Science Club for Girls Receives Advancement Award from The Boston Club April 27, 2011
Posted by Science Club for Girls in SCFG News.Tags: award, Mentors, Volunteers, women
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“The staff and I refer to ourselves as being small but mighty,” said Executive Director Connie Chow when she accepted the Advancement Award from The Boston Club. “Because it is really through the 200 plus mentors, board members and events volunteers who join hands in our mutual goal that we are able to inspire over 1,000 girls each year.”
Science Club for Girls Board Member Kimberly Dwyer; SCFG Volunteer Mentor Dr. Monica Hall-Porter; Executive Director Connie Chow; Keynote Speaker Corinne Grousbeck; Boston Club Advancement Committee Chair Ronna Woodward; SCFG volunteer and former board member Sharon Stone. Photo credit: The Boston Club
Science Club for Girls was honored with recognition and a $5,000 award at The Boston Club’s Community Salute on April 14th, an annual breakfast event held at Westin Copley Place Hotel. Science Club was recognized for how it effectively engages volunteers to advance girls and young women in the community.
Ronna Woodward, Chair of the Advancement Awards Committee said, “We were very moved by the transformational work being done by so many talented, committed volunteers and staff.”
Mother Caroline Academy also received an award.
The Boston Club seeks to build a community of women who are connected to each other and to those in their next stage of their careers, offer opportunities to give back, to share expertise and to support one another’s professional development.
The experience of a teen participant in Science Club for Girls’ Junior Mentor program epitomizes the impact of the program. “I learned it doesn’t matter what your race, age, or appearance is. You can do anything and become anything you put your mind to… It’s about having friends and peers to encourage you through your goal, which is the relationship I had with my team in SCFG. Science Club for Girls made me realize that I have the power and the knowledge to become a scientist and to help others achieve their goals and dreams.” Though she wasn’t able to share this at the breakfast, it captures why our volunteers are so vested in the girls.
Many thanks to The Boston Club and especially the Advancement Committee. We hope many of you will join our volunteer rank.
Mentors, volunteers and board members, past and present: Thank YOU. This award belongs to all of you.
In Cambridge: Deep Roots, New Growth November 18, 2010
Posted by Science Club for Girls in Clubs.Tags: after school, Amigos, Cambridge, children, Clubs, college, early experience, Education, Fun, Harvard, Mentors, MIT, School, Science, STEM, Volunteer, women in science
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It was in Cambridge in 1994 that Science Club for Girls was born. Sixteen years later, the grass roots organization that was conceived by a few parents continues to grow, even where it is most established.
This fall, due to popular demand, Science Club for Girls brought its program to the Morse School. On Wednesday afternoons, girls gather together with their mentors to explore the science behind Chemistry and Crystals and Magic Science. SCFG was first brought to the Morse School by the mentors, a group of women in the graduate school of sciences at BU. They forged the way by piloting one club at the site last year. Having met with the success, the doors were opened to SCFG to expand the program, which now reaches girls in three grades at the site.
Emily Conn leading Toy Factory club in testing their toys. Pictured: a catapult.
In Cambridge, two new curricula have also emerged. Emily Conn, an engineering student at MIT and a returning mentor with Science Club for Girls, is piloting a curriculum that she wrote: Toy Factory. The curriculum explores the “E” in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) by giving girls the opportunity to design and build their own toys. Bridget Alex, an archaeology student at Harvard and a returning mentor, is also the author of a new curriculum, Archaeology, which she and fellow mentor Meredith McGregor are piloting this semester. Through it, the girls act as archaeologists in activities that vary from deducing an owl’s diet by dissecting its pellet, to developing the most effective formula for mummifying apples.
Bridget Alex leading Archaeology club in weighing mummified apple slices.
Both curricula will be temporarily retired after this semester for fine-tuning, but as we await their induction into the halls of SCFG fame, we acknowledge our exceptional mentors, new and returning, who continue to make all the difference for us and for our girls.
Speed Dating for Science October 29, 2010
Posted by Science Club for Girls in Events.Tags: Boston, college, early experience, Education, Events, Fun, girls, Mentors, MIT, Non-Profit, Northeastern, Science, Show Me the Science, STEM, Volunteer, women in science
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Discovering gladiator Ant Lions!
The bell dings and you have a couple of minutes to show off all there is about you. You whip out your Ant Lions and show off their gladiator stylings as they devour a fly that never stood a chance. What? You don’t do that on a first meeting? You would if you were at Show Me the Science!
Mass Academy homeboy: Charles Darwin
We kicked off our first reverse science fair of the season on Saturday October 9, 2010 at Northeastern University. 21 presenters and 25 volunteers helped over 50 girls from the Boston area get to know Science and Engineering in a whole new way! From learning how to make dough from milk to trying to rip phone books in half, girls were able to experience the full gambit of STEM and learn that science and engineering is indeed fun and for everyone!
Can you rip apart phone books?
This event was hosted by our new college chapter at Northeastern. You can read more about the event in this article by Northeastern University and for all the great pictures, please visit our album.
*We also have a new site at Northeastern University that meets each Saturday from 10:30-11:30am. This site is open to all girls in grades K2-6th grade and is FREE! Click here to learn more and download the application.
College Chapter Kick-Off! October 12, 2010
Posted by scfgblake in Mentor volunteers, Volunteering, women in science.Tags: Boston, Cambridge, college chapter, Education, Harvard, inspiration, learning, Mentors, MIT, Non-Profit, Northeastern, School, Science, STEM, Tufts, Volunteer, women, women in science
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On September 19, college chapter leaders from five different universities gathered at the Science Club for Girls headquarters in Cambridge, Mass for the first official College Chapter Leadership and Development Training.
Keynote speaker Gwen Acton, president of Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST) as well as the founder and CEO of Vivo Group, kicked off the training with a motivational discussion about what it means to be a leader in the 21st century. Afterwards, representatives from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Northeastern and Tufts universities collaborated on ideas and strategies and engaged in thought-provoking discussions about diversity and low-income demographics.
In the upcoming months college chapters will play a crucial role in the expansion of Science Club for Girls’ volunteer base and lead everything from recruitment efforts to mini Show Me the Science! fairs on their respective college campuses. They will also expand significantly themselves, with each chapter creating an executive board that will consist of a secretary, treasurer, and coordinators of marketing and programming.
Are you ready to be a Mentor? September 19, 2010
Posted by Science Club for Girls in Volunteering.Tags: Boston, Cambridge, children, Clubs, college, early experience, Education, Free, Fun, girls, inspiration, Kids, learning, Mentors, Non-Profit, School, Science, STEM, Volunteer, women, women in science
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Think back to when you were younger. Who told you that you could be successful? Who made you believe in the power of your dreams? Who has helped you become who you are today? Can you be that person for these girls?
One-time and recurring volunteer opportunities are still available, sign up today!
