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STEMPower4Girls is proud to present our first tournament for girls all across India.
This competition offers middle and high school girls the chance to compete against like-minded individuals and apply their STEM knowledge in a multi-round tournament.
After almost two years of hosting weekly workshops for low-income girls in India, we noticed that many lacked educational resources such as laptops, tablets, and books which are immensely important when pursuing higher levels of STEM education. They would often take all their classes, school work, and learn from a family owned phone.
So, in order to provide and aid these girls in their STEM journeys, we hosted a tournament for over 500 low-income girls all across India where the top performers received laptops, tablets, books, and other educational material.
We hosted two pre-tournament workshops going over topics in the provided tournament syllabus and created an online forum and community where girls could ask questions a month leading up to the tournament
We hosted an award ceremony consisting of a guest workshop, speaker panel, and award announcement.
The Indian minister of education distributed the prizes in an in-person ceremony.
We held a pre-tournament workshop to introduce and teach new concepts on the tournament syllabus that the girls were most familiar with. After creating a poll of which topics the girls were most familiar with, we decided to divide our 120 minute session into three 40 minute sessions on counting and pronbability, chemistry, and algorithms. In the counting and probability section we went over dependent and independent events, combinations and permutations, complementary counting, and venn diagrams. In the chemistry section we discussed the structure of an atom, elements and the periodic table, covalent and ionic bonds, and the pH scale. In the algorithm section we went over recursion in coding, stacks, queues, and the different types of searches. We then ended with practice, where the girls were able to test their knowledge on all three topics.
We decided to hold another pre-tournament workshop after positive feedback from the first one and the girl’s requests to cover more CS topics before the tournament. We covered many useful topics for coding using Java. We talked about different types of variables and the girls practiced defining their own variables using proper syntax. They also learned about the different operators that can be used to deal with numerical values in Java. Next, we covered if/else statements and the girls got to see a flowchart to understand the concept well. Finally, we talked about arrays, an important way to store data. We ended with practice, where the girls could see all the concepts they learned in action and how they are used in computer science.
On July 3rd, we held a three round online tournament (math, science, computer science) for over 500 low-income girls to participate in. Each round was 60 minutes long with 20 questions to answer. Each question was worth 1 point, and each incorrect or skipped question was 0 points.
The math round included topics in computational and word problems in algebra (exponents/logarithms, system of equations, base conversions, complex numbers, divisibility rules), counting and probability (coin/dice problems, combinations and permutations), geometry (area and perimeter, circles, volume, surface area of 3D figures, equation of a line), number theory (primes, prime factorization, divisors of a number). There was also a logic question at the end.
The science round included multiple-choice questions in chemistry (atoms, elements, molecules, atomic mass, atomic charge, bonds, balancing reactions), biology (anatomy, body systems, cells, photosynthesis), physics (unit conversions, gravity, kinematics, Newton’s laws), environmental science (ecosystems, food web/chain, atmosphere), earth science (rocks, tectonic plates).
The computer science round included general questions about primitive types, outputs for Java code, and conceptual questions on binary search, Big-O notation, data structures, and algorithms. This round tested problem-solving and logical thinking, which are two important skills needed in computer science.
On July 24th, we held an award ceremony which consisted of a winner announcement, a speaker panel of Indian girls from elite universities in the USA and India such as MIT and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati, as well as a financial literacy workshop hosted by Grant Means, the founder and CEO of Start Now Press.
Grant Means, the founder and CEO of Start Now Press, held a financial literacy workshop where he empowered the girls by describing tips on how to effectively manage housing, education, debt, interest rates, and credit. He introduced the girls to important financial topics and provided information and awareness for these young girls to make informed decisions in the future.
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Creating a community of girls who can use STEM to change the world.
Creating a community of girls who can use STEM to change the world.