Girls encouraged to fly high in STEM career
28 Feb 24
STEMYouth Engagement
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As part of our celebrations for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2024, we welcomed Year-6 girls from a local primary school to participate in a fun-packed day of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) activities.
On Friday 11 February, 23 girls from Metheringham Primary School attended the Air Battlespace Training Centre (ABTC) at RAF Waddington, where they got to participate in interactive projects; experience flight simulators used by the military; and meet inspirational women in the aerospace industry.
Inzpire’s Kelly Bindemann, a command-and-control subject matter expert at the ABTC, was joined by a team of Inzpire ladies to organise and deliver the event. Their aim being to help close the gender gap in science by raising awareness of the varied and exciting opportunities in STEM to girls in their early years.
Kelly said: “We are passionate about encouraging young girls into STEM subjects and we are again delighted to host a local primary school at the ABTC. The girls have had a brilliant day covering all things aviation and have been looked after by some truly inspiring individuals.
"We just hope the young ladies can now follow their hearts and are not held back as they pursue their pathway to a STEM career. As always, a huge thank you to the whole force team who have come together to deliver another amazing event.”
Alongside the ABTC military staff and BDUK, who also supported the event, Kelly arranged aviation-themed activities to encourage maximum participation and enjoyment from the pupils. The day started with an aircraft modelling competition, where the girls worked in pairs to design and build an aircraft that would fly the furthest. The girls were encouraged to consider how their designs could best employ the principles of flight, to test their builds, and adjust the designs following their ‘test’ flights.
The day progressed to them flying in an airborne obstacle race around Anglesey on the desktop role player stations and culminated in an inspiring talk and question-and-answer session with Helen, one of our female pilots. The event was full of laughter and learning, with prizes given for the most innovative designs; fastest flyers; best teamwork; and most insightful questions.
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The aim of the day was to raise awareness of the varied and exciting opportunities in STEM to girls in their early years
The girls had a wonderful opportunity to meet expert women in their field and to hear first-hand how the skills they’d developed earlier in the day could translate to real careers in the future.
Ms Leanne Duggin, Headteacher at Metheringham Primary School said: “Our girls were blown away by the facilities at the ABTC. The day opened their eyes to new opportunities for women in STEM-based jobs. We were impressed by the staff’s enthusiasm and passion for inspiring this young generation and the girls were immersed in the technology, building, constructing, and teamwork involved in the day.
“The day ended with a talk from Helen, a female typhoon pilot. To hear the journey of a strong, courageous and talented female was the icing on the cake. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are forever grateful to the team.”
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February, is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women, in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners that aim to promote women and girls in science. This day is an opportunity to champion full and equal access to science for women and girls. This theme for this year's celebration is Closing the Gender Gap in Science: Accelerating Action.
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