As a part of its multi-year grant program, the Million Girl Moonshot program, administered by the Wyoming Enrichment Network and funded through the STEM Next Opportunity Fund, has launched its pilot project MakeHER with a call for scholars this fall. MakeHER is a collaboration with the University of Wyoming Coe Student Innovation Center and Wyoming 4-H, which has been working to develop programs in communities that will combine youth development opportunities with STEM education.

Jane Crayton, Makerspace Coordinator at University of Wyoming, said that the MakeHER program will be designed to capture the attention of teenagers — and girls in particular — across Wyoming. “Around age 11, girls are most at risk for opting out of STEM education experiences,” Crayton said. “It’s really important to start building confidence in STEM prior to that age, and definitely at that age. MakeHER is an intervention, but it will also provide students real-world experience.”

In the United States and across the globe, one specific culture or group is in charge, and has access to, being innovative, Crayton said. According to the American Association of University Women, stereotypes of male scientists, engineers and mathematicians start early, and cultural messaging may explain why girls enter STEM fields at dramatically lower rates than boys. Although women make up nearly half of all employees in the United States economy, they hold only 29 percent of STEM jobs. Girls face math anxiety at a rate higher than boys, the AAUW says, and this contributes to around half of the gender achievement gap in math.

Programs like the Million Girl Moonshot and its MakeHER pilot program can provide opportunity to underserved, at-risk and non-traditional STEM learners in Wyoming, which is extremely important.

“We want to broaden and diversify innovation,” Crayton said. “One culture, one group and one way of thinking is not going to solve our world’s problems. If we want to solve some of the largest problems facing humans right now, we are going to have to have a diverse group of people that come with a wide variety of experiences and frames of reference to solve them.

“We have to include girls and increase the participation of minorities in STEM. This program is really focused on engaging in those ways all of those people,” Crayton said.

On the ground level, UW student Emily Leinen has been hired as a graduate assistant to develop the program over the course of this year, specializing in youth development and program delivery. The Wyoming Enrichment Network has announced a call for 4-H scholars, who will lead the MakeHER programs in an anticipated eight communities in Wyoming. 4-H scholars can be current agents or leaders, but could also be unaffiliated with STEM learning or 4-H.

“It may be a chance to make that next step. This would be a challenge for that scholar,” said Mary Louise Wood, a University Extension Educator and 4-H/Youth coordinator.

The MakeHER program will launch in eight communities, partnering scholars with local maker spaces.

“Each scholar will receive an activities stipend to help them fund the program materials to deliver their programming,” Crayton said.

Built into the program is support for Wyoming maker spaces, which are by their very existence, promoting problem solving inside Wyoming. Participating maker spaces will be eligible to receive a small grant stipend for equipment to support their activities.“For example, if the scholar decides to do a vinyl cutting project with heat press vinyl, and the maker space has a Cricket vinyl cutter but they don’t have a heat press, this would be (funding) to afford that maker space to buy that heat press,” Crayton said. “That maker space would then have that equipment from then on for future activities.”

MakeHER will support Wyoming’s maker spaces building their internal capacity, all the while training scholars on how to deliver programs that reach Wyoming youth through 4-H.

“Our main role is to help these maker spaces connect to local youth,” Wood said.

Though many 4-H programs have scientific components, 4-H agents may not always see it.

“If girls don’t have a connection with science, they don’t necessarily see the science in their 4-H projects. This is a way to encourage them,” Wood said. “This is not out of their realm. There are a lot of science careers that they don’t even realize are science-based. It doesn’t have to be biology or engineering.”

Through participation in MakeHER space programs, students will learn problem solving skills and confidence.

“They will learn through the scientific process about problems and finding solutions,” Wood said. “Even more basically, if they have a failure, this is a safe space to fail. They’ll learn not to give up. A lot of times in society, there aren’t safe places to fail. If you fail in school you might get labeled, but this is a safe place to learn from those experiences — to find those successes even though a project may not have turned out the way that you wanted it to.”

As the world recovers from the global coronavirus pandemic, but still reels from its effects, hands-on learning opportunities like those presented inside maker spaces will become more and more important.

“Students need a place to get in-person work done, and have access to the things they would have if they were in the classroom,” Crayton said. “Coming to this space is a great way to engage students in STEM, and get them using the tools on a trajectory towards STEM careers.”

While a main focus of MakeHER is on engaging girls in STEM opportunities, Crayton said it is not only about serving girls.

“These are not single-gendered programs. We have co-gendered programs, but we really advertise to girls and have asked partners in other areas to advertise to girls. The program will not launch unless there was 50% participation from girls,” Crayton said.

“We have found, even in our other programs in the maker space, enrollment is predominantly male oriented. Boys definitely like to participate in our making program, which is great and that is awesome,” she said, “but we also want to be saving space for girls.”

November 20, 2020 – Carrie Haderlie. 

Mission: We bridge the gap between Wyoming’s out-of-school programs and the communities they uplift, fueling them with resources, support and opportunities that inspire lifelong learning, growth and connection.

WYOMING ENRICHMENT NETWORK

1472 N. 5th Street, Suite 201
Laramie, WY 82072
Phone: 307-721-8300

Cultivating Community and Growing Leaders 

Today we join the National Summer Learning Association to celebrate the power of Community & Leadership. Learning happens everywhere and young people thrive when they feel a sense of belonging and purpose. That’s why the Wyoming Enrichment Network supports programs and partnerships that build strong relationships and create meaningful leadership opportunities across the state. When we invest in the people and places that help youth grow, we help build a brighter future for all of Wyoming. 

Why is Community & Leadership Important?

Research from the Afterschool Alliance shows that when youth are given authentic opportunities to lead, they gain confidence, build communication skills, and deepen their sense of purpose. Near-peer mentorship is especially powerful. As STEM Next says, “STEM confidence is contagious." When youth see someone just a step ahead, they’re more likely to take that step themselves. 

Leadership in Action Across Wyoming

Wyoming 4-H helps youth explore leadership and civic engagement in fun, hands-on ways. At this year’s Showcase Showdown in Laramie, young people from across the state took part in contests, workshops, and tours—including a stick horse engineering challenge that brought together creativity, teamwork, and lots of laughs. Explore Wyoming 4-H Leadership & Civic Engagement>>  

COWGIRLS in STEM inspires youth to engage with STEM across Wyoming. At their Cheyenne camp this summer, young people worked in teams to imagine AI-powered robots that could help them in their daily lives—an activity that sparked both innovation and connection. Learn more about COWGIRLS in STEM>>

Learning Through Mentorship

At WYEN, we’re proud to support programs like the Summer STEM Fellowship and our High School Fellowship pilot with the Big Horn Basin Boost Program. These efforts empower students—from high schoolers to college undergrads—to design and lead hands-on learning experiences for younger youth in their communities. 

Nicole Porter, a graduate student in counseling at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, continues to apply what she learned as a Summer STEM Fellow and mentor. One key takeaway? The value of “volleyball conversations” that keep ideas moving and invite many voices. “It’s something I still use today,” she says. 

Spotlight: Download the ACRES STEM Facilitation and Learning Models. This simple three-page guide offers excellent ways to think about leading discussions in STEM. But it’s great for any subject! Click here.

When Nicole asked current Fellows what they love most about working with kids, the answers were heartfelt: Ashley and Jada spoke about relationship-building. Aidyn shared the joy of being outdoors and helping kids be themselves. Mia enjoys teaching STEM. Allison loves gardening with young people. Lauren appreciates seeing kids from the YES House unwind and connect. And Maisie? “They think out loud. No filter. It’s real.” 

Nicole Porter, a 2023 Summer STEM Fellow Alum: “I get as much out of this work as the kids do. I learn so much about myself through working with young people—and that’s a beautiful thing.”

The Big Horn Basin Boost Program is helping high school students become role models. Through a WYEN pilot project, high schoolers designed and led weeklong mini-camps for middle schoolers. They choose topics based on their own interests and career goals. One of the participants was John, a sophomore with interests in theater, the military, and video games. He wanted to focus his mini-camp on ways that gaming can foster friendship and teamwork. WYEN connected him with a professional game designer and together they discussed career pathways and strategies to engage middle schoolers through gaming. 

Try This! Activities for Programs and Families

Learn more about Youth Voice! The Afterschool Alliance Youth Voice Toolkit can help you explore the spectrum of youth voice work and tools and examples from partners at each level of youth involvement and best practices. Mizzen’s Ten Tips for Amplifying Youth Voice can help lead to more engaging and effective programs.

SPOTLIGHT: Get To Know You and Establish Group Norms is a 30-minute downloadable activity from the Search Institute designed to build trust between group members by exploring what members have in common and what makes them unique. This activity was popular with the Summer STEM Fellows! Click here.

Dig into the Leadership and Civic Engagement modules from Wyoming 4-H. The invite young people to "get started with a foundation in leadership that you can build upon over a lifetime!"

Learning to Give’s series “Open Doors to Your Community,” helps young people learn about the purpose of public safety while meeting people involved in their community. They have tips for visiting a fire station, a police station, and more! Each guide is a virtual door that leads young people to an actual door with ideas for engagement.   

Build a fort with WY Quality Counts and help young people learn practice collaboration. The instructions note that reflection can help develop those skills: “Talk to them about how they feel working with another person. Did it make them happy? Did they have fun?" The instructions are for younger kids, but the lesson could easily be adapted.

Keep Learning!

Want to see more? Visit wyoenrichmentnetwork.org/summer-sparks to explore other stories. Share your own summer learning experiences using #SummerLearningWeek and #ThriveBeyondTheBell.