An Extraordinary Week for Young Women
The last Monday in July started like any other – but it wasn’t just any other day. That’s because it was the first day of STREAM Team, a week-long STEM-inspired program that strives to expose young women to professionals in STEM fields, Restoration and the Arts through hands-on activities.
STREAM Team was the brainchild of former PCEI Education Coordinator Cait McHugh, and this summer PCEI celebrated its fourth year of STREAM Team. Support from the Moscow Giving Circle, Gritman Medical Center, Hyperspud Sports, Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI), and many other community partners helped provide unique and exciting STREAM Team experience.
Each year the PCEI education team searches for a variety of professionals who are interested in pairing with middle school girls in an effort to showcase the different opportunities there are for women in the STEM, Restoration and Arts world.
This year’s agenda included a day at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, where campers learned what it takes to run a historical theatre, how to write a script and how to make a movie. At the end of the day, the group of 10 campers split into two groups and both groups created a two minute movie that was shown on the Kenworthy screen.
Variety may not have been the official theme of STREAM Team 2019, but there was certainly variety in what the campers did. For instance, campers spent a day at the PCEI Nature Center identifying native plants, using native plants in a wild crafting activity and painting plants. By the end of the day, campers had developed a mini field guard of native plants and had artwork to take home.
Campers met with Arlene Falcon at Tye Dye Everything where they learned the art of tye-dying and made their own shirts. At the University of Idaho, campers worked with members of Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) and did water testing. At Washington State University, campers met with physicist Dr. Maren Mossman and learned how light travels. And what could be better than to end the week with an afternoon of paddle boarding!
Campers also went to the Making, Innovating, Learning Laboratory (MILL) at the University of Idaho. “We went to the MILL last year, and the girls had such an amazing time, we wanted to go back again this year,” said PCEI Program Manager, Heather Bell. “Courtney Pace, the manager there, makes anyone who walks into that place feel like they can learn anything.”
Campers did a variety of projects at the MILL, and Bell said one of the highlights is campers aren’t committed to one project. They try everything from 3D printing to robot coding. “The combination of high level projects mixed with technology, mixed with freedom allows the girls to explore and enjoy a world they’ve never been in before,” Bell said. “It really is extraordinary.”