Over the past few weeks, I've been working with other members of our school's iGEM team to create doll kits and lab kits to get young girls into science. After days of writing and revising, of crafting and sorting and packing, we brought them to a troop of girl scouts for some market research.
I can really say it was life-changing. Seeing the faces of 2nd and 3rd grade girls light up at the sight of stuffed animal (bacteria) and sparkly microcentrifuge tubes was crazy. I had had my doubts at the beginning of the project - it's 2018. We've gotten pretty progressive. Was this necessary? Would young girls really care about some lab materials in a box and mini goggles? I didn't think so.
But I was wrong. The kits, these small toys assembled by high schoolers, made a difference. The girls loved them. They brought out their dolls, put the toy cholera on them, and gave them shots with syringes. They used tubes to measure out unicorn tears and pour them into agar plates. They did experiments and marveled at volcanoes in beakers and invisible ink. The feeling of discovery and wonder in the room was palpable. I could feel their energy rising as they learned to pipette. It was an indescribable feeling.
What I got from the experience was that everything, every little thing, matters. I thought these kits wouldn't have any effect, but they were a huge hit. And now there is a group of twenty girl scouts with increased interest in science, and I was a part of that. Doubting yourself is normal, but if you work hard and put your heart into it, anything can happen. This is how we can increase the number of women in science and fix other problems in our world.
During the meeting, we handed out pre- and post-surveys. We asked them to draw scientists in the pre- and post-surveys. In the pre-survey, only 4 girls drew their scientists as women. In the post survey, many, many more drew women, and more importantly, themselves as scientists. Seeing the little drawings, the heavy crayon, the crooked lines: I have never been more sure of the effect little things can have on others.
