SOLON, Ohio — Brownie troops from across Northeast Ohio were encouraged to think like an engineer.
Thirty girls in second and third grades found their own solution to three problems: building a device that would launch a small toy duck, making a boat from duct tape and aluminum foil to keep Barbie dry and piecing together pipes to move water into a bucket.
It was all thanks to Swagelok opening the doors of their global headquarters in Solon. Employees helped out, encouraging the girls when things didn’t go according to plan.
“This really tests the girls to learn that making mistakes is a good thing,” said Hannah Delis, Swagelok’s Chief HR Officer. “And they can try again, and they can learn from it and make it better. At Swagelok one of our values is continuous improvement. So, they're learning. Hey, it's important to learn from your mistakes.”
Swagelok wants to see more women in engineering careers.
“What you don't see on social media, maybe organically throughout their life, is manufacturing," said Mr. B. STEM (a Swagelok employee with spiking blue hair, taped up glasses, dressed in a lab coat). “They know health care, they know cosmetology, culinary. They may not get exposed to the rewarding careers in manufacturing.
Girl Scouts are more than cookies, crafts and camping. There are 160 STEM badges they can earn, including the “Think like an Engineer” badge, to help them get excited about careers or help solve some of the biggest challenges our planet faces.
The Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio were grateful for the experience. Because the girls need to see it to be it.
“It's so wonderful to see them independently come up with their own ideas and then physically take the tools that they have and the materials that they have in order to make those ideas come to life," said Jean Christyson, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio. "That's really what people do in their real-life jobs. And we want to make sure those girls have that feeling.”
One more thing before the Brownies earn that “Think like an Engineer” badge: a duck launching competition. Whose toy duck will fly the farthest? The winning team walked away with the golden ducks but they all learned that not giving up is what being an engineer is about. And solving problems can lead to Growing STEM.