Rosie Riveters

Description

Rosie Riveters provides a fun space for girls ages 4-14 to imagine, create and play while developing their skills in STEM. Overall, we instill a growth mindset - in STEM and beyond- by teaching girls to delete the words "I can’t" from their vocabulary and inspiring them to always be confident enough to try. Because even if they don’t get it right, they will always learn. It’s a well-known fact that women are underrepresented in STEM fields - they make up only 28% of the STEM workforce in the U.S. - and our organization aims to shift that staggering statistic. But it’s about more than just STEM. By age six, girls began to lose confidence in their academic abilities. Rosie Riveters addresses both of these issues by building girls’ confidence via STEM projects that emphasize productive struggle. We provide a safe space to fail, and actively promote an environment where participants get things wrong before they get them right.

From age 8 to 14, girls' self-confidence falls by 30 percent. Initial engagement in middle school and high school is simply too late; at this point those participating in STEM activities have already self-selected to seek an opportunity at a time when others in their peer group are losing interest. Our goal is to provide meaningful engagement with STEM before the drop-off point.