IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007 - 34

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place and to meet people whose careers
constructing the house, wiring lights,
allow them to do just that.
designing the landscape, and decorating
while keeping the green theme in mind.
The girls learned about project manageReversing the Field
ment and put their time management
"Can I really take it apart? Is it all right to
and teamwork skills into practice.
break it?" One of the middle school girls
The dollhouses needed to meet green
in Techbridge wanted the reassurance
standards. The girls learned that
before she took apart a hair
materials such as bamboo,
dryer. Her mother hadn't
In
cork, recycled plastic,
been too pleased when
conjunction
and rubber could be
the student previously
used to make floors,
tried to figure out
with building their
walls, and furniture.
what made a curling
green dollhouses, the
They discovered that
iron work by taking
girls had the
building choices
it apart at home.
opportunity to see
such as solar panels
Tavy Wade and Lyn
green design and
and low-flow faucets
Gomes with Carollo
are ways to use reEngineers in Walnut
construction in
sources efficiently. They
Creek, California, used
practice.
thoughtfully incorporated
this hands-on activity as a
environmentally friendly feaway to introduce the girls to
tures into their designs, using bamboo
engineering. The girls learned about the
and resource-efficient cork flooring, low
different kinds of engineers who help
VOC paint, clothes lines, sunflower seed
design and build hair dryers. They also
cabinets, blue jean insulation, recycled
discovered the joy of reverse engineering
carpet, and energy-efficient appliances.
to figure out how things work. By the end
In conjunction with building their
of the afternoon the girls learned that
green dollhouses, the girls had the
household appliances, like a hair dryer,
opportunity to see green design and conaren't as complicated as they imagined
struction in practice. The girls visited the
and that engineering can be a very
construction site of the San Francisco
rewarding career.
Federal Building and saw first hand how
The role models and field trips that
a green building is built. They learned
are part of the Techbridge experience are
how windows could be configured to
key to the success of our career exploreduce the need for heating and air conration. They introduce girls to new
ditioning and how the use of natural
career options and inspire them to want
lighting can greatly reduce energy costs.
to study engineering. We are especially
On a visit to the Gordon and Betty
pleased to find that role model visits and
Moore Foundation, the girls were
field trips have a long-term impact. Sevimpressed with the way that the work
eral girls have told us how role models
environment reflects the mission of the
from past years have changed their goals.
Foundation-environmental conservaFor example, one of our high school
tion. The girls saw cabinets made of sunstudents wants to be a product design
flower seeds, chairs made of corrugated
engineer. How many girls know what
cardboard, and a conference table made
product design entails let alone have it as
from a felled tree. They saw how giving
a career goal? This student attributes her
new life to old things could have beauticareer aspiration to a visit to design firm
ful results.
IDEO three years ago. In her evaluation,
The Green Design Project, which
she reflected, "I walked in and I knew
incorporates hands-on learning with
that's where I wanted to work."
environmental awareness, allows girls
Role models can combat stereotyped
to be creative and work on a project that
images and communicate information
they truly can take pride in. It also gives
about their work and the steps needed to
girls the opportunity to think about
prepare for a career in engineering. Role
how they can make the world a better
models are an example that engineers

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

WINTER 2007/2008

are problem solvers who use creativity to
work on projects that benefit people and
the environment.

Take Action
We hope you're inspired to work with
girls in your community. Make a promise
to get involved. Here are some ideas to
help get you started:
◗ Look for a local Girl Scout group
and volunteer an afternoon of your
time to share your personal story
and lead a hands-on activity:
http://www.girlscouts.org/.
◗ Offer to organize a job shadow during National Engineers Week so
that girls can visit your office and
meet and see engineers in action:
http://www.eweek.org/.
◗ If there is a local Expanding Your
Horizons program, volunteer to be
a role model and lead a workshop
for middle schools students:
http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/.
◗ Organize a group of coworkers and
adopt a local high school. During
National Engineers Week, organize
a panel discussion about women in
engineering making a difference.
◗ Sponsor internships for high
school and college students. Getting the chance to "test the waters"
can help girls see that there is a
place for them in engineering.
◗ Buy a set of biographies of women
engineers and scientists for the
library at your local public school.
The Women's Adventures in Science series are a great read:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/was/.
You can have a significant and lasting
impact on girls-inspiring their interest
in engineering. By sharing your passion
for your work you can help the next generation of engineers become more
diverse, reflecting the talents and promise that girls can contribute.
-Linda Kekelis (lkekelis@chabotspace.org) is director of Techbridge, a
program of Chabot Space & Science
Center.
December Martin (dmartin@chabotspace.org) is a program coordinator for
Techbridge.

http://www.girlscouts.org/ http://www.eweek.org/ http://www.expandingyourhori http://www.zons.org/ http://www.nap.edu/catalog/was/ http://www.space.org http://www.space.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007