Presenter architect Kelli Franz, co-founder of atelier-KS, works with a participant during an architecture workshop entitled “Drawings to Three Dimension Models” at the 2019 AAUW-OML STEAM Conference.
Affordable housing for gummy bears?
That challenge and 18 others were among the topics of workshops at a science, technology and arts conference held for girls at Saint Mary’s College in March.
Organized by the American Association of University Women Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette Branch, the STEAM conference was attended by 220 middle-school girls.
The day started with a talk by Danielle Feinberg, director of photography – lighting at Pixar Animation Studios. Then, the participants got their hands on projects and experiments, with each girl taking part in three workshops.
Participants, who came from throughout the East Bay, worked closely with women in STEAM fields, some representing careers the girls never heard of, according to Lynda Leonard who monitored the workshop called Architecture: Drawings to 3D Models.
“Feedback tells us that this experience awakens girls to career possibilities in STEAM fields and encourages them to take more of these classes in high school, something girls tend to avoid,” Leonard says.
