Thanks to a grant from GirlsRISE.net and the Academy of Sciences, our eighth graders participated in a day-long design/build engineering challenge with the eighth grade girls from the KIPP school (Bayview) on January 21 at the Academy of Sciences. The activities for the girls focused on structural engineering and architectural design for earthquake safety.

Using the Academy's Earthquake exhibit as their inspiration, along with professional guidance from invited women experts in the field, girls from each of the two schools worked in cross-institutional teams to design and construct a two-story building and test its structural integrity during a simulated earthquake.

Working in teams, the girls spent the first part of the morning identifying the obstacles that women often face in the field of engineering, facilitated by our own fifth grade mom and scientist, Jane Grogan. The girls then learned about engineering principles and architectural design from local electrical engineer Celest Dela Calzada, who recently worked on both the Academy and Exploratorium renovations, as well as at Burke’s for the redesign of the admin building. Jean DeMouthe, lead geologist for the Academy, then gave a presentation on plate techtonics and a brief history of earthquakes in California. Soon after, the girls began their exploration of the Earthquake exhibit at the Academy and experienced a simulated earthquake in the Academy’s “Shake House.”

After lunch, the girls then began the important work of brainstorming, designing, building, and testing their structures using the Academy’s portable shake table. The event culminated in an awards ceremony with ribbons and prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Each participant also received a framed certificate of achievement before leaving the Academy to recognize each girl’s contribution to the triumphant day of girls-only engineering.