Middle School STEM Expo to Connect Industry with 125 Girls from 4 RI Schools

WHEN:  Friday, November 4, 2015 – 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

WHERE:  The Rhode Island STEAM Center at Rhode Island College
600 Mount Pleasant Ave, Providence, RI 02908
Opening Remarks:  Student Union Ballroom
Workshops:  To take place throughout campus

WHAT:  Tech Collective’s STEM in the Middle career expo aims to raise awareness and participation in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields at the middle school level. Students will attend three hands-on interactive STEM workshops throughout the morning. The workshops are designed and facilitated by female industry professionals, RIC faculty and high school girls (new this year!) from Wm. Davies Career and Technical High School (Lincoln) and North Kingstown High School. Workshop topics include: computer science, cosmology, biotechnology, engineering, environmental science and engineering, marine science, wearable technology and laser printing.

WHO:   STEM in the Middle will welcome an expected total of 125 students and 9 educators from 4 Rhode Island middle schools: Sophia Academy (Providence, RI), Woonsocket Middle School(Woonsocket, RI), Paul Cuffee Middle School (Providence, RI) and Calcutt Middle School(Central Falls, RI).

Participating companies and organizations include: Amgen, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Dassault Systemes Simulia, Ocean Exploration Trust (URI), NASA, Fidelity Investments, Hasbro, RI State Police, TEALs, and RI College.  New this year – two of the hands-on sessions will be facilitated by high school girls and not industry professionals

STEM in the Middle is funded through a Real Jobs Rhode Island grant and is sponsored byIBM and Dassault Systemes Simulia and the STEAM Center at RI College.

WHY:  Educators and industry commonly agree that students need to be exposed to STEM awareness and engagement at a young age. Middle school age is often recognized as a turning point, where adolescence begins and the pressures of peers and education increase. Students – particularly girls – can shy away from STEM due to gender stereotypes or a lack of awareness and perceived opportunities. STEM in the Middle’s mission is to erase these barriers through raising awareness and increasing opportunities for and participation of young women in the sciences.

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