Game: Women in STEM!

 

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Meet Joely, a creative and bright undergraduate student studying computer science at University of Washington, USA!

Joely created an educational and interactive game called “STEM Curator: Women in STEM,” to highlight the importance of empowering women to enter STEM programs in the future. Programmed through MIT’s Scratch programming, the game “STEM Curator: Women in STEM” features a museum intern (you, the player!) tasked to design a museum to empower girls in STEM,  Science and Technology, Engineering and Math. With interactive vector art and beautiful design, Joely’s project is featured below. Click the picture below to play the game and press the green flag to start:

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[Moosmosis Games: Click me to play!]

 

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Our team at Moosmosis also got a wonderful interview from our lovely member Joely!

1) What inspired you to create your STEM curator project?

The final project for my English class was to make a project about identity and language. I decided to focus on something close to me, women in STEM. From an early age, I took a note of gender disparity in STEM. I noticed that very few of my female friends expressed an interest in science and technology, and even fewer in math or programming. I experienced discouragement from being the only girl in programming classes, having my gender constantly pointed out, and others expressing doubt that I was interested in anything STEM related. I wanted to explore how society discourages women from entering STEM fields, and steps toward a solution, and thought it would be fun to do that with an interactive game! I’ve been using Scratch since I was 11, and thought it was a great platform that could reach an audience of children and tweens beginning to program, helping inspire and empower them.

 

2) What message do you hope players/visitors can take from the game?

I hope players not only see that the discouragement women face when entering STEM fields is entirely cultural, but also there are steps they can take to help solve the problem. I think too often social justice focuses too much on problems and blame, which isolates and makes supporters feel helpless. I want everyone playing to feel empowered and connected and like they can make a difference.

Moosmosis: Women in STEM Game

A snapshot scene of the game “STEM Curator: Women in STEM”

 

3) How long did it take to create your project? What aspect of the game are you most proud of?

From planning to completion it was about 2-3 weeks. Most of the time was for research and development and gathering images. The actual coding took 6 hours. The thing I’m most proud of is how this project has been received, and all the all the comments and interactions with other Scratch users. Comments about how the project inspired them, STEM programs they participate in, and their plans for the future, are so heartwarming. When I’m having a bad day, it inspires me to keep going.

 

4) Last but not least, what are your future aspirations and career plans?

I’m currently at the University of Washington, majoring in computer science. I would love to apply my skills to a positive cause, possibly relating to education or the environment.

 

Moosmosis: Women in STEM Game 2

Another scene in Joely’s interactive game: Look there’re Mae Jemison and other renowned female STEM figures!

 

Thank you Joely for your passion in STEM! For more of Joely’s work, check out her personal website at http://createdbyjojo.tumblr.com. You can also reach out to her on her Linkedin and Scratch programming page.

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Sources:

  1. American Association of University Women. http://www.aauw.org/research/why-so-few/
  2. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014001rev.pdf
  3. Women in Stem: A Gender Gap to Innovation. http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/womeninstemagaptoinnovation8311.pdf

 

Enjoyed the post and interactive game? 🙂 Feel free to leave a comment below or a like! Thank you again for visiting Moosmosis!

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