MakerGirls project a resounding success

MakerGirl, a University of Illinois student venture, launched a pilot session of its program on Tuesday, December 2 in the Business Instructional Facility’s MakerLab. The project was co-founded by Lizzy Engele, Julia Haried, Sophie Li, and Emily Woodward this fall in Professor Noah Isserman’s Social Entrepreneurship class. MakerGirl aims to use the MakerLab’s innovative space to open their minds to the world of technology, with the goal of inspiring young women to pursue STEM  (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields, . Winnie Yang, a Guru at the Lab, who studies Material Science Engineering at the University, led the MakerGirl session of seven girls aged 7-10 through the process of creating bracelets with the MakerLab’s 3D printers. The session included educational segments about trans-formative 3D printer technology, the significance of STEM fields, and notable female role models. Parents also attended the event in order to encourage and support their children in the pursuit of these fields. The goal of this program is that by 2025, all STEM majors have a girl to boy ratio of 50/50.