STEM Explorers
Where curiosity becomes capability. Girls explore STEM careers and the engineering design process in the years when career awareness starts to shape future choices.
The program
About STEM Explorers
Each week introduces a new STEM field through a female pioneer, from Katherine Johnson in mathematics to Joy Buolamwini in AI ethics. Girls then take on a hands-on design challenge using the engineering cycle: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, Improve.
A look at the 10 weeks
- Week 1: Launching Curiosity with Katherine Johnson and rocketry
- Week 2: Designing with Nature with Janine Benyus and biomimicry
- Week 3: Circuits of Change with Edith Clarke and electrical engineering
- Week 4: Coding Confidence with Joy Buolamwini and AI ethics
- Weeks 5-9: bridges, energy, microelectronics, sustainability, and smart cities
- Week 10: My STEM Story capstone and a community STEM Expo
How it works
Inside every session.
STEM storytelling
Every session opens with the story of a female innovator.
Design challenges
Girls work through the full engineering design cycle each week.
Reflection
Journaling and affirmation circles build collaboration and perseverance.
Standards-aligned
Mapped to Ohio Learning Standards for Science, the Ohio Career Connections Framework, NGSS, and CASEL.
Program goals
What success looks like.
STEM careers introduced through women role models
of girls show growth in design thinking
show stronger collaboration and perseverance
Targets for each cohort, measured with pre and post assessments.