SisOps
Sharing a booth with the CyberJutsu Girls at the USA Science & Engineering Festival was a blast! Did you go too? We'd love to hear from you - what was your favorite part? If you missed it, the next best thing is to find out when a Maker Faire will be in your area. In Charlottesville, our Mini-Maker Faire is scheduled for October 4.
We are also super excited about all the positive vibes we've been getting lately. The Charlottesville Business Innovation Council has nominated Tech-Girls founder, Kim Wilkens, for the Community Award for local impact. This month, the School Library Journal highlights the gender gap in tech with their Diversity issue. SisOps: Girl-Friendly Tech Programs features several Tech-Girls mentors & allies! |
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Spotlight: Gina Mancuso
Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting Gina, an entrepreneur who has founded a tech company called LoveThatFit.
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What drives your interest in technology?
Being able to solve a real world problem. Technology is so versatile and has the ability to solve problems like trying on clothes. Going to the store is time consuming, you have to take a bunch of sizes to the dressing room, try them on and repeat. With online shopping you never know how it is going to look or fit when it gets to your door. Who wants to go through the hassle of returning items or ordering multiple sizes. I definitely do not! So that motivated me to look to technology to solve this problem.
Why is it important to get more girls and women interested in technology?
Not enough women are in technology and coders are in high demand. Women have a huge opportunity in tech because it is a male dominant field. If women really take the time, I am sure there are tons of solutions that need to be created that a man would just not think of.
Read more
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Field Notes
The snowy winter sure gave us some challenges for our Girls' Geek Days, but we had a really fun day on April 12. We are looking forward to continuing these days in the Fall, but we need your feedback to make the next Girls' Geek Days even more awesome! Tech-Girls @ C4K soldered their own blinky badges and Tech-Girls @ Chesterfield County Public Libraries sewed circuits to make their own wearable tech bling.
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Get Involved
Are you ready to become a mentor or sponsor a Tech-Girls workshop? Can you help us get the word out or cater an event? However you would like to get involved, we need you!
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Activities & Events
Live & Local
- May 14 - Create It @ The Library. Drop in at the Central Library's monthly pop up Teen Maker Space for Grades 6-12. More info. Check back for Soft Circuit Making coming soon to a JMRL branch near you!
- May 15 - Tech-Girls Open House @ Henley. Come by this afternoon between 4 and 6 to learn about what Tech-Girls will be up to in the fall and how you and your daughter(s) can get involved.
- May 31 - Web Design: The Maker Party at Light House Studio. 8th thru 12th graders learn about the building blocks of the web, HTML & CSS, while making cool web pages. Registration required.
- June 11 - Women in Tech Meetup. If you are a mom of a Tech-Girl & want to connect with other female techies, please consider joining us at a meetup. More info.
- June 28 - Women Can Fly event @ CHO with free airplane rides to girls and women ages 8 and up, ATC tower tours, tours of aircraft on display, and opportunities to talk with professionals in aviation. Registration required for flights.
- July 7-24 - CoderDojo Summer Academy. The summer offerings will include separate morning and afternoon sessions during the weeks of July 7-10, July 14-17, and July 21-24. More info.
- July 14-18 - Soft Circuit Creations for rising 6th - 9th graders at PVCC. Learn to sew circuits to add lights to wearable & plush creature creations. More tech classes & registration info available at PVCC Summer Career Academies.
- July 28-Aug 1 - Video Game Design at Light House Studio. 7th thru 12th graders can get their first taste of video game design in this beginner-friendly workshop. Registration required.
- August 11-15 - Exploring Technology at Light House Studio for ages 8 to 11. Learn about what makes a computer tick & create your own technology. Registration required.
Virtual & Global
- Ongoing (monthly) - CreateHS is an online high school coding competition with new challenges released every month. Check out this month's challenge.
- May 30 (deadline) - House App Challenge for High School Students. Registration required.
- July 2 (deadline) - Women@NASA has created a virtual mentoring projects to middle school students across the country. Application info.
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