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Join the Edina SWENext Club at Edina High School to participate in fun engineering activities, outreach events with local elementary schools, and mentorship opportunities with local SWE sections. Partnering with local SWE sections and industry, our club aims to inspire young girls to pursue engineering and make real-world connections in the field.
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Edina SWENext Club Activities & Partnering with Local SWE Sections
Recruiting SWENexters • As a club at Edina High School, we are able to put up flyers and make announcements around the school to encourage people to join SWENext • Also Edina is fortunate to have a strong Project Lead the Way, meaning we can connect with girls already taking engineering type classes to join
SWENext Club Activities • As a up-and-coming club, we have focused mainly on fun engineering activities. We’ve completed the foil boil challenge and worked with middle school girls to build catapults and study kinematics. • We have been recruiting guest speakers to offer more insight into what “a day in their life” really means. • We discussed the potential of field trips to local engineering companies, interest has been stirred up but as to date no official plans have been set in motion.
Growing the Edina SWENext Club We have a core group of committed girls… now we need to focus on engaging more underclassmen! Currently we have partnered with one of our middle schools GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science) clubs to create a passion for engineering at a young age.
Host an Outreach Event • Host an outreach event with local elementary schools & Girl Scout troops- This will allow us to encourage more future women engineers! • Begin with a group presentation before branching off with multiple things going on at once (preferably at separate tables spaced out in a gymnasium) • Guests can wander and visit what is intriguing to them
Host an Outreach Event • The tables will feature multiple engineering specialties • e.g. One display would be a toaster, or some other simple electrical object, that is taken apart. The object of this station would be to allow kids to understand what a basic circuit is, and get some insight as to how to put it back together. • Other engineering specialties featured: mechanical, chemical, computer science, etc.
How to Host an Outreach Event as a SWENext Club • Meet biweekly to determine which interactive activities, presentations, and speakers would be best at the outreach event. • Recruit volunteers from the high school and from other school districts
How to Host an Outreach Event as a SWENext Club • Recruit participants for the event: • High school SWENexters present at elementary & middle schools • Partner with Hour of Code or other existing events to encourage students to come to future activities
Help Other Schools Start SWENext Clubs As a pioneer SWENext group in the Minneapolis area, we’d love to invite educators and students from neighboring school districts to volunteer at our event. In this way, we can bounce ideas off of them as to what they like about our club and improve, as well as pass on some ideas on how to create a similar program in their districts.
Make Real-World Connections • Visit local companies that students are interested in (e.g. Medtronic, etc.) • Work on a high school – level engineering project • Allows SWENexters to work together • Discover which aspects of engineering they’re passionate about • Understand how many different aspects of engineering are involved in all projects
Engage With Your Local SWE Section • Partner with local SWE sections to offer mentorships between girls and SWE members • Invite professional and/or collegiate SWE members to SWENext club meetings • Participate in local SWE section or MAL events & planning meetings