Women In Science

Welcome to Women in Science programs at the Connecticut Science Center.

The Connecticut Science Center’s Women in Science initiative encourages girls and young women to pursue studies and career paths in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and celebrates the achievements of women in the sciences.

The initiative seeks to bridge the gender gap in STEM by developing original programming to engage girls in science and to build the community of women in the sciences.

Events & Programs

Women In Science Saturday
Postponed To A Later Date
11AM-2PM
The Connecticut Science Center--- Level 4 Bridge

Tessellations, Palindromes, Tangrams Oh My!

Sharpen your math skills and creative abilities by working with CCSU Mathematics Professor Dr. Shelly Jones and her students. Solve equations to decode a puzzle, complete a word search to uncover the names of famous mathematicians, create palindromes and tessellations. Soduko anyone?

Presenter: CCSU students of Dr. Shelly Jones

Women In Science Saturday
Postponed To A Later Date
11AM-1PM
Parents and Educators
The Connecticut Science Center--- Science Hall

Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians

Meet Dr. Shelly M. Jones, Professor of Mathematics Education at Central Connecticut State University and author of Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians. This book is a great resource for understanding the contributions of African American women to the field of Mathematics and it is full of fun activities for home and the classroom.

Following a short presentation about the Making of Women Who Count, you will have an opportunity to sharpen your skills at math activity stations with exciting puzzles and problems and maybe even win a prize playing Math Bingo.

The event will end with book signings by Dr. Jones. Books may be purchased at the event for $15 plus CT Tax. Space is limited, registration is required.

Technovation Girls Connecticut Launch Event 2020

Saturday, January 18, 2020
The Connecticut Science Center

Women in Science Saturday

Super Science Girls!

Meet and hear from winners of the 2019 Connecticut Science and Engineering fair

Adventures in Algorithms Presented By OPTUM UWLiT

Students will learn that algorithms are a set of instructions that modify an input to produce an output. Students will write an algorithm to make the ”best” product. Students then explore what it means to be ”best” and see how their opinions are reflected in their algorithms.
“An Ethics of Artificial Intelligence Curriculum for Middle School Students was created by Blakeley H. Payne with support from the MIT Media Lab Personal Robots Group, directed by Cynthia Breazeal.”

View Event photos

2020 STEM Achievement Awards Breakfast

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award

This award recognizes a woman working in STEM who is a leader in her field, and who makes a significant effort to support other women and encourage girls' interests in STEM. The honoree is selected by the Connecticut Science Center's Women in Science steering committee.

Nominations for the 2020 Connecticut Science Center STEM Achievement Award and the 2020 Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award can be submitted via the Connecticut Science Center website until February 7, 2020. Honorees will be recognized and celebrated at the 2020 STEM Achievement Awards Breakfast on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:30-9:30 AM

Submit a Nomination

2016 #DaVinciCoder Girls-only Hackathon

If Leonardo da Vinci were alive today, what kind of apps would he create? Why don't YOU tell US! Girls in middle and high school are invited to invent new apps or games that speak to da Vinci's work as a genius inventor and artist.

First Place

Talking To DaVinci
This app will help children and adults learn more about Leonardo da Vinci by letting people of all ages ask da Vinci questions and receive his answers! You can ask questions about him and his life by “texting with” him, and you can also involve your friends by texting AS him. Ask your friends to send the keyword “da Vinci” to your number while you have the app open (case sensitive). The app will answer your friends with a quote from Leonardo.

Runner-up

DaVinci Play
This app allows players to use da Vinci’s machines and designs in trials. It gives people the opportunity to try out da Vinci’s experiments in a variety of mini-games!

Special thanks to Presenting Sponsor First Niagara Foundation, Supporting Sponsor TicketNetwork, and Media Sponsor Teentivity. Additional support provided by the Jackson-Batchelder Family Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the S.A. Johnson Family Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Special thanks to Program Partner Connecticut Computer Science Teachers Association.

Resources

Whether you're a woman or girl in the sciences, or are interested in helping more girls and women enter STEM fields, the links below will help you on your way.

Girls RISEnet: Girls RISEnet, a partnership between the Miami Science Museum, the Association of Science-Technology Centers, and SECME, Inc., is strengthening the professional capacity of informal science educators to engage and motivate minority girls in grades 6—12 to explore and pursue science and engineering careers.
Ebony Horsewomen: The mission of the Ebony Horsewomen is to empower youth toward successful lives through the use of horses. The goal is to provide Comprehensive Equine Education with profound benefits of Equine and Animal Assisted Growth and Learning, Equine Assisted Therapy, Horsemanship Training, and academic programming to build leaders, deter destructive behavior, and increase academic achievement.
Girl Scouts of Connecticut: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
ManyMentors: Through the power of peer mentoring, ManyMentors will inspire, encourage, and support underrepresented middle and high school students’ interest in, pursuit of and attainment of STEM degrees at universities across the country.
The National Girls Collaborative Project: The National Girls Collaborative Project™ (NGCP) brings together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM.
American Association of University Women (AAUW): The American Association of University Women is the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women and girls. Since its founding in 1881, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day—educational, social, economic, and political.
National Engineers Week Foundation: Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. Engineers Week is part of many corporate and government cultures and is celebrated on every U.S. engineering college campus.
SciGirls on PBS: SciGirls is a new show for kids ages 8–12 that showcases bright, curious, real tween girls who put science and engineering to work in their everyday lives. Each half-hour episode follows a different group of middle school girls, whose eagerness to find answers to their questions will inspire your children to explore the world around them and discover that science and technology are everywhere!
EngineerGirl: The EngineerGirl website is designed to bring national attention to the exciting opportunities that engineering represents for girls and women.
uheart.wordpress.com/: Updates on health-related research by Dr. Beth Taylor, Director for the Center for Health, Care and Well-Being at the University of Hartford and Director of Exercise Physiology Research at Hartford Hospital.