12 Jan 2017 STEM in Action Update: Blue Valley launches Femineer Program

With leadership from Project Lead The Way teacher Karen Henderson, the Blue Valley Femineers launched with 22 girls on Jan. 2. Blue Valley is the only school district in the state of Kansas to offer the Femineer Program, which uses curriculum created by Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering and is designed for young women who are interested in problem solving and engineering. 

The mission of the Femineer program is to inspire and empower female students to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in their education and future careers.

Blue Valley’s first meeting included a visit by members of the Carpenters Union to teach the girls how to use common hand tools and power drills. The students also explored Create Lab’s Hummingbird Robotics Kit. The girls will use the Hummingbird hardware and Scratch software to build a robot for their final project.

The Blue Valley Femineers will meet at least once a month at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus now through May. The freshmen and sophomores who signed up will continue in the program for three years, with each featuring a different curriculum. We can’t wait to see what they do!