A week before Thanksgiving, approximately 60 girls grades six through eight got
hands-on exposure and experience exploring STEM activities geared toward igniting
their interest in potential, future STEM careers.
North High Magnet School hosted a series of workshops for the girls during a fall,
evening camp at the high school Nov. 15. Each workshop was led by a high school
student ambassador and a facilitator through the Pathways Program at North High
Magnet. The girls discovered career tracks in areas such as computer science,
engineering and biomedical sciences.
“Some students have told facilitators that they are tired of being the only female
identified in their robotics or biochemistry classes,” said one of the facilitators. “We’ve
learned that youth lose interest in STEM-related topics as early as middle school. If we
can catch them early enough, we can help encourage them to learn more. The purpose
of these workshops is to introduce STEM careers and hopefully encourage them to
pursue them in post-secondary education.”
Throughout the evening the girls rotated between three workshops with hands-on
activities for each. In engineering, the girls learned how to build stabilized bridges using
books, paper clips, wooden blocks and bound paper. The Computer Science group
learned about how the internet works with routers, emailing, programming databases
and the use of communication towers to send information. Girls in the Biomedical group
learned about clogged arteries and how to clear them using balloons, playdoh, straws
and cardboard tubes.
Youth Ambassador Jalaya is a junior at North High Magnet and taking courses through
the Pathways program, as well as getting her certificate to be a licensed CNA upon high
school graduation.
“This program is really fun because we can teach the younger girls how to be problem
solvers and also show them what kind of careers they can have as an adult. We want
them to know they can have fun too,” Jalaya said.
While North High Magnet is the only high school with Technology as a magnet focus,
the youth who participated came from throughout the metro—OPS schools, private
schools and home-schooled students. The workshop series takes place every fall. The
high school also hosts a week-long youth camp open to any student in the Omaha
metro in June.
Parents interested in getting their student involved in STEM careers can attend North
High Magnet’s Open Houses Jan. 13, 2019. Students need not participate in the Fall
program to be considered for the summer camp. Girls can attend either program,
however, the summer camp is open to both boys and girls. Parents can check with their
student’s counselor to find out more information on how to register.

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