Dallas Conference Aims To Teach Girls About STEM Fields
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A new kind of learning aims to teach girls in school about the fields of science, technology, engineering and math outside of the classroom.
A conference in Dallas on Friday brought all the tools to train the next crop of scientists, engineers and mathematicians, while also helping to launch rockets - and dreams.
Adlena Jacobs teaches engineering to Mesquite high schoolers. Earlier this year, NASA picked her to help spread space education in her community. "I feel like I'm giving them my passion, my inspiration," she said.
At Friday's conference, Jacobs and IT manager Hilary Waters shared their knowledge with 28 girls from Dallas schools.
"It's 2017, but we're still the minority in STEM. There are only a few of us out there. We need more girls to be motivated," said Jacobs.
Teams at the conference blended science and glue to make slime and even used iPads to practice coding.
"It's good to learn in summer. Keep your mind going," said 11-year-old Kazlyn Houston.
A high school robotics club brought out a pair of robots and showed the girls how to operate them. It's knowledge that could help inspire their futures.
"Now I'm deciding whether I want to fly an airplane or be a robot builder," said 7-year-old Alaura Douglas.