STEM

Across America, there is a growing gap between males and females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Girls Scouts of New Mexico Trails is dedicated to helping close that gap through providing quality opportunities for hands-on exploration in science to girls of all ages. Our STEM initiative is designed to encourage girls to investigate science ideas and topics, while connecting them with professionals in the field. By delivering programming with engaging and fun STEM activities, we hope to provide girls with a unique experience that will fuel their passion for learning and set them on a path to a career in science.

Imagine your girl taking on some of the biggest challenges and problems our planet faces—and helping solve them. Imagine her having a career that’s engaging and well paid. Imagine her teaming up with others to invent the future. Let your girl see that STEM can help her make the world a better place!

Girl Scouts who participate in girl-focused STEM programs:

• Become better problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and inspirational leaders
• Get better grades, earn scholarships, and follow more lucrative career paths
• See STEM as the foundation for a meaningful and successful future

Perhaps she’d like to build a robot, create an app, invent a medical device, develop a video game, design a car, protect the world’s wildlife, send a spacecraft into outer space, cure a disease, keep the ocean clean, or study the stars. She can accomplish any of these and so much more! 

• STEM experiences are framed within the context of leadership: As girls participate in Girl Scouting, they develop leadership skills to make the world a better place. Research shows girls are more interested in STEM careers when they know how their work can help others.
• The Girl Scout Leadership Experience engages girls through the three Girl Scout processes of: girl-led, learning by doing, and cooperative learning.

• Girl-led: Even when a girl has an interest in STEM, she might find that boys take the lead in a school environment due to unspoken assumptions about gender roles. Girl Scouts offers a safe, supportive place for girls to seek challenges. The girl-led process encourages girls to decide which topics they want to explore and how they want to go about it.
• Learning by doing: Research shows that, particularly with STEM, youth need to be hands-on, active learners. The learning-by-doing process encourages this approach. In addition, Girl Scouts' learning-by-doing process involves a reflection step that asks girls to think about how a given activity worked and what they would do differently in the future—a key skill in scientific testing and conducting experiments.
• Cooperative learning: In general, girls prefer a collaborative leadership style, rather than the traditional, top-down, "command and control" approach. The cooperative learning process gives girls the opportunity to develop leadership and STEM skills in a way that might feel most comfortable.

"I think some girls don’t like science because they don’t think  it’s something girls should do. They think science is a boy subject. But, I’m a girl and I love science and seeing how things work."

                                                                        - Sarah, 8 year old Girl Scout