STEM Summer Institute 2014

 "The STEM Summer Institute for rising 9^th through 12^th grade girls was been created as a model STEM summer program for girls.  Their aim is to model true integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in a domain that is naturally appealing to girls – serving other girls in a global setting.  Each year the STEM Summer Institute will tackle a different problem sponsored by the Lwala Community Alliance."  (from http://stemefg.org/index.php/summer-institute/)

Driving to Harpeth Hall for her first day at STEM Camp:

BACKSTORY: This year, quite serendipitously, I came across the SSI's website and jumped at the chance to enroll my eldest in what seemed to be a great program--it even took place less than 5 miles from our home.  It seemed a perfect opportunity for her, aside from the huge cost.  Bracing myself for letting her down easy if the funds didn't become available, we received word a couple months before the start that she had received a scholarship for almost the entire cost of the two week camp.  We were beyond happy!

For two weeks, the girls had fun getting to know one another and enjoying fun activities meant to build relationships, as well as getting opportunities to meet women in STEM fields.  But of main importance: the task of using "an engineering design process based on information gained from scientific research and Kenyan cultural studies" to solve a problem with a pedestrian bridge in Lwala, Kenya.  

 Above is the existing Lwalan bridge.

 
For three years, the community alliance members in Lwala have been asking for help in this regard, and this year Dr. Gardner, the head of the SSI program at Harpeth Hall, laid the problem at the feet of 9th and 10th grade girls (with plenty of instruction and consultation from local engineers).  The bridge gets flooded out 6 months out of the year, making access to the hospital and school especially difficult.  For a community that already has a life expectancy 20 years lower than the Kenyan average (the average life span in Lwala is 41), this project was seen as vital to improving the quality and length of life for the people of Lwala.  With all the fun that was had during those two weeks, the girls took this element very seriously.

The girls broke up into small groups, and used online tools called Innovation Portal and Google Sketch Up; as well as making a visit to Vanderbilt structure testing lab to test a prototype of their bridge extension design.  They even were afforded a 3D printer to help brainstorm their designs.  They also went out and visited a local bridge to learn the vocabulary of bridges and bridge building, and then spent plenty of time exploring the issues of cost and materials for the people of Lwala.

Here are a bunch of notes revealing some of the work to be done:

 

Did I mention the fun part?

Moo's team bounced some of their ideas off of a structural engineer brought in to consult with the teams.  At the end of the two weeks, the girls were to document and defend their work to a panel of judges--the engineering faculty of Vanderbilt University.  Yeah, no pressure there... 

Okay, back to work...the above is the rendering of the finished project, and below are pictures of Moo and her team during their poster presentation before the judges. 

Several groups of judges came by the girls' displays set up in the Patton Visual Arts Building, and listened to them present their solutions to the ever-flooding Lwalan bridge...starting with the problem, cost and material constraints, design solution, testing and implementation. 

This would have made me terribly nervous, but Moo simply said she "had fun".  In the end, her team won!  Below is the certificate that says that she and her group demonstrated superior engineering design work.  Their bridge improvement design will be presented to the Lwala Community Alliance soon, and if all goes as planned (and hoped!), the improvements that these three young girls worked together to design will be implemented.

We are very proud of this young lady--her brains, beauty and grace have been a gift to our family. Seeing the glimmer of what she could offer beyond this little part of the world is exciting indeed.

The team poses with Dr. Stacy Klein-Gardner, Director, Center for STEM Education for Girls