As a mom of an eleven year old girl who is interested in programming, it can be pretty disheartening out there. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, and I can find nothing for her to partake in to foster this love. It is something I know she’s be good at too. That is why I was super excited to meet several people who are looking to push programming and STEM for girls.
First, lets start talking about what STEM actually is. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. My husband went to the Milwaukee School of Engineering. I can tell you that when he was in school that the girl to boy ratio was 1 girl for every 8 boys. Yes, it’s that bad when it comes into these studies.
That is why I was excited to meet Sascha Paladino (creator of Miles From Tomorrowland), Isis Anchalee Wenger of the #IlooklikeanEngineer movement, Angela Navarro and Julie Ann Crommett of Google, Dr. Yvonne Cagle of NASA, and Diane Ikemiyashiro of Disney Junior. Yes, this was a very woman heavy panel! However, they gave us some great insight.
Most of the women on the panel will tell you that they are self taught. There aren’t classes out there for young girls in these topics (and there still aren’t. That’s slowly changing.) Isis Anchalee talked to us about her journey of being pre-med to a software engineer. She is the face behind #ILookLikeAnEngineer. How did that happen? She was in a public campaign for work and people couldn’t believe that somebody could be that good looking and smart. (Sad, I know.) Other women started tweeting using the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer in solidarity to her to show that engineers aren’t just lonely white makes in their basements. It’s a great hashtag to check out to see others stories and to see you aren’t alone if you have interests in these fields!
What makes me the most sad is the #1 reason why girls don’t go into STEM fields. Julie Ann Crommett (Google) told us that they did a study and girls told them that they chose to not go into a science or math career because of a lack of adult encouragement. What that means, there isn’t a way to foster this in girls out there. That is why shows like Miles From Tomorrowland are important. Loretta (Miles’s sister) is a programmer. Kids can model her behavior and not even realize it! It makes programming and the STEM fields cool, and is a theme that is woven throughout the series. Even Dr. Cagle (NASA Astronaut) commented that “there is a wonderful exchange between Miles and the concept of STEM.”
To show you how they have worked STEM into Miles Into Tomorrowland, watch this Loretta Coding Featurette. Also, in “The Discovery Expedition” episode, Loretta uses her coding skills to discover a hidden planet. This episode will premieres Friday, December 4 at 10:30 AM ET/PT on Disney Channel!
How do you encourage stem learning with the girls in your life?
This looks like a terrific episode for all girls to see. That would be wonderful if more girls were interested in STEM
STEM is for boys, too, and my two LOVE all things related to STEM activities. I love that Disney leads the way!
It does seem that STEM subjects have more boys interested in it than girls. I wish there were more programs to encourage young girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. You’ll never know how much potential they may have in these fields.
I love what Disney is doing to promote STEM, especially to little girls. STEM is the future, but it seems like more boys than girls are interested in it.
I have all boys in my family. My son loves science. This year I bought him for a christmas gift a STEM toy. I can’t wait to give it to him for christmas.
I was actually raised around female scientists, and they make up the majority of my husband’s coworkers at the lab he works at. I was (and am) blessed to see all that can be accomplished by girls (and boys!) when they put their minds to it. Not everyone has that chance though, and it’s great to see characters like this in media, leading the way and providing role models!
I love that they made a cartoon for girls researching STEM! Its beautiful because its still a male dominated industry but women are taking over!! This cartoon is going to inspire so many girls!
My daughter would be interested in this. I will tell her about this show.
It’s awesome to see them making shows like this. I’d love to see more kids getting interested in science and tech fields.
Although I only have boys, I think it’s great to encourage girls to do whatever they want. My nieces love all things STEM.
I love that we are beginning to see more companies aware of the possibilities that girls truly are capable of anything. I have a ten year old daughter and she has always been interested in things that none of her friends are interested in. I encourage her to do what she likes and is good at and not worry about the pressures of what is the norm!
Great read, my daughter loves this show. My son is big in STEM and its rubbing off on my daughter. Her Dad is an engineer and we teach them and encourage them every step of the way.
My son loves Science and I think my daughter loves it too. I don’t think we’ve seen the show, very interesting.
I think girls can also do great jobs in science and math career. If it is really there interest, then the parents should support them.
This is also my observation. I don’t see many females who are in the STEM field. I think girls would also do a great work in this area.
It would be cool if girls can also have an interest when it comes to STEMS. Disney is really amazing to bring the two together miles event.
This is indeed an important movie for young girls to be inspired by. It is so important for girls to acknowledge the the STEM world is also for them and not just for boys. Thanks for sharing the movie.
I’m kinda thankful for the computer science class that I ended up taking. It was a programming class and it wasn’t easy. However, when. I took programing in college, it all started making sense.
I hope your daughter continues her interest in programming. I think there will be more ops for kids in the future.
DISNEY is go great for our kids. I love that they are encouraging STEM for girls now. I bet it can be discouraging to be a girl in a “boy’s world” just like being a woman in a “man’s world”.
I’m glad there are programs like this to spark a girl’s interest in STEM. It’s true that the ratio of girls wanting to learn this is very low.
This looks like a great show!! I love Disney and this just makes me love them even more!!
I don’t have a daughter but I think my son would be interested with STEM too because he’s always been fascinated with science. Will check this out.
My daughter is such a fan of Miles, she totally would love this! 😀
I think it is important for girls to know that they can choose any area of study that they desire, but how do they know what is available to them, if adults do not help to educate them about all of the opportunities out there.
I studied Technology and computer science in the 80’s at college and I do remember that at least half of my classes included female students. It was a good mix, actually.
Miles Into Tomorrowland would be a great show for my friends little girls to watch. I will have to put it on the next time they come over.
I love that Disney is promoting STEM. It’s very important to female presence in the workforce for girls to develop STEM skills.
We’ve watched the show and I don’t think any of us were too into it, but I bet my little girl would like this episode! We will have to try to find it ON Demand!
This is so great that Disney is bringing the two together. Can’t wait to see this with my daughter.
I do not have children, but I was a former Special Education Teacher. It always made me sad when girls would shy away from math and science, and I always made sure that I encouraged my students equally.
I love seeing young girls being encouraged to pursue STEM activities and careers. There are so many brilliant young female minds out there just waiting to do great things.
Sounds like a great informative show. A bit geeky, if you ask me, but I wont mind my kids watching this all day long!
My daughter doesn’t get into STEM yet, but my son sure does! In fact, he says that he wants to study to be a scientist someday. 🙂
I think it is brilliant that your girl is so ambitious and will pursue programming. Even more, your encouragement is wonderful. I wish all parent were like that.
I love what Disney is doing to promote STEM! It is great, but it seems like more boys than girls are interested in it.
I do believe a lack of encouragement plays a huge role in why girls don’t investigate and learn more about Science. I’m guilty of it too. I didn’t start doing science experiments with my daughter until she was a tween.
I have two girls and they adore Disney Junior. This show is perfect for them since they both love science. We love doing science experiments with them as well.
My tween daughter’s favorite class is STEM. I’ll have to get my younger daughter to watch this cartoon to spark her interest in STEM at an early age.
It’s my first time to hear about STEM, I guess it’s because of the different system in schooling here in the Philippines. I hope they come up with a similar program here.