STEM Program for Girls Set for April 8 on U of A Campus

A daylong STEM Leadership for Girls conference is set for April 8 on the U of A campus.

The conferences will include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)  activities for 50 or more girls in a workshop format applying topics such as robotics, coding, engineering design, space science, nanoscience, chemical reactions, and 3-D visualization. The conference may include a tour of STEM facilities and STEM programs offered at each college.

Interested girls should go to the Arkansas STEM Coalition website for more information about the UA Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun: STEM Fun, That Is! YR 3 event.

The conference is one of 11 scheduled around the state this spring funded by the Carl D. Perkins Technical Education Act of 2006. Sponsored by to the Arkansas STEM Coalition, in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Arkansas Department of Career Education, the conferences promote STEM education.

The purpose of the grant funding is to improve opportunities and services to Arkansas female students, particularly in grades 9-12.  In addition, the conferences will promote interest in STEM career fields and, ultimately, reduce the stereotype that these fields are mainly for men. This program hopes to encourage young women to pursue collegiate careers in STEM-related occupations.

For more information, contact Lynne Hehr, director of the University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education, at lhehr@uark.edu.