High school girls from Techbridge Oakland programs to showcase human-powered bike generator, make-your-own lip balm and other self-engineered creations this Friday through Sunday

“Maker Faire provides a wonderful vehicle for these girls to take a challenging engineering project from concept to prototype, build confidence in their abilities, and become part of the vibrant Maker movement,” says Martha Pena, who directs Techbridge’s Bay Area Programs. “It’s a very empowering experience for these girls to see themselves
among a community of innovators.”

The Techbridge booth will feature eleven (11) projects by girls from Oakland Unity High School and Oakland Technical High School. The girls’ projects include:

• a wood and bike wheel go-kart
• a human-powered bicycle generator
• a bridge that opens and closes using a servo
• an LED light-up tutu
• a pair of gloves that make different sounds when each finger is pressed
• another pair of gloves that light up with LEDs which were originally planned as a bracelet that would pulse with your heart-rate
• a robot that the girls built and then hacked by erasing the code that came with it and writing their own new code to make it move
• a web-based game named Maker Quest giving users a chance to search for QR codes around the Maker Faire, scan them, and win prizes (Saturday only 10am-3:30pm)

Visitors will also be invited to participate in an interactive art piece that asks participants to think about and draw what an engineer looks like, which was developed after the group’s many attempts at making a photo booth “went south”; this pivot is a great example of the innovator’s mindset which Techbridge instills in girls.

A highlight of the Techbridge booth will be a fun chance for visitors of all ages to explore chemical engineering by creating their own lip balm. An activity popular with boys and girls, adults and kids alike, visitors use a pre-made base of shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax, and mix in flavors and colors of their choice using essential oils like peppermint and vanilla, and colors used in commercial lipsticks such as Red 6 and Yellow 5. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the Techbridge booth early while lip balm supplies last.

Visitors making their own lip-balm are encouraged to “Post Your Pucker” on social media in support of girls in STEM, by smearing on their DIY gloss, puckering up, snapping a picture and tagging @TechbridgeGirls #MFBA2016 #PuckerUp

Techbridge’s Oakland programs and Maker Faire exhibit are made possible by sponsorship from longtime partner  Chevron. “For over seven years, Chevron has partnered with Techbridge to help get girls interested and excited in science, technology and engineering through after-school programs, summer camps and role modeling and mentoring,” said Blair Blackwell, Manager, Education and Corporate Programs at Chevron. “As part of our ongoing commitment to STEM education, Chevron is delighted to support Techbridge’s Maker Faire activities to broadly inspire our community’s children about the wonders of STEM.”

Instrumental in staffing Techbridge’s booth at Maker Faire will be groups of volunteers from Intel and Cisco, working alongside Techbridge girls and staff.

Tech bridge believes the engineering process offers unique benefits to empower girls from underserved communities, that go far beyond technical skills.

“Learning the engineer’s iterative process – design, test, troubleshoot, try again – transforms girls’ attitudes towards challenges and mistakes so that they begin to see challenges as learning opportunities. Developing that grit is essential for girls who face so many barriers to success.”-Martha Pena, Techbridge Girls, Bay Area Program Director

All projects will be on display Friday through Sunday, May 20-22. Oakland Tech girls will be present to discuss their projects on Saturday, and Unity High girls present on Sunday.

Tickets and information on Maker Faire Bay Are available at http://makerfaire.com/bay-area/

Information on Techbridge can be found at http://www.techbridgegirls.org/

Techbridge is an award-winning national nonprofit that is engineering a revolution for girls to change the world through science, technology, engineering and math (“STEM”).  We aim to increase the number of girls pursuing STEM careers, specifically targeting girls from underserved communities and underrepresented ethnic groups.  Techbridge’s uniquely comprehensive model includes after-school programs that build girls’ skills and interest in STEM; programs that promote stronger support from families and role models; and professional development programs that foster best practices in STEM education by teachers and other youth-serving organizations.  Beyond introducing girls to technical skills, our approach builds character traits like curiosity, perseverance and grit, and introduces girls to a broad array of STEM careers.  Since 2000, Techbridge has introduced more than 66,000 youth to the wonders of STEM and trained more than 20,000 adults through partnerships with organizations like Girl Scouts, YMCA, and Society of Women Engineers.  Sixteen years of strong attention to evaluation has produced evidence our methods work:  Based on a longitudinal study, girls who participate in Techbridge graduate high school at higher rates, earn higher GPAs, score better on state STEM exams, and are twice as likely as the national average to choose STEM majors in college.

Press Release Courtesy of Techbridge