February 28, 2022
SVSU to host Girls Scouts for a day of STEM this Saturday
STEMapalooza back for 5th year
Saginaw Valley State University will explore the fun side of STEM with a group of area Girl Scouts during a daylong event Saturday, Feb. 26.
Nearly 90 girls — from kindergarten to fifth-grade students — will participate in the Girl Scout STEMapalooza, hosted by STEM@SVSU, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kochville Township campus.
With the help of SVSU faculty, staff and students ― along with community partners from Nexteer Automotive, the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum and the Society of Women Engineers ― STEMapalooza will engage the girls in a series of science-based activities. Deborah R. Huntley, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will kick off the event with a special welcome. The Girl Scouts will split into groups to engage in activities throughout the day, including:
- Stoplight experiment with SVSU’s Chemistry Club
- Creating brain hats and testing reflexes with the SVSU Biology Club
- Creating terrariums in SVSU’s Boutell Memorial Greenhouse
- Engineering structures with the Society of Women Engineers
- Creating geometric sculpture ornaments at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum
- Gravity at work and ladies Who Launch activity with Nexteer Automotive
“We are thrilled to welcome the Girl Scouts back to SVSU’s campus this year,” said Adrianne Cole, SVSU’s director of STEM and the event’s coordinator.
“There is still a pronounced gender imbalance in STEM careers, particularly in the fields of computer science and engineering. Our partnership with the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan encourages the girls to get excited about STEM concepts and work with strong STEM role models, including our own SVSU students and STEM professionals from Nexteer Automotive.
The activities largely will take place in SVSU’s Dow Doan Science West and Science East buildings and Pioneer Hall, as well as in the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum.
STEMapalooza is funded in part by a gift from the Nexteer Steering the Future Fund, first established at the Saginaw Community Foundation in 2013.