INDIANAPOLIS — The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is hoping to spark kids, especially girls’, curiosity in STEM through their annual Engineering Day.
Thousands of kids got to learn about the power of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as part of the museum’s 19th annual event.
“I think I feel smart because I learned how a flashlight worked,” 6-year-old Charlotte Costello said.
Costello is excited about science.
On Saturday, she got the chance to learn new things, including how a robot worked through the hands of visiting scientist Dr. Carlotta Berry.
“I liked it because she said I can build my own because she built all those robots,” Costello said.
The day was about empowering little girls like Charlotte to stick with STEM, a field women are underrepresented in.
“We have Dr. Carlotta Berry on site, our scientist in residence, and she’s showcasing her work with 3-D printed robotics,” Lindsey Delorey, Public Events and Youth Programs Coordinator for the Children's Museum, said. "We also have the Society of Women Engineers showcasing just how much women can and already accomplished with the history of engineering."
With just one-third of women making up the entire STEM field, Dr. Berry is trying to provide inspiration of what girls can be.
“Representation matters," Dr. Berry explained. "If you ask kids to draw an engineer or doctor, you want them to draw a man as well as a woman, or a person of color as well as a white person. So, by seeing someone like me, the next time you ask a kid, 'What does an engineer look like?' they can go, 'It looks like me.'"
Over 6,000 people came through the museum’s doors for the annual event.
The Children’s Museum will be holding several more STEM-centered events throughout the rest of the year.
