This summer the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has put together an exciting, interactive path in getting more female participation in STEM education, through their creation of the “Girls Who Game” summer camp.
The camp is designed for young women to learn about more opportunities that are available in STEM education through gaming. Girls who Game is in partnership with Fernbank Science Center and is being hosted free of cost for grades 6th-8th.
The mission of this year’s camp is for all 45 girls to reimagine the Fernbank Science Center’s library in the Minecraft video game. Campers are expected to generate a 3D world, while also crafting tools, building structures, earthworks, simple machines, and extracting raw materials.
“They are reimagining the space while actually sitting in the space, they’re learning from scientists and other experts about the content knowledge, and then they apply it to what they are creating” said Andrea Wright, DCSD STEM Coordinator.
Throughout the camp, the young women also get the opportunity to hear from women in STEM fields about their journeys and careers in the field.
“The camp allows them to be exposed, in several different ways, to women in STEM and experts in their field. Especially being on-site at Fernbank, they get direct contact with scientists, so it’s a more immersive experience,” Wright said.
Druid Hills Middle School seventh-grader, Aset Re, spoke about what the camp has done for her so far.
“It has really inspired me to want to do more gaming and coding because the percentage of women, especially Black women, in coding and gaming is low,” Re said.
At the conclusion of the camp, each team of young women gets to pitch their Minecraft design to a panel of judges.
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