Collaboration Creating AM Playbook and Patch to Help Bridge STEM Gender Gap; Effort Made Possible with Funding from the State of Ohio
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, March 12, 2021 – Today, on the 109th birthday of the Girl Scouts of America (GSUSA) organization, America Makes and the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) proudly announce their partnership to promote STEM education through additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to the more than 25K GSNEO members with plans to launch the program to the 2.5M Girl Scouts nationally.
The organizations will also create a Playbook for best practices on integrating AM into Girl Scout programming for use when deploying the new America Makes Additive MFG Patch—the first-ever AM patch.
This patch will be earned through engagement in the AM technical areas of Design, Manufacturing, and Post-Production. Based on industry recognized credentials, the America Makes Additive MFG Patch is aligned to many Girl Scout Badges, including STEM and others where AM can be applied and integrated. Badges are a key component of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which focuses on four content pillars of Outdoors, Life Skills, Entrepreneurship, and STEM, with the goal of fostering courage, confidence, and character in girls to prepare them for a lifetime of leadership.
This America Makes Education and Workforce Development (EWD) project with the GSNEO is part of a larger plan funded by the State of Ohio to create an Ohio Secondary Education Network to expand opportunities for both students and teachers. Designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the network will enable access to advanced manufacturing technologies through formal education and training, and engagement through community organizations like the GSNEO.
“Thanks to the funding from the State of Ohio, we were able to enter into this strategic partnership with the GSNEO to bring the Playbook and America Makes Additive MFG Patch into reality,” said Josh Cramer, America Makes Education & Workforce Director. “The opportunity to work with our local GSNEO council has been inspiring for all of us at America Makes.
“The Girl Scouts are dedicated to building skills and interests in STEM—fields that unfortunately reflect great gender disparity,” continued Mr. Cramer. “Within the AM industry for example, less than 15 percent of professionals are women. Girl Scout programming is specifically designed to reverse this trend and promote STEM, ensuring K-12 girls are empowered to pursue STEM-related fields and compete successfully for these positions.”
Since 2017, the GSUSA has been working on its groundbreaking initiative, The National Girl Scout STEM Pledge, to help reduce the gender gap in STEM fields by engaging 2.5M girls in this area by 2025. Within the GSNEO council, the goal is to engage 37K throughout the next few years. More than 14K girls in North East Ohio have earned a STEM badge in the last year alone.
“Girl Scouts is more than cookies, crafts and camping,” said Jane Christyson Chief Executive Officer, GSNEO. “Our program is the largest leadership opportunity for girls and now with more than a 100 new STEM badges, we are showing our girls new possibilities in fields like AM. By encouraging girls to explore concepts in this fast-growing field, we are creating a female talent pipeline.”
For more information about America Makes or how to become a member, visit americamakes.us.
About America Makes
America Makes is the nation’s leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing (AM) technology and education. America Makes members from industry, academia, government, workforce and economic development organizations, work together to accelerate the adoption of AM and the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Founded in 2012 as the Department of Defense’s national manufacturing innovation institute for AM and first of the Manufacturing USA network, America Makes is based in Youngstown, Ohio and managed by the not-for-profit National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). Visit americamakes.us to learn more.
Girl Scouts of North East Ohio
The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) was formed in 2007 after five councils in the region merged, but Girl Scouting itself has been in Ohio since 1912. GSNEO serves 25,000 girls in 18 counties with the help of 12,000 adult volunteers. GSNEO is the largest, most active female voluntary service organization in the region and among the largest Girl Scout councils in the nation. Learn more about the GSNEO at gsneo.org.
We’re Girl Scouts of the USA
We’re 2.5 million strong—more than 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout troop, and every year since, we’ve honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit girlscouts.org.
Source: America Makes
