Girls STEAMing into 2020 full of Science, Adventures and New Friends!

As families across the whole country are gearing up for the start of the school year, which kicks off in less than a week for some families, some of our girl members have already started their year full of science, fun, friendship and discovery! 

Every year, our awesome volunteers help us create experiences for girls so they can develop new skills, meet like-minded girls, explore things they may not usually have access to, and feel encouraged to explore all-things STEAM. That’s is how our MagnifiScience Camps were born. MagnifiScience is a week-long residential-camp that brings together Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics in a way that excites young minds and provides incredible adventures during the holidays. Any science enthusiasts who are members of GirlGuiding NZ (aged 10-17 years) can enrol in one of these camps that happen throughout New Zealand. (Check what is coming up in our Events Calendar here!)

Last week, 30 of our girl members in Wellington embarked on their MagnifiScience adventure, as the photo above shows. Here’s a summary of what the girls got to enjoy!

• Learned to Code (Website, App and Game), Robotics and participated in a real Hackathon Challenge. (Girls worked in teams to create a working prototype of an idea that could solve a problem or change or improve someone’s life in one of the following categories: health, sport, travel or home and leisure.)
• Visited the Wellington Cable Car ride and Space Observatory
• Created Digital Art – sculpting, VR, AR, drawing and stop-motion animation
• Produced a TV Show with Capital E
• Learned about Internet Safety and Cybersecurity
• Made a solar-powered oven (and cooked smores using it, obviously!)
• Made ice cream in a bag
• Visited Fire Emergency New Zealand – Fire Investigation, Fire Engineering and Station
• Many more science experiments, engineering challenges and all-around exploring!

Ashleigh Regan, Transformational Analyst at ANZ and also one of the awesome volunteers, said on her LinkedIn post, “Personally I have found the week not only rewarding but also inspiring. Getting to know the girls, the enthusiasm and fun they bring, has taught me a lot and I hope I’ve done just that for them too.”