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Teaching girls creative electronics, coding and making
*** On Tuesday, December 3rd, Indiegogo contribute $1 for every $20 we raised for #GivingTuesday. We a $20 perk level for this day. Thanks to all of our supporters we raised $2557 on that day and received a $128 match from Indiegogo.
Hi, I'm Luz Rivas, an MIT-trained engineer and founder of DIY Girls. In 2012, I went back to my elementary school, a public school in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles to start the DIY Girls afterschool program. The school provided a classroom and together with volunteers, friends and teachers, I converted it into a makerspace where we serve 30 girls in a yearlong afterschool program.
If you walk into our space you’ll see girls coding, soldering, building electronic circuits, learning to use a 3D printer and power tools. Girls are making real things like building toys, programming video games and making interactive wearable electronics. They’re gaining technical skills and applying them creatively.
DIY
Girls has been successful at implementing a learning environment
where girls can take risks, learn skills and build confidence in
their technical abilities. We're on a mission to empower girls through creating with technology and need your help to reach more girls!
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What have we done so far?
DIY Girls has developed and implemented a range of educational programs and events designed to encourage exploration with technology, promote self-confidence and support aspiration to technical careers.
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Recruited and served a total of 60 girls - Last year, 30 5th grade girls participated in our weekly afterschool program. This year we are serving a new group of 30 5th graders. We meet twice a week for 2 hours throughout the school year.
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Held a showcase event for families and the community - Families and other community members had a chance to play with games at our crowded DIY Arcade held in June.
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Offered monthly making workshops at the public library - In September, in partnership with the LA Public Library, we started offering monthly workshops open to all and led by amazing volunteers on Saturdays. Our goal is to have our girls also serve as mentors to other kids in the community at these workshops.
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Built a DIY community for women - For the last 2 years, we have organized meetups for women in the LA area that want to learn hands-on DIY skills. From coding to woodworking, our meetups have offered women a place to learn new skills. Through this we have met local makers that help us develop content for our programs for girls.
Our costs have been low because we leverage partnerships with schools and the local public library for space so we don't pay rent or utilities. Our funds go directly to program operations, materials, tools and equipment for the girls.
Why girls?
Nationally, less than 15% of girls show an interest
in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at the critical ages
between 4th and 8th grade. These young girls often report lower
levels of confidence in their abilities to do well in science and technology
and as a result decide not to take higher-level courses in high school. Moreover, the need for STEM programs is
higher for minority girls. Currently, Latinas represent only 1% of employed scientists and engineers in the US.
DIY Girls aims to
have an effect on girls as they enter adolescence and start to form career
interests. Our innovative educational programs focus on increasing girls’ confidence in their technical abilities. Our current program
focuses efforts on underserved Latina girls and provides an early intensive
experience with technology designed to build self-confidence and persistence.
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