DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Girls and boys do not significantly differ in their abilities in stem subjects but they do differ in their interest and confidence in them.
Young girls across the Quad Cities are proving just how strong their skills are during an all-girls engineering camp at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.
All it takes is a little team work and brainstorming ideas to create the perfectly engineered spider web. For dozens of girls at the Putnam Museum, no project is too tough to complete.
“We need it loose like a hammock but sturdy and we want to go over those gaps,” says 10 year old Isabel Kelly as she works with other young girls to complete the project.
Along with other skills learned during the camp, girls learned that trial and error are stepping stones to success.
“It’s okay to fail the first time, just never give up,” says 10 year old Sophia Giampaolo.
The camp helps young girls learn basic stem skills through fun... hands on activities. Organizers say it's a way to inspire girls to go into science, math and engineering fields.
“A lot of them are interested in math and science and the goal is to keep them interested as they go all the way through high school and realize it is a career they can pursue,” says Rachel Lanning
Sophia already has a meteorology career in mind.
“I do have ideas of being a meteorologist. As a young girl I loved weather,” says Sophia
“No matter what, I think my future has a big win-win,” added Sophia.
Studies show women make up 47 percent of the overall workforce but only 27 percent are in science and engineering fields. Programs like the Girls Engineering Camp work to increase the number of women in these fields.