From making spacesuits to landing a ‘spaceship,’ Houston County camp exposes girls to STEM

Twenty-two girls sat at their desks in the upstairs classrooms of the Century of Flight Hangar in Houston County. The classroom’s purple walls were decorated with STEM and science-themed posters. Pencils, markers, and scissors filled the green organizers in the center of each desk.

“Star,” the instructor called.

“Basic,” the girls replied.

It was the first day of Starbase Robins’ eighth annual all-girls summer camp: STEMpower Girls.

This year’s theme encompasses NASA’s new graphic novel “First Woman, Expanding our Universe,” partially inspired by NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander of the SpaceX Crew-7. Throughout the week, middle school girls learn about space exploration in classes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Trelaine Jackson, STEM project manager, said it was important to have an all-female STEM camp to increase the percentage of women in STEM fields.

In 2020, women made up just 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. This gap is what the American Association of College Women calls the “STEM gap.” The American Association of University Women cites gender stereotypes, a male-dominated culture, a lack of role models and a confidence gap between boys and girls who do math as reasons for the gender gap in STEM fields.

“Having these all-female camps gives them an opportunity to say, ‘I can do this.’ Why can’t I do this? Who’s stopping me?’ said Starbase Robins Lead Instructor Kylie Youmans.

Yolanda Bivens, program manager at Robins Air Force Base, said she was very excited when her daughter was accepted into two of Starbase Robins’ summer camps, and she definitely wanted her to attend the camp. reserved for girls.

“I wanted her to see how other girls can also be innovative and how being smart is really cool and appreciated,” Bivens said.

To end their Monday, the instructors asked the girls to change classes, where they learned how to land small models of “spaceships” that they had built using materials like paper, glue and glue. the string to make galaxy pots. As they filled their Mason jars with cotton balls and glitter, the instructors explained the differences between a nebula and a galaxy.

During the rest of the week, the girls have the chance to design crew modules, learn about constellations, design spacesuits, build rockets, perform experiments on the Venus cloud and to conduct research on space travel.

To join the camp, students had to submit letters of recommendation, have a good GPA, and have a good grade in their school. Youmans said they were all happy to be there.

“Parents sometimes tell us, ‘So-and-so just couldn’t stop talking about everything you did yesterday,'” Youmans said. “We feel the enthusiasm.”