Superhero Daughter Day

March 14, 2018

I’ll be the first to admit, when it comes to maths and science at school, I was a total failure.

In fact, I dropped science as soon as I possibly could and once I knew I had the grades in my other subjects to get a good enough OP, I gave up trying to pass Maths A.

As an adult, however, I can now appreciate the many interesting and exciting things that come with learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), hence why, when I saw the DCC Jobs and Tech Girls Movement Superhero Daughter Day was returning to Brisbane, I made sure my five-year-old daughter and I got there.

DCC Jobs is an online jobs board which has helped many women (often in non-traditional sectors such as data science, engineering and machine learning) find rewarding roles with supportive employers.

DCC Jobs co-founder Valeria Ignatieva said the event had received amazing feedback from parents over the years and was helping expose girls to the joys of STEM learning.  

“Superhero Daughter Day is a great day out for everyone and the girls enjoy playing with technology and science-based activities in an environment that is totally theirs to explore,” Ms Ignatieva said.

“Learning through play is a key way to introduce new concepts and the girls leave with a newfound enthusiasm for STEM and a desire to make it their future career.

“We’ve had amazing feedback from parents who have attended our Superhero Daughter Day events who have said their daughters have continued to learn code since the event and are using technology in everyday applications.

“We even had one parent tell us their daughter was creating light-up circuit birthday cards for their friends after being at one of our events.”

This year’s activities included creative play with Magformers, Cubetto Robots and Ozobots, as well as workshops on how to design a paper prototype app, coding and virtual reality.

In addition to the fun activities, the girls had the chance to meet inspiring female role models in STEM, enjoyed cupcakes and received a special goodie bag to take home.

According to a 2016 report by the Office of the Chief Scientist, women made up less than one-fifth of Australians qualified in STEM subjects and continue to be paid less than their male colleagues.

Tech Girls Movement founder Dr. Jenine Beekhuyzen said research had shown gender stereotypes formed in children as early as six years old and events such as the Superhero Daughter day were a good way of breaking down that barrier.

“The event is aimed at girls aged five to 12 years when their inquisitive minds mean they are not compromised by gender stereotypes,” Dr Beekhuyzen said.

“The Tech Girls Movement focuses on encouraging and raising awareness of technology career options for girls and the Superhero Daughter Day is a great way to do this.”

This year’s Brisbane Superhero Daughter Day was held on Saturday March 10 at Technology One, Fortitude Valley.

Superhero Daughter Day is held in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane as well as Auckland in New Zealand.

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