Festival gives Girl Scouts ‘extra push’

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hayden Rice, 8, left, Ryle Balatico, 11, Tirzah Navarrese, 13, and Tabitha Myers, 14, showed off their projects Wednesday in preparation for today’s ninth annual Girl Scouts of Hawaii STEM Fest. Hayden and Ryle created aquaponics using Mason jars. Tirzah and Tabitha used air pressure to launch their model rockets.

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The annual STEM Fest helped fuel interest in science, technology, engineering and math for Girl Scout Tabitha Myers, who now envisions herself as a leader in STEM fields.

Tabitha is a freshman at Mililani High School who wants to be a chemical engineer.

“I think women can really make a big difference,” she said. “We just need that little extra push.”

Today’s ninth annual Girl Scouts of Hawaii STEM Fest opens at 8 a.m., bringing together hundreds of Girl Scouts and dozens of STEM professionals. The Pacific Aviation Museum is participating for the first time this year — providing a larger venue that allows more than double the number of girls and professionals from previous years. Previous STEM Fests were held at schools and could accommodate a maximum of about 135 girls and 40 professionals.

Nearly 370 Girl Scouts and 81 STEM professionals are expected today, with girls rotating among various booths hosted by STEM professionals such as chemists, marine biologists, engineers and doctors.

The professionals will be able to talk about their careers as well as provide demonstrations and hands-on science experiments and activities.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women represent 25 percent or less of engineers, pilots, construction managers, geoscientists and computer programmers. Additionally, women represent a relatively low share of employment in high-paying jobs such as those in STEM fields, according to the department.

Shari Chang, Girl Scouts of Hawaii’s CEO, said 95 percent of the professionals at STEM Fest are women, which helps to persuade girls that they can excel in STEM.

“We’re building the workforce of the future,” Chang said. “I think with this generation we can help the girls be more fearless. I think it’s challenging their mind to think differently.”

Admission is $8, which includes bus transportation and admission.

The festival is open to Girl Scouts, who had to preregister online. The Girl Scouts of Hawaii also applied for grants to offer free admission to some of the organization’s outreach girls.