Sparking curiosity with STEM for Girls Nov. 7
Published October 09, 2026
An early interest in science, technology, engineering or math can open the door to exciting career opportunities. At the 13th annual STEM for Girls event at College of Lake County (CLC), girls in grades 6-12 can explore new interests and career possibilities while developing valuable skills for the future. This free event takes place Saturday, Nov. 7. Registration is available online.
“Our annual STEM Day for girls has become a popular event, showcasing the breadth of career options that are available to all who are interested," Biological & Health Sciences Associate Dean Michelle Titterton said. "The hands-on workshops help participants to experience these fields of interest and imagine themselves in these roles.”
Participants will engage in a variety of interactive STEM activities and enjoy inspiring presentations from professionals and educators who are shaping the future of these fields. The event offers an introduction to college life, helping young women explore new ideas, develop critical thinking skills and envision themselves in STEM careers.
“One of the things I love most about STEM for Girls is giving students the chance to experience STEM for themselves,” Engineering, Math & Physical Sciences Associate Dean Julia Peterson. “We want girls to experiment, ask questions, solve problems and try something they may have never done before. Most importantly, we want them to leave knowing that STEM is for them and that there are so many different paths they can explore.”
Open to school groups, scout troops, youth organizations and individual participants, STEM for Girls provides a space for discovery, learning and fun. The event is co-sponsored by CLC’s Biological & Health Sciences Division and the Engineering, Math & Physical Sciences Division.
Parents and guardians are invited to take part in the Parent Panel and Tour. This focuses on how they can guide and support their students in pursuing an education at CLC, covering topics including financial aid, scholarships, college and career navigators and student resources.
Students can choose two of the following 45-minute sessions run by faculty and student volunteers:
- Mirrors, Mazes & More: Geometry in Action!
Experiment with mirrors and lenses to discover how your eyes, eyeglasses and smartphone cameras work. Solve visual mazes using networks and graph theory, then explore symmetry and patterns with MIRA Reflectors.
- Blink. Buzz. Build: Light up your Life!
Step into the world of hands-on technology and learn the basics of circuits and electronics! This workshop provides the opportunity to control electricity while building glowing LED signs.
- Earth Detectives: Fossils, Storms & Stars!
Explore fossils and connections between animals today and creatures of the past. Discover how scientists understand blizzards and tornadoes. Then test ways people navigate using compasses, the sky, and techniques used by ancient cultures. Explore geology, weather, geography and more while seeing our planet in a whole new way!
- Data in Action
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore data visualizations, dive into coding to tackle a challenge and train a live AI machine learning model.
- Get Wired Up!
In this fun, interactive workshop, you will learn the basics of circuits by designing and building your own game! From connecting wires to making LEDs and buzzers work, you’ll experiment, troubleshoot, and see it all come to life. Whether you’ve built a circuit before or have never touched a wire, this workshop is a chance to explore electrical engineering technology in an exciting way.
- Pumped Up! Get Inside a Real Heart
Work alongside surgical technology and biology experts to explore heart anatomy and discover how its parts work together to keep blood moving. You will glove up and gown up to work with a small group to dissect a real pig heart!
- Nursing Escape Room
Work with real nurses and use your nursing brain to solve clues and piece together the mystery of the missing patient. Can you find them before it’s too late?
- Crack the Code: The Imaging Investigation
Your patient’s wellness depends on your ability to observe, investigate, and connect the pieces. Step into the role of an imaging detective and take on a series of hands-on challenges designed to test your clinical thinking.
- DNA Art: Make a Necklace of Your DNA
Learn more about the molecular framework of biology — with your own DNA! You will extract genomic DNA from your own cheek cells and watch it precipitate from solution as floating white strands. The DNA strands are then easily collected and transferred to a helix vial, and the vial is fashioned into a necklace!
- Life in Color: Exploding, Glowing & Bubbling Science
Create bubbling lava lamps, investigate luminescence, make elephant toothpaste foam and discover surprising surface-tension tricks. Come experiment, get a little messy and see how chemistry and biology can make science glow, fizz and explode!