Schlagwort: Women STEAM

  • Wired for success: Inspiring the next generation of women in science

    Wired for success: Inspiring the next generation of women in science

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Did you know that it’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th, 2025? To celebrate this global event, we’re shining a light on the efforts to make STEM more accessible, inclusive, and inspiring for future generations. Let’s dive in!

    Mind the gap: gender representation in STEM 

    Science and technology have made huge leaps forward in recent years. Yet, according to UNESCO, women still make up just 35% of STEM graduates – a figure that has remained unchanged for the past decade.

    According to Dr. Erica Colón, founder of Nitty Gritty Science, one major issue is the lack of visible female role models. “If you were to ask children to draw a scientist, many would draw a man,” she told Arduino. From textbooks to posters, Erica says STEM careers are often portrayed as male-dominated, making it harder for young girls to see themselves in these roles. 

    Additionally, many students don’t even know about the exciting opportunities available in tech because these careers aren’t widely discussed in schools. But we can change that narrative.

    At Arduino, we’re committed to making STEM education accessible to everyone – regardless of their gender, race, background, or experience. And we’re not alone…

    Breaking down barriers: how educators and organizations are driving change

    Educators and organizations worldwide are working hard to reshape STEM education and make it more inclusive.

    One champion of this movement is Nathalie Duponsel, a doctoral candidate in Educational Technology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and a certified primary school teacher. In this video, Natalie explains why Arduino’s open-source platform is key to lowering cost barriers and improving access to technology. “It also gives students real-world examples to work on, which is great for improving their skill sets and brings them around to this maker mindset,” she notes.

    Another initiative making a real impact is Arduino4Her, a training project for girls in Ghana hosted by MakerSpaceGH. This popular project equips young women with hands-on skills in Arduino technology, electronics, and programming through interactive workshops and inspiring presentations. The energy is always electric and it’s incredible to see so many young women embracing tech, creating bold new ideas, and challenging STEM stereotypes.

    How you can make a difference

    Want to inspire more girls to pursue a career in STEM? Whether you’re an educator, parent, or someone who wants to be part of the change, here’s how you can help:

    • Ignite a love of STEM early on – STEM skills should be nurtured from a young age. It’s never too early to encourage hands-on play and learning activities that spark curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity. For example, block-based coding with the Arduino Alvik robot (currently on sale until February 19th, 2025!) provides a fun route into coding and robotics for kids as young as seven.
    • Integrate hands-on tech projects – Integrating hands-on and interactive tools like the Plug and Make Kit, the Alvik robot or the Student Kit is a great way to introduce all students to key STEM areas. Who knows, you might even spark a lifelong passion or inspire the next Rosalind Franklin!
    • Highlight female role models – Share the stories of women in STEM – past and present – to help girls see what’s possible. Need inspiration? Check out this blog post, where we honor six trailblazing women whose contributions to science were overlooked.
    • Create supportive learning environments – Building an encouraging community is key. Whether through clubs, mentorship programs, or events like Arduino Days or Arduino4Her, girls need safe spaces where they can explore and excel in STEM.
    • Advocate for inclusive STEM education – Push for curriculum changes that showcase the contributions of women and minorities in science and technology. “As a teacher, all you can do is put that information out there and make your students aware that they can do anything,” says Dr. Erica Colón. “We have to keep encouraging and showing different roles that they can do.”

    On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let’s take action to empower, inspire, and break barriers. The future of STEM belongs to everyone!

    The post Wired for success: Inspiring the next generation of women in science appeared first on Arduino Blog.

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  • International Day of Women and Girls in Science: 6 scientists you should know about

    International Day of Women and Girls in Science: 6 scientists you should know about

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Science and technology empower people to change the world. At Arduino, we work every day to make them simple and accessible to anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, background, nationality, and sexuality. Unfortunately, not all contributions are given the same visibility, that’s why we are celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by highlighting six scientists who were not honored enough for their achievements. Giving these women the visibility they deserve, we hope to inspire our community to innovate in a more inclusive way and to create a better future together.

    Lise Meitner (1878 – 1968)

    Born in Austria, Lise Meitner made an extraordinary contribution to nuclear physics and oversaw his explosive potential. After the Ph.D. in Physics, she moved to Berlin and started working with chemist Otto Hahn. When Nazis annexed Austria, Meitner, who was Jewish, had to move to Stockholm. She kept working with Otto Hahn and contributed to the theory of nuclear fission. Hahn won the 1944 Nobel Prize, but could not credit Meitner for her contribution.

    Alice Ball (1892 – 1916)

    American born pharmaceutical chemist Alice Ball developed at age 23 a technique to make the oil injectable and absorbable by the body. Her method — credited only after her death as ‘’Ball method’’ — represented the most effective treatment for leprosy during the early 20th century. Tragically, Ball died of an illness before she could publish her results, and another chemist later published without giving Ball credit.

    Chien-Shiung Wu (1912 – 1997)

    Chinese-American physicist Chien-Shiung Wu is best known for conducting the “Wu Experiment”, which disproved a hypothetical physical law called the conservation of parity. Her experiment paved the way for several studies that led her colleagues Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang to win the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.

    Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958)

    When Rosalind Franklin took in 1952 the photo 51 in her lab — the first picture of DNA — she had no idea that she would become the center of a scientific controversy. The British chemist and accomplished X-ray crystallographer’s image was shared with James Watson and Francis Crick, who were working on identifying the structure of DNA. Franklin’s picture was key to deduce that DNA took the form of a double helix. However, in their paper about the discovery, they only mentioned Franklin in a footnote.

    Katherine Johnson (1918 – 2020 )

    With her calculations of orbital mechanics, mathematician Katherine Johnson played a critical role in the success of the first NASA crewed spaceflights. Trained as a human-computer, Johnson mastered complex manual calculations, mastering trajectories, launch windows and emergency return paths for spaceflights. Until 1958, Johnson and her African-American colleagues were required to work and eat in offices separate from those of their white peers. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

    Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943)

    Irish Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is credited with one of the most important discoveries of the last century: the radio pulsars. Pulsars are the by-products of supernova explosions; thanks to them, scientists can measure cosmic distances, study extreme states of matter and search for planets beyond Earth’s solar system. Pulsar’s discovery was recognized by the award of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics; however, she was not one of the recipients of the prize.

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