Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs help to build skills and knowledge, preparing young women and girls for the future labour force, while increasing science literacy in the province.
"Building a strong and innovative economy requires opportunities for young women to pursue interests and careers in these areas," Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross said in a government release. "Our government is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion and this additional funding will support the Science Centre's outreach programs."
The province has committed $50,000 to assist the Science Centre.
Increasing women's participation in non-traditional fields such as science, technology, engineering and math will not only strengthen economic participation - it will also draw more interest and raise awareness of career opportunities that are available in Saskatchewan.
"The Saskatchewan Science Centre is thrilled to have the provincial support for our girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming," Science Centre Chief Executive Officer Sandy Baumgartner said. "This enables us to offer the Go! Code: Girls club to participants at no cost. The program focuses on building skills in coding, exploring career possibilities, and enabling girls to build connections with female STEM leaders from across the province."
Juanita Polegi, executive director of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce sees the funding as a positive.
“The aspect of this initiative that caught my attention was the opportunity for the girls to build connections with female STEM leaders from across the province,” she told Yorkton This Week.
“Those connections will become role models for the girls and people they can reach out to for advice.”
The introductory level Go! Code: Girls program offers a chance for girls ages 11 to 16 to explore the world of coding through virtual sessions that will cover coding language basics, video game creation, animation and coding hardware devices.
The 2021 Fall intake of the program is offered free of charge for participants.
To align the priority of engaging youth in coding and computational thinking, the Saskatchewan Science Centre will also host an exhibition, Game Changers from October 2021 to January 2022. The highly interactive and immersive travelling exhibition will explore how innovation has shaped gameplay within video games and transformed the way we interact with technology.
Opportunities to engage young girls in the exhibit experience will be explored throughout the hosting period.
