NDSU’s Mommy, Me and SWE Inspires Young Girls to Pursue Engineering

Engineering is seen as a male-dominated field, but Mommy, Me and SWE at NDSU is working to change that.

Most little girls are probably out enjoying their weekend playing, but this group is using the day to learn about science and engineering.

“I have a daughter who’s a first grader, and so I want her to try and get interested in just learning how things work or maybe how to build a bridge,” said one mother, Joan Krush.

Getting girls interested in subjects like engineering can help push them towards careers in these fields.

“I think that they don’t start early enough, then when they get to middle school or high school they find it really intimidating,” said event organizer, Olivia Gravel.

For Olivia, a STEM camp in middle school got her interested.

“I kind of started to more understand that it wasn’t just math and it wasn’t just science, but it was communication and problem solving,” said Gravel.

The activities here are already having the same effect on the girls.

“I learned that mechanics can build stuff,” said attendee Morgan.

Genevieve is already thinking about problem solving.

“My favorite part was when we got to make the dam, it didn’t work because we didn’t have time to put the duct tape on the bottom, it takes a lot of skill to get things to go right,” said event goer, Genevieve.

This event isn’t only about teaching kids.  Parents are doing their fair share of learning as well.

While the kids learn how to make robotic arms, the moms learn about the importance of teaching their kids early and how they can help at home.

“Sometimes, when we’re standing in the line and waiting we talk about how can this be efficient and so I think that’s a real world or real life experience that you can share with each other and have a conversation about,” saids Krush.

Mommy, Me and SWE makes learning fun for these girls.

“It’s a really fun place and I love doing science here and engineering,” said Genevieve.

“If they are interested in doing activities like this, then they might go on to pursue a STEM field or an area like that,” said Gravel.

Although these girls aren’t quite ready to make the commitment, many girls say they want to come back next year.

To find out more about NDSU’s engineering programs for kids, click on this link.