Launching Eureka!
When you invest in girls, you change the world.THANKS TO YOU and other generous donors like you, the YWCA successfully launched the new Eureka!® program.In June 2015, a group of 34 energetic incoming eighth grade girls started the first leg of a powerful program, Girls Inc. Eureka! This group of “Eurekans”, as they are known, are strong, smart, and bold! The Girls Inc. Eureka! program is an initiative started by Girls Inc. National to expand girls’ involvement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and careers.Girls Inc. Eureka! is a STEM-based approach to engaging and empowering 8th-12th grade girls in a highly supportive cohort model over five years so they see themselves going to college. The goal is to support girls, many of whom are first generation college students, in believing in their ability to be successful in college. The program includes STEM education, leadership and personal development, sports and swimming lessons.
Summer programming at the University of Minnesota gave girls the opportunity to be on campus for multiple weeks learning directly from college professors. Girls received high-level STEM education that introduced exciting new concepts and built awareness of opportunities in STEM. Girls attended labs like Mathematical Biology, which showcased the novel aspect of how mathematics has a very real impact on improving people’s lives; Nanotechnology and Neuro Biotechnology; and Aerospace w/Rideable Hovercraft. Yes, the girls were able to experience no-friction motion on a rideable hovercraft and learn how hovercraft training is used to prepare astronauts to live and work in outer space. In the afternoon, the girls returned to the Midtown YWCA for enrichment courses and swimming lessons.At the same time, the YWCA is working with girls to build leadership skills, confidence, and self-efficacy so that they are also developing a belief in their own ability to overcome barriers and succeed in challenging fields.
Ongoing monthly programming during the school year keeps girls engaged with learning, connected to their cohort, and on-track for high school graduation. Eureka! programming provides girls with the Girls Inc. Experience, where girls participate in hands-on activities in an all-girl environment. Girls Inc. believes in the rights of girls, we believe that girls have a right to be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes. The STEM world has a place for our girls, and our girls are ready to JOIN IN!We are so grateful to:Boston Scientific, Proto Labs, WEM Foundation, Carlson Family Foundation, Piper Family Foundation of The Minneapolis Foundation.