Girls' Coding Club participants played video games with family members at a wrap-up event marking the end of the eight-week fall program. New programs begin Feb. 4.
(Engineering) At the DiscoverE Girls, Engineering and Mentorship (GEM), and Girls' Coding Club open house event, Grade 3 - 9 students played the most thrilling computer games ever with their parents - the games they had designed and programmed themselves in only eight weeks.
"The best part of the club was to play the game I built," said Shriya, an 11-year-old Girls' Coding Club fall graduate and an avid gamer.
"I tried the game and I'm happy she made it. The club gave a good base for her to know what's behind computer games," said Shriya's dad, Sachin, as he tested his daughter's first JavaScript project with great pride.
Andi, a nine-year-old participant in the fall GEM program, which focused on the engineering of shelters, loved building shelters out of sticks, snow, and grass. Besides learning about fire and first aid in the GEM classes, Andi made new friends.
"One of my friends from school came to the club. I met two new friends," she said.
"I'm coming back in winter, I want to learn about robots," added Andi, excited to explore engineering and science through GEM's hands-on challenges. Next term the program will focus on the role of engineers in developing new technologies, exploring space, and building structures for our future.
With all the hands-on engineering and science experience Andi has gained through GEM classes this fall, she'll definitely pass her school exams with flying colours: GEM and Girls' Coding Club curricula align with school requirements in Alberta.
"Participants tend to be very successful when they go back to class," said Ilana Crawford, DiscoverE outreach co-ordinator.
The DiscoverE all-girls initiatives, both the Girls, Engineering and Mentorship (GEM) Club, and Girls' Coding Club, create a safe, inclusive environment for girls to experience the excitement of engineering, science and technology in a fun, empowering, and supportive environment.
"It's important to run all-girls programs because females are underrepresented in engineering and science," said Amanda Toniolo, a fourth-year education student and a GEM co-ordinator.
"Girls get to meet other 'engineering girls' and they realize it's not weird; they're not on their own," added Josh Ikebuchi, community relations co-ordinator with DiscoverE.
To build up confidence in girls entering still male-dominated fields, the clubs recruited women as instructors, junior instructors, and volunteers to serve as role models and mentors to young students.
On the benefits of a girls-only space, Alexia Walsh, a second-year computer engineering student and a Girls' Coding Club volunteer says, "I'm able to inspire girls. When you have a group of girls, they're more willing to take risks and explore."
Walsh, a six-time DiscoverE camper, is now sharing her love for programming with students - in a fun and exploratory way. "Coding is so much fun. It's like having the world on your fingertips," she said.
Next semester's program is already nearing capacity. The clubs welcome up to 47 girls each term and offer bursaries to support families with the cost.
"We haven't had a girl student who applied and didn't get a bursary," Crawford said of supporting applicants and creating opportunities for girls of all backgrounds.
Registration is now open for the winter term - both GEM and Girls' Coding Club will run for nine consecutive Saturdays from February 4 until April 1, 2017.