Science Club Breckenridge

Getting girls interested in science at an earlier age.

Background Information

Elsa Bates, of Breckenridge Colorado, attended Spring 2018 of the Alzar School. In the past few years, Elsa noticed that underserved girls were dropping out of the Advanced Math and Science classes at her high school. Elsa knew that she could change this, and wanted to find a way to do so. She started a Science Club for girls at her local elementary school, with the hope of getting girls interested in science at an earlier age. Along with the development of an interest in science, another goal of the program was to build a base of knowledge of basic science.

Implementation of Project

Elsa began with the help of her mom, who teaches at the local elementary school. After developing a plan, she brought it to the principal of the school and asked for feedback. The principal thought it was a great idea, and offered to provide money for materials. Elsa sent out emails and gave out flyers about the science club, and within a week, she had over twenty permission slips from girls who wanted to join.

It was not all easy though. Twenty girls would be too much for a science club, so Elsa selected the first fifteen that had turned their permission slips in. She then had to plan over ten weeks of material for the upcoming science meetings. After about eight hours of planning fun and basic science experiments to do with the girls, she also had to test the experiments at home and make sure they worked.

As fifteen girls was a lot to manage, the first science club was a little chaotic. But with each session of the club it got a little easier to handle.

“At first it was scary to be in charge of teaching fifteen girls. But I became more comfortable leading the class as time went on.” – Elsa Bates

Results of Project

Elsa has experienced the joy of seeing girls getting intrigued in science, and forming strong bonds with others in the club. Some girls even ask for the procedures of the experiments, so they can take them home and show their parents what they have learned.

“The girls are all so sweet and fun to work with. I love seeing how excited they get about a simple experiment such as baking soda and vinegar.” – Elsa Bates

What’s Next

Once this session of the club ends, Elsa aims to work with a new group of girls. When she graduates in 2020, Elsa hopes to find a younger girl to pass on the Science Club so it can continue. Elsa served as alumni representative to Alzar School’s Advisory Committee in 2018-2019.

“It was so rewarding to get hugs from the girls when I came to Science Club.” – Elsa Bates