The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative seeks to unite and support educators, parents, professionals and other champions of STEM so we can engage and inspire the next generation! |
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Mini Grants Available to Promote Women in STEM |
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The IF/THEN® Collection is the largest free resource of its kind dedicated to increasing access to authentic and relatable images of real women in STEM. The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative, thanks to a generous donation from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, is excited to offer $500-$1000 mini-grants to highlight women in STEM professions. Learn more about the collection here. If you'd like to apply for a mini-grant for your youth-serving organization, submit your application via this Google Form.
Applications are due by September 15th. Grant recipients will be notified by September 24th.
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The Montana Afterschool Alliance is RELAUNCHING the Million Girls Moonshot! MTAA is proudly part of the Million Girls Moonshot, a collective impact initiative designed to increase diversity and equity in STEM. Million Girls Moonshot is working to close the persistent gender gap in STEM fields by engaging one million girls across the United States in STEM pursuits through high-quality, innovative afterschool learning opportunities over the next five years. By joining the initiative, programs across Montana can receive FREE professional development, have access to vetted STEM activities, booster packs, and more! For more information on the Moonshot, visit: http://www.mtafterschoolalliance.org/million-girls-moonshot. |
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Montana Destination Imagination seeks board members |
The Montana Destination Imagination (DI) Board of Directors is seeking candidates to fill vacancies on its Board. They are looking for community leaders who will help broaden the expertise and experience of the Board to advance the mission of the organization: to inspire and equip youth to imagine and innovate through the creative process.
Montana Destination Imagination is poised to enter a period of growth as parents seek opportunities for their children to participate in activities that are not only fun and active but that foster life skills such as collaboration and imaginative thinking. Each year, across Montana, children in schools large and small gather to develop solutions to complex, open-ended challenges. DI teams prepare their creative solutions to be shared in a creative way at the statewide tournament in the spring. The program is successful because of a wide, enthusiastic, and talented volunteer network and the energy of its young participants. For more information on DI, see https://www.destinationimagination.org/ or https://mt-di.org/.
The Board meets quarterly, with three meetings held virtually and one full day meeting held in person. The Board of Directors would particularly benefit from individuals with expertise in any of these categories: development and fundraising, educational leadership, marketing, information technology, corporate partnerships.
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STEM events and opportunities |
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Code Girls United After School Program
Code Girls United programs where girls create apps are expanding across Montana. The program is open to girls between 10-14 years old. Space is limited and registration is required on our website starting August 16th: https://codegirlsunited.org/registration/ . Programs are available in the following towns across Montana: Anaconda, Browning, Columbia Falls, Evergreen, Havre, Joliet, Kalispell, Polson, Ronan, and Sidney.
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Coding for Kids
Fall classes are open for enrollment in the Bitterroot Valley. Seven classes are being offered for students from grades 1 - 12 and include robotics, drones, film, 3D design and screenwriting. For more information, visit the website or email contact@codingstevensville.net.
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SciGirls Jr. From Exploration Works |
9/30-11/11: For those clever girls who love to investigate and experiment, SciGirls Jr. is a fun way to experiment and engineer while meeting other science-loving girls. Come be inspired by women in STEM careers, and someday you'll be an inspiration too! (Ages 7-9)
For more information, visit their website here.
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Check out some of these fun events coming up at the Montana Science Center in Bozeman! For more events and details on registration, visit their website: https://montanasciencecenter.org/calendar
Open Lab: 8/23-12/31 All things tech at your fingertips: 3D printing, machine take-apart, robotics, laser cutting, and more! Every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. All ages welcome, drop off for ages 9+ (6+ with a parent), included with admission.
STEAM at the Science Station: 8/24-12/31 Pull up a stool at the Science Station and have a STEAM experience! Guided by an MSC educator on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Will feature a guest presenter or community scientist! Available to all ages, included with admission.
Teen Tech Squad: 8/24-12/31 Coding, 3D design, soldering, and engineering come together to build the mightiest robot of all at the Fall Teen Tech Club. After school, all semester long, middle and high schoolers gather in the STEAMlab to work on their robot, led by educators and area professionals. Thursdays from 4:00pm to 6:00pm; $75 for materials.
Science Night In: 10/8, 11/12 Drop your kids off for a fun night of science and give yourself a parents' night out! We'll have pizza before jumping in to several experiments, games, and activities for kids ages 4-11! 6-8:30pm
Science Day Camps - 9/27, 10/21-10/22, 10/28, 10/29 When school is out, our science camps are in! Join us for a day camp full of hands-on experiments, guest presenters and time in our high-tech makerspace, STEAMlab. Grades 1-4; $70 per child, registration required.
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Free Air Quality Program
Offers Training and Resources
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The Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has a new FREE program to raise awareness about poor air quality in Montana. The EPA Flag Program consists of checking the Air Quality Index (AQI) each day and raising a flag the same color as the index to communicate the local air quality conditions. The program is available to schools and out-of-school-time programs with a physical location, such as libraries, museums, etc.
A pediatrician will provide on-site training, deliver the flags, flagpole, and education materials for FREE. If your town is lacking an air quality monitor, we will assist in obtaining one at no extra cost. If you have a contact within your local school system or would be interested in getting your organization involved in the EPA Flag Program, reach out to the project manager, Mac Nolde, at mac.nolde@montanahphc.org or (406)-763-1006.
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Opportunities for Educators |
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Attn. Montana Teachers: Come fly with us. Literally! Apply to be a part of STEM in the Rockies
October 1-2, 2021
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The Montana Learning Center is teaming up with the Montana Department of Transportation - Aeronautics Division to offer you a unique opportunity to be on the forefront of STEM education, right here in Montana! Come experience aviation-based, engaging hands-on curricula that will get you and your students excited about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in aviation. This STEM in the Rockies workshop includes an introductory flight in one of the Aeronautics Division’s aircraft, tours of military and civil aviation facilities, classroom giveaways, and lodging/meals at the Montana Learning Center.
Participating teachers will earn 20 Montana Office of Public Instruction renewal units and return home with an array of aviation-themed student activities.
Space is limited to 18 participants, so apply today! Applicants must be STEM teachers who work in formal classrooms in Montana. Applications are due September 15th, and applicants will be notified of acceptance shortly after.
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Land Use Explorers curriculum available for free download |
The Land Use Explorers curriculum is designed to teach upper elementary and middle school students about the land where they live. The activities cover topics on soils, water, sustainable foods, citizen science and more and are intended to encourage youth to learn about and explore the land where they live and play. They were created as part of an NSF EPSCoR Track II research project called WAFERx (Water-Agriculture-Food-Energy Research Nexus) in partnership with Montana NSF EPSCoR's Track 1 project, CREWS (the Consortium for Research on Environmental Water Systems) and the MSU Science Math Resource Center. View and download the curriculum here.
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Destination Imagination (DI) just released a new set of learning experiences. These team based projects apply the creative process and reinforce core Social Emotional Learning competencies with seven different STEAM based challenges. To receive a FREE Accept the Challenge packet of short sample challenges and materials, email your contact information to: montanacq@mt-di.org. For more information about the DI program visit https://www.destinationimagination.org. |
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Women in STEM
Katie Duncan--Chemist and PhD Researcher
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Thank you to Katie Duncan of Montana NSF EPSCoR, who shares her career with girls in Montana!
Katie is a Graduate Research Assistant working towards a PhD in Chemistry. She uses math and chemistry to study how herbicides interact with model biological membranes. Herbicides are sprayed on the grass and sometimes the herbicide leaks into the ground water. Her project looks at what happens when those herbicides that are in the groundwater interact with an organism at the molecular level.
What did you like to do as a young person? At what age and how did you know you wanted to be a scientist?
When I was a little girl, I loved learning about math and science in school. My science fascination was encouraged by my dad who was a botanist and always encouraged me to ask questions about why things are the way they are. I asked all the questions growing up from why the grass was green and the sky was blue to why birds don’t get shocked when they land on electrical wires.
Growing up, when I wasn’t in school, I was on the soccer field. Soccer was my passion. My goal as a little girl was to get a scholarship to play college soccer and in my junior year of high school, I signed to play collegiate soccer. When I got to college, I was told I had to pick a major and I had no clue what I wanted do, I even debated getting a degree in communications but was still undecided. I took several different classes my freshman year and I found that I was fascinated with chemistry. I chose chemistry as my major and really enjoyed learning all the different types of chemistry throughout my college career.
What advice would you give to a Montana kid who is interested in a career like yours?
My advice to anyone looking for a career in science would be to always keep learning, growing, and to work hard. Ask all the questions and if you can’t find the answer right away, find a way to find answer it. Always keep learning!
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About the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative |
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The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative was founded as an outreach program of Montana NSF EPSCoR and has co-leaders at Montana State University and the University of Montana as well as volunteer board members across the state. This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement OIA-1757351. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Suzi Taylor
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
(406) 994-7476
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Jessie Herbert
University of Montana
Missoula, MT
(406) 243-4828
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