Did you follow us around the world these last few months?
Curious & Creative Scientists at Work in Paris, Brussels, Canberra and More!
"What's a star?"
"Why would we want to split light?"
"How many possible solutions are there to this cube problem?"
"Do you just want us to figure out one solution to the liquid transfer problem, or as many solutions as we can?"
"Did you know you have to have 8 points that match on a fingerprint for it to be admissible evidence?"
With all good learning and curiosity, comes incredible and insightful questions! One of our favourite parts of greenlight for girls events is to hear the fantastic feedback from the girls – but what we love even more is to hear all the curiosity throughout the day, and the various ways that our hands-on workshops and role model volunteers inspire them to think about the world differently. With questions that go beyond what they are looking at or doing, we are able to continue to build on their knowledge and to share the fun in STEM with passion and creativity!
These past few months have taken us from Paris, France to Brussels, Belgium and to Canberra, Australia! In Paris, we met 200 girls who raced through the Nokia campus with their caisses à savon, explored the Garage full of Nokia's innovations, and discovered how 5G will bring life to a new tomorrow on our second g4g Day in Paris-Saclay. And in Brussels, dozens of young kids fueled their curiosity by making slime, discovering molecular cooking, building racing robotics, and launching homemade rockets at our Makerspaceevents in our headquarter office.
And most recently, we had the chance to engage 150 girls aged 11-15 at our third annual g4g Day @Canberra during Australia’s National Science Week, with a particularly wonderful moment.
As the girls geared up for their workshops, they were divided into groups each named after an inspiring, local, and modern woman in science. One group were "Evans-Galea" named after Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea, PhD, and had the chance to learn a bit about her story. One young 13 year-old girl in the group – who also happened to love art – was so encouraged after hearing her story, that she choose to personalize her labcoat in a most creative way… by drawing Dr Evans-Galea on it! The best part? The young girl got to be in touch with Dr Evans-Galea directly, who was so moved that she responded saying: “Science and art overlap strongly in the creativity required. Our best scientific ideas require us to zoom out and be creative, ‘think big’, outside the box! Then we zoom in to see the detail, ask questions, work out how to answer them, collect data and analyse in a pragmatic, logical and rigorous way. Then apply critical thinking to come to an evidence-based conclusion. Such is the scientific process!” An answer we love to hear!
Such wonderful opportunities to encourage young girls to meet local and inspiring role models in their own community is what we strive for – an opportunity that has been made possible with your support!
We’re thrilled to share that as of this month, we’ve engaged over 25,500 students, families, and communities globally at 190+ events and with the help of 4,800 volunteers since we began.
Thank you for continuing to help us in all that we do around the world in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – and we can’t wait to share all the fun at our next events in Poland, Spain, Brazil, UK, and the USA!
1150 More Girls Rocketing Into STEM!
At what age did you know you wanted to be a scientist? Have you ever failed at something and what did you learn from it? These were some of the questions girls posed to a diverse group of STEM professionals on stage in front of an audience of 350 people in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. We love when our greenlight girls have the chance to interact with role model professionals in such a personal way, ask them questions to understand their stories, and feel inspired. These past few months, we’re thrilled to share that we have had over 10 events on 3 different continents – reaching over 1150 curious girls with a passion for understanding and learning at every single one – and all because of your continued support!!
Some of our favourite moments have been…
When 320 girls got to touch a real brain and explore neuroscience at our g4g Day @Cincinnati in partnership with Procter & Gamble! After taking part in some of the 21 different hands-on activities, the girls got to use high-tech polling to measure feedback from the day. We’re proud to have had 94% of girls say that they are now more interested in STEM after our event – WOW!
When one of the girls made her own model of the lungs in a bottle and shouted “Everything is Science!” at our 3rd annual event at Bridgewater State University (BSU) in partnership with BSU Center for the Advancement of STEM Education in Massachusetts, USA!
When 395 girls got a chance to explore drones and robotics…chemistry and polymer worms… physics and waves… electronics and flying saucers and more… and then say it’s a great g4g Day with Nokia in Espoo, Tampere, and Oulu, Finland!!
When one of our keynote speakers from Space X at the launch of g4g Day @Andoverinspired 60 young girls to see into the future of space technology and travel!
When 65 girls learned how to weld with Stanley Black & Decker first with chocolate…then with power tools… at our SBD StemFest at UTC South Durham in the UK!
When 80 girls learned not to consume drinks of various sugar densities as they learned about astrophysics before extracting their human cheek cell sample at our very first launch of g4g Day @São Paulo with Covestro at the beautiful Museu Catavento!
When the Dublin Ladies GAA players took 85 girls through plyometrics as they taught a workshop on the science behind sports at our second annual g4g@work Day at AIG in Dublin, Ireland!!
And when 15 young kids fueled their curiosity by making homemade rockets & hover crafts while exploring aerodynamics at our Makerspace in Brussels, Belgium!
The opportunity for all of these wonderful shared moments of inspiration – and rocketing curiosity in science and technology – is all thanks to your generosity and support of what we do. We thank you and we look forward to sharing more with you as we inspire girls in STEM at our next events in Frankfurt, Paris, and Argentina… all in the next few weeks!
More than 600 Future Engineers Inspired!
We’re always impressed with the knowledge, curiosity, and passion for learning that are so evident in the girls that we meet around the world. And these past few months, we’ve seen some extraordinary talent in STEM, especially in the fields technology, innovation, and engineering that makes us even more excited to see what the future has in store!
Take, for example, our 300 girls aged 11-15 at our 8th annual g4g Day @Brussels this past November. At our event, the girls dove into cybersecurity with Cisco, engineering & construction with Stanley Black and Decker, chemistry with Procter & Gamble, virtual reality, 4D mathematics, fiberoptic technology with lasers, and so much more – always asking “why” and eager to understand new concepts.
At our g4g Day @Shanghai the following week, we welcomed 120 girls aged 11-15 to Nokia Shanghai Bell Labs to share the fun in STEM firsthand with technicians and engineers leading workshops on Arduino circuits, fruit batteries, coding, and more – all with Nokia Bell Lab patents & inspiration around them!
In December, at our g4g Day @Madrid led by a dedicated Cisco team, 180 girls and 72 volunteers brought 16 workshops to life from physics, robotics, chemistry, and coding among many! One of our favorite responses came from a parent of certified future engineer, saying Congratulations for this event that has exceeded all of our expectations, and those of the girls who are still so excited! No doubt that you have won a couple of scientists / engineers for the future!
At the beginning of this year, we also launched our g4g Makerspace concept where we invite a small group of 24 boys and girls aged 9-14 for a monthly morning of hands-on STEM exploration – from tinkering LED creations using conductive fabric, to making non-Newtonian fluids and incorporating it into design, to even engineering bristlebots and scribblebots!
As we take stock of the year, we’re thrilled to share that as of 2017, we have impacted and inspired 23,500 students, families, and communities by hosting 170+ events on 6 continents – all because of YOU and your support!
Thank you for helping us continue to do the work we do far and wide, and believing in our mission just as much as we do. We’re looking forward to our next events in Luxembourg, London, Finland, the US, and more… and just in time for International Women’s Day!
Thank you!
STEM Inspiration in Nigeria, USA, India & Brazil
At the end of the first workshop at our g4g Day @Abuja in Nigeria, a young girl delicately broke off pieces of spaghetti, analyzing the exact size and shape before carefully putting them between marshmallows to create the third and final layer of her tower - an engineering masterpiece! The workshop leader surveyed all the girls’ structures, congratulating them on their strong design ideas before she posed a question: what was the most challenging aspect of building a tower with only spaghetti and marshmallows as materials? One girl said that it was understanding how to support the tower; another said that it was deciding on the best design. And what was the most interesting part of the workshop? That same girl who was so careful in her creation, shyly raised her hand and confessed that she had always known she wanted to go into medicine, but now she knew that she wanted to be an engineer. That moment of inspiration was her favourite part!
We find inspiration all around us every day, but those moments where inspiration meets insight are certainly ones to remember. In our very FIRST launch in Nigeria, 100 girls aged 11-15 put that to the test with fun, hands-on activities on chemistry, neuroscience, coding, physics and more at the Education Resource Centre!
In fact, these past few months have been full of science & technology inspiration in BIG ways...
“Everything starts with a spark of inspiration, which leads to something… BIG!” A perfect message for an exciting opening to the 7-day adventure promoting and engaging girls in STEM in Mumbai, India this past October. We teamed up with our global partner, Covestro, and Nehru Science Centre to engage over 1000 girls overall in the region!!! All of us were so impressed with the creative ideas and questions from the girls as they pondered the future impact of technology.
From there, we had a fantastic day with 100 bright and enthusiastic young women at our global partner Nokia's R&D Bangalore location. With enthusiastic STEM role models, the girls had the chance to dive into 5G technology, Internet of Things, virtual reality, DNA exploration – and a special workshop by our partner Stanley Black & Decker on creativity and engineering.
That same week, a member of our team went to Brazil for our 4th annual g4g Days @Ouro Branco where 185 girls extracted their own DNA, learned about spectroscopy, explored human DNA extraction, dove into mathematics, and created their own electric circuits! One of our favourite moments actually came after the event when one of the attendees, Julia, wrote us explaining, "When my teacher said to us that we were going to make a school trip only for girls I thought that the trip would interesting but I got surprised when we got there because it wasn’t only interesting, it was inspiring, captivating, fascinating and so meaningful for me, I mean it! This project opened doors for me. Today I started thinking about a lot of things I can do in my life that I had never thought before." How absolutely amazing to hear!!
STEM inspiration followed us to Moscow, Russia where 100 girls dipped into polymer putty & more at g4g Day @Moscow in partnership with Covestro and the Science Festival Nauki. We also had the chance to engage over 200 young boys and girls at g4g Day launches in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, USA! And we had the opportunity to engage 25 girls at a unique event at the European Parliament in Brussels, showcasing libraries as modern tech hubs.
Giving a greenlight for girls doesn’t just mean inspiring them in STEM – it's also about continued support and encouragement in all that they do while sharing how STEM connects to the world around them in new ways. And this happens all because of you – our wonderful supporters – who continue to generously give and share everyday.
In just a few months, we engaged over 1,700 girls – a new & AMAZING record!! Congratulations and a huge thank you for helping us get there every single step of the way!
And the best part? We have excited greenlight girls waiting for us in Brussels, Shanghai, and Madrid in the next few weeks... so stay tuned :)
400 Girls Explore STEM with Drones, Coding & Virtual Technology Across Continents
Un grand merci and thank you to our dedicated donors for your continuous support, and helping us inspire and empower the next generation of STEM leaders. Over the past few months we have reached 400 more girls across continents – from Paris, France, to Canberra, Australia, to London, England – all possible because of you!
During these events, the girls had wonderful opportunities to discover all aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths – but, with an extra special occasion to dive into the latest cutting-edge technology, and to be inspired to "code" new possibilites for their futures.
At our very first g4g Day launch at the Nokia Campus in Paris-Saclay this past June, we welcomed 200 girls from the surrounding area for a full day of hands-on workshops, including on 4G and 5G technology, coding, electricity and circuits, virtual reality, prototyping with visual programming tools, and fruit batteries as girls used lemons, pennies, nails and more to transform chemical energy into electrical energy.
A favourite activity was when the girls teamed up to explore the science and technology of drones and radio communication…. with the help of soap box racing as cameras followed their every twist and turn!
A few weeks later on the other side of the world, greenlight girls in Canberra got ready to celebrate National Science Week in style, with a full day of hands-on STEM discovery at our second annual g4g Day @Canberra. There, 160 girls aged 10-16 learned about the phenomenon of light and the role it plays in the environment, captured celestial images with deep sky imaging software, created cool robotics and bristlebots, and even became biodiversity detectives with seeds and bees! In a surprise science activity, the girls got to meet a VIP guest marsupial native to Australia while learning about wildlife conservation… a bettong!
What made this year even more special included an opportunity for participants to hear from young girl science mentors from the venue Melrose High School – a huge hit! – and to share their experiences in STEM.
Plus, a g4g Day wouldn’t be complete with virtual technology… and the girls even created their own 3D #VR time-lapse video of the day – which you can check out here: http://bit.ly/2xhPdXX.
The g4g team also traveled to London, where we invited 30 enthusiastic girls to the offices of a technology company in the insurance world for an interactive morning of DNA extraction, coding, and tasting the sweet side of statistics with M&Ms. They had a chance to hear from the CEO of the company and role model engineers who reminded us that anything is possible with passion and perseverance (we couldn't have said it better ourselves!)
As we step into September, our g4g team is looking forward to sharing all the exciting upcoming events around the world with you – so get ready to join us as we go to London, Krakow, Abuja, Croydon, Moscow, New York City, Bangalore, Brussels, and Shanghai! In the meantime, we invite you to check out some of the wonderful support we have also received lately in the press:
- g4g Day @Houston with Covestro: http://bit.ly/2qsuNZm
- g4g@work Day at AIG in Dublin: http://bit.ly/2eOJpO0
- Our three-city launch with Nokia in Finland: http://nokia.ly/2lYrJQR
Again, a sincere thank you from all of us for your generous support, and from all the greenlight girls whose lives you've made a difference in across the continents!
Arduinos & Astronauts - 800 Curious Girls in STEM!
As one of our greenlight girls so eloquently wrote on her labcoat at our event a few weeks ago: “Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity!”
We absolutely believe in encouraging girls to pursue their curiosity – and thanks to all of you, we have been able to engage more girls around the world to see how fun and exciting the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics can be! Over the past few months, we’ve had the opportunity to reach over 800 young girls aged 11 -15 at incredible g4g events across the USA and Europe in Brussels, Diegem, Cincinnati, Houston, Newport, and Dublin. At all of our events, we hope that girls can re-imagine all the possibilities of science and technology in their future, as well as see all the STEM resources, tools, and role models in their community right now – and we love how the girls themselves link science & curiosity!
Our very first event at the University of Cincinnati introduced us to 300 amazing future scientists and 100 inspiring role models. From polymer worms, saponification, and optic density, to electronics and super absorbent technology, and so much more - the girls got to engage with hands-on workshops, talk with engineers and innovators, and loved having special guests, like the Mayor of Cincinnati, join us to welcome the event!
Just a week later g4g was ready for liftoff to Houston... where we welcomed aboard 265 girls from the local community for a hands-on adventure at Space Center Houston! Our events are driven by the incredible donations and partners we work with – and at this event in particular, we were able to bring nearly 100 girls from less advantaged communities to see the cutting edge Space Center and all it has to offer, including robotics, engineering & design, electronics, polymer chemistry, and a tour through the NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Control! Girls had the chance to ask all of their curious questions to real astronauts, female leaders in congress, and high-level professionals in STEM fields.
Back at our headquarters in Belgium, we hosted workshops at a special g4g in the community event at a local refugee center, where nearly 25 young students got to create their very own non-Newtonian fluid, as well as see molecules of life in action… as they extracted their own DNA! It was a fun filled day and very exciting to see STEM inspire students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Finally, g4g ignited the curiosity of 80 girls at a g4g Day event in Dublin, Ireland with the help of some very special role models – ladies and coaches from the Dublin GAA!! Girls not only got a chance to build their own battery using fruits, explore the mathematics behind daisies, dive into 360 degree virtual reality… but also, tackle the physics and forces behind sports with the Dublin GAA players themselves.
Looking back over our few months, we see the constant curiosity of the girls and their positivity and enthusiasm to engage more with science and technology. One of the young girls from our event in Cincinnati, Bayleah, shared: “I had some doubts about going into a STEM field but now I know that I want to dedicate my life to STEM. Thank you.” Reactions like that are possible because of your continued tremendous support – thank you for helping us share with them our own passion for science and technology and the importance of igniting curiosity for the world around us!
Stay tuned for some incredible news as we host events in London and Canberra, and launch brand new events in Paris, France, and Abuja, Nigeria & more incredible locations in the next few months!
Refugee girls in Athens explore the fun in STEM
Just a weeks ago, refugee girls were invited to attend our event in Athens, Greece. At the beginning of the day, the girls stood together in a group, staying close to their translator. Yet, as they started decorating their labcoat – and as other girls came over to ask them to sign their labcoats – you could see them start to open up, laugh, and become more engaged and quietly confident.
During the opening ceremony, the girls looked at each other in excitement as they understood that our keynote speaker was a female entreupreuner and benefactor who came to Greece as a refugee when she was young – just like them. When it was time for our speaker to take questions, the refugee girls quickly stood up in front of 100 other girls in order to ask about her experiences. And by the end of the day, the girls were not only discovering the fun in science during workshops ranging from coding to statistics, but also able to reimagine new possibilities for their own future.
We aim to inspire those key moments of engagement, inspiration, and imagination at every event. It has been with all your dedicated support that we have been able to make those moments possible for more than 1000 girls these past few months - from Poland to India, Greece to the United States, and Brazil to the United Kingdom - connecting them to science and the everyday in interactive and fun ways! A thank you message shared from a parent after our event at Oxford University last week, is another reminder of all the incredible ways your support helps to inspire girls: “You have created wonderful memories that they will treasure for a lifetime…I do not think you should underestimate the impact this day will have, seeing strong successful women in the STEM fields is so important and valuable."
Thank you for helping us continue to spread the word!! We are currently participating in the GlobalGiving Girl Fund Campaign until March 15th which will help us secure funding for the year. A minimum donation of just 15 euros will help sponsor a girl to take part in one of our events. We appreciate you sharing the link and helping us spread the word!!! https://goto.gg/26863
We look forward to sharing with you our next events in Nigeria, Finland, Spain, France… and many more to come!
Thank you!
