Society of Women Engineers participate in girls day.
By Alexis D. Vega
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Usually when someone hears the word engineer, the brain will paint a picture of a man putting parts together for a machine or drawing out plans for a new invention.
The Society of Women Engineers on campus are on a mission to change that image and show women can be successful engineers.
The organization took a trip to Austin Feb. 27 for Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at UT Austin.
Girls Day was organized to introduce young girls to the world of STEM. Booths led by many different schools were set up around the Cockrell School of Engineering Complex. The booths were designed to have different activities, in hope of sparking creativity and interest of the young crowd.
SAC’s team created a Parachute Parade Booth. “We had the kids use materials like a coffee filter, yarn, paper clips and stuffed animals,” Lourdes Torres said.
Torres, member of SWE, helped the children maneuver the materials in their own ways to build parachutes and get the stuffed animals to land softly on the ground.
“We get to talk to them and inspire them to seek a future in what makes them happy,” Torres said. The event was open to all children grades 1-8 but targeted to young girls.
“I can’t tell you how many people were actually there, but I’m sure there were hundreds! Everywhere you looked, it looked like magic happening, but really it was science going on,” Torres said.
Halliburton and Google funded Girl’s Day 2016.
“Being a part of the future is important. The more we help educate the children, the more we contribute to the nation and advance technology for the future,” Torres said.