KidGab at 2016 Girl Scout STEMfest

On February 6, Texas A&M University hosted the Girl Scouts of Central Texas' 2016 STEMfest. Spanning across the main lobby and hall of first floor of the Jack E. Brown Building, organizations and student researchers set up booths to present their projects and enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and mathematical fields of study.

Stephanie Valentine attended to represent the Sketch Recognition Lab, directed by Dr. Tracy Hammond, and her project, KidGab. Her booth, with its bright colors and bright smiles, attracted almost every girl that passed by. Parents and children alike showed interest in KidGab and the Digital Friendship Program.

KidGab is Valentine's social media platform that is made specifically for Girl Scouts. It is a safe environment for girls to learn how to be safe online and to stay connected with other scouts. Parental involvement is needed to register for an account and to keep the account active over time. Valentine's Digital Friendship Program is an extension of her non-profit organization, Wired Youth.

"Every time I host events, the girls always ask me 'when do we get to meet the Aggies?'" Emily Magnotta, the Program and Travel Specialist of the Girl Scouts of Central Texas, commented about the scouts excitement about the event in her opening talk. She went on to state that she, too, looked forward to STEMfest, jokingly stating, “I get to learn a while new bunch of stuff - like that there is more than one type of engineers.”

This year, the event was partnered with the Society of Women Engineers. Diverse organizations and departments from across campus came out to interact with the girls. Ranging from Agriculture, Aggieloop, and Dell computers all the way to the Society of Test Flight Engineers, outreach projects in engineering, and the International Society of Black Engineers, there was something there for everyone. About 80 girl scouts and their parents attended from around central Texas, some even making a six hour drive to participate in it. There was a large age range in the girls - the youngest being 5-years-old and the eldest being 17.

The motivation and purpose behind STEMfest is to inspire girls to become interested in STEM-related areas of study and careers. As Magnotta stated in her opening speech, only 1 in 5 people in related careers are women, and it's important for girls not only to be interested in the subjects taught in school, but to also know that STEM careers are an option and understand that they are capable of being involved in STEM.

This motivation was exemplified in pop culture reference when Magnotta had Valentine retell the story of the engineering-themed Barbie coloring book. In the book, two male characters are working on a project. When Barbie walks in and sees what they are doing, she states that she could never do what they do because it was too difficult.

Later that day, one girl was doing a scavenger hunt - a list of questions that she needed answered by the student-presenters - and asked Valentine what programs that engineers used for coding. Instead of just answering, Valentine pulled out her laptop and showed her the codes she had just finished updating for KidGab. She took the girl through a step-by-step, visual tour of coding.

(Valentine talking with a Girl Scout about coding)

When she was done, Valentine asked the girl scout if she knew who coded all the things on the screen before her. When the girl shook her head, Valentine pointed to herself with a smile, "I did." Then she asked the girl if, one day, she thought that she could program something, too. When the girl shook her head, Valentine responded, "why not? I did this. You can, too."

Over the course of the afternoon, girl scouts came to Valentine's booth to talk with her about her project and play with the avatar creation that was set up on four iPads. The scouts loved the interactivity and being able to create avatars, the parents liked how safe and rooted it was.

"It's really fun," one of the younger scouts said while posting a drawing on one of the demo accounts' wall.