops, mentorship, presentations and activities.
It was the sixth annual Girls and STEAM event — steam stands for “science, technology, engineering and math.”
Science World said it hosts this important event to address an apparent gender gap in STEAM fields and inspire girls to pursue careers across sectors in science, technology, engineering and math.
“Stats show that among high school graduates, women are 30 per cent less likely than men to enroll in a postsecondary STEAM program shortly after graduation. The event sheds light on the local STEAM community and available resources for girls and women interested in pursuing a career in these fields,” Science World said in a release.
This year’s keynote speaker was Andini Makosinski, a Canadian inventor who is best known for the creation of the Hollow Flashlight, which is powered off heat from a human hand.
“I think it’s really important that girls at a young age see role models, or meet other girls their age who also have passions in science and art, because (when I was) growing up, I think the only female scientists I read about were Marie Curie and the rest were these old 1800s male scientists that I couldn’t relate too.”
Marie Curie is widely regarded as one of the most famous woman physicists and chemists from the late 1800s and early 1900s. She received two Nobel Prizes for her work in medicine, using radioactivity.
The event saw 40 mentors from diverse industries whom girls were able to engage with in roundtable discussions.
“It is really fun and really cool to learn (about all) this,” said Alexis Riedel, one of the attendees.
“We are very excited to be here. It is cool to see all these other girls who are interested in science.”