Past STEM Camps

AAUW-HMB BRANCH INVITES GIRLS TO STEM DAY CAMP CLOSE TO HOME

AAUW-Half Moon Bay branch has been developing a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camp for seventh- and eighth-grade girls who were not able to attend an AAUW Tech Trek. (The closest Tech Trek to our branch is Stanford and our fundraising only allows us to send an average of 5 girls per year.) The first local STEM workshop in 2013 was a one-day event. The camp expanded to three days, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in 2014, and we continued the same format in 2015.

A three-day camp was held in a science classroom at Cunha Intermediate School in Half Moon Bay, while the district’s summer school was in session. We offered a variety of topics to expose young women to STEM careers while utilizing our local resources. Activities included:

  • Four short, station rotations: Bridges, Roominate, Geology, Nutrition.
  • Field trip to local science store Oddyssea that offers corporate team-building activities. Four teams built catapults to learn about torsion, energy storage and force, hosted by store owner Mike Harding.
  • Leveraging our coastal locale, we visited a state beach with talks by State Parks Ranger Nelle Lyons and volunteer docents Rita Jennings, Margaret Goodale and member Sue Hatfield on birds, ecology, and beach erosion.
  • Lauren Johnson-Williams, an energy/electrical engineer from CLEAResult, provided knowledge of energy assessment and conservation, allowing girls to see how energy is measured and exploring instruments used to measure light and power, and touring the solar panels installed at the school.
  • Member Maura Jones provided a technology workshop that included exposing girls to the Occupational Handbook from the Department of Labor, sharing tips on being safe and secure online, and utilizing iPads borrowed from Adobe to take photos during camp to create a short video of STEM highlights using Adobe Voice (a free app on iPads).
  • Women’s career panel discussed a variety of professions and offered career advice and life lessons. Panelists included members Betty Zographos, Nancy Struck and Caryl Battles, Emily Chueh (CLEAResult) and Liz Colvard (of USGS).

Since volunteer members served as staff, the snacks and lunches, supplies and activities were the main costs. The branch utilized a $1,000 grant from its Edna Cox bequest (a donation from a charter member who passed away, which is managed by the branch) to fund the day camp.

Our camp hosted 13 students, with three high-schoolers (two of whom were Tech Trek alumnae) serving as camp counselors. The adults and students all had a great time. We uploaded the four short videos the girls created to share their experiences. Adobe Voice links of the STEM girls and highlights from camp. Here are the Adobe Voice links per team:

Team 1: https://voice.adobe.com/a/ENGgK

Team 2: https://voice.adobe.com/a/erZXa

Team 3: https://voice.adobe.com/a/DKgzN

Team 4: https://voice.adobe.com/a/mDAX5

Contact: Mary Vargas of AAUW Half Moon Bay, 650.712.8699 cvu59@aol.com for further information on this STEM Camp. She was the original founder who requested a grant from the AAUW Half Moon Bay branch three years ago, and was the main driver to plan and execute this STEM day camp. This camp received $1,000 from Edna Cox Grant to conduct the STEM camp.