On April 3rd, in collaboration with UVa Women’s Maker Program, 3 members from C4K—Gaby, Jasmin, and Haley — plus C4K staff members Tricia and Niedia participated in the half-day Girls Maker Camp at the UVa Robertson Media Center.
The girls were very excited! They had fun trying out cutting-edge technologies such as 3D modeling, 3D Printing, AR, and VR. They also learned a lot about gender equality issues in STEM through activities and discussions.
Various activities, including ice-breakers, social roles & growth mindset activities, makerspace learning, and reflection & showcase, were designed and led by UVa Women’s Maker Program Residents and Educational Technologist Fang Yi.
A C4K member, Jasmin, said that she did more than she thought she could. Participating in the Girls Maker Camp and learning about 3D printing made her feel like “3D modeling was way less scary than I thought!”
Tricia confirmed that C4K members had fun at Girls Maker Camp. She praised Women’s Maker Program’s residents for designing those engaging activities, and for their professionalism demonstrated throughout the Camp.
“The program hit on the things C4K members found interesting and introduced them to technologies that are not typically available at home. Activities were really fun, too.” Tricia said.
Fang also enjoyed this collaboration a lot.
“I appreciated C4K’s dedication to long-term STEAM-based mentorship programs— real changes need time, so programs like Girls Maker Camps need complementary, long-term programs such as those STEAM-based mentorship programs at C4K.”
Speaking of how she came up with this collaboration, she said:
“There were barriers for the Women’s Maker Program to reach out to the youth—like middle schoolers— in the local community. And C4K and Tech-Girls are great at community outreach and have long-term partnerships with local youth and community members. So this partnership is perfect because the Women’s Maker Program can provide equipment and tutorials/training, while C4K can help connect with youth in the local community.”