KENT, Ohio — Girls are taking control of a robotic arms, by stacking and knocking down blocks.
One hundred girls, grades three through eight, are here on the campus of Kent State University gaining confidence in working with technology.
"I've got this. I love it," Jenna Glasure, founder of "Saturdays are for STEM Girls," says. "They're trying new things, they're doing really well, and they're all, like, winning the challenges."
Glasure is a microtronics engineer in the automation industry, and she doesn’t come across a lot of women in technical fields in her daily work. So, she decided to do something about it.
As a Kent State graduate, she knew the College of Aeronautics and Engineering was the place to fly drones and learn about air traffic control. Fourth grader Olive Gesaman is already becoming a pro at aerodynamics with paper airplanes.
"I was trying to make it go far, but in my old design, it would go far and then come back to me like a boomerang," Olive explained. "I just cut [the back of the wing], and it adds a little less drag. It takes the drag out of it so it goes farther."
There are lessons in civil engineering, too, and a challenge in building the tallest structure out of uncooked spaghetti, strong enough to support a marshmallow.
"It's also just fun for any girl, even if she doesn't end up going into a STEM field," Glasure said. "To know what all is out there and to make friends and to see women that are in these fields doing all the activities, being hands on."
Coding and building sling shots were also part of the hands-on learning opportunities. Fun with STEM shows these students they can excel in these careers and that, yes, tech is cool!
"We just want to expose them to this and make them realize these are the possibilities — the skill set, the way to think — to prepare them for the future," Dr. Maureen McFarland, associate dean of academic affairs at KSU's College of Aeronautics and Engineering, told us.
The first year of the "Saturdays are for STEM Girls" event was a success, with plans already in the works for more fun next year.
"We got a lot of girls that are just excited," Glasure said. "We had girls saying they got up at 5 a.m. to be here and they couldn't wait, so I don't think I could ask for more than that."
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