When the music came up and the families began streaming into the 2022 STEAM on the Quad, one longtime participant had switched sides of the activity tables.
Bath High School’s Kyla Fallis and other members of the group she founded brought a new element to the annual event on campus and fulfilled a goal Fallis had to shine a spotlight on women’s contributions to the world of science and invention.
“I've always loved going here. I've been here every single year they've had STEAM on the Quad so I really wanted to have a table because there weren't really ever any tables about female science. It was just science in general,” Fallis said. “We have a table here that is about women in science and a lot of things that have been invented or discovered by women that you didn't know about.”
Participants at the Girl Up table got to take a close look at just of few of the inventions and accomplishments women have brought to the world and match them up with the inventors. Success in the match game led to chocolate chip cookies, another invention brought to the world by a woman.
STEAM on the Quad isn’t Fallis’ only experience with the STEAM fields on campus. She was also part of the Ohio State Lima chapter of Girls Who Code, a group whose mission is to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does while teaching young people to code.
“Before Girls Who Code, I was interested in the science fields, but the program opened up my mind to also include the idea that there are females out here who are changing the world,” Fallis said. “It was really cool to have that support group of other girls who wanted to go into IT and code who were also very into empowerment and we can do whatever we want to do.”
Fallis will carry her STEAM background with her as she moves forward. She plans to be study business management and marketing paired with a minor in women’s studies. Her longterm goal is to start a small business focused on creating robotic limbs that will help bridge the gap for people with disabilities so they can better function in modern society.
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STEAM on the Quad is a free, family-friendly event for kids in grades K-8 to improve their knowledge and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Humanities, and Math through hands-on activity. The 2022 event was sponsored in part by the Charles River Labs and welcomed close to 150 K-8 students and their families to try out 50 activities, hosted by 4-H programs of Putnam, Hardin, Allen, Hancock, Lucas, Auglaize, Miami and Logan counties; the Ohio State Lima departments of education, biology, earth sciences and English; and a variety of student clubs, community businesses and organizations.
Original source can be found here.
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