This is a guest post by Rashida White, Digital Media Advisor at Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls.
It has been an exciting time seeing the progression of the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) focused learning program Making Waves: The Science of Sound. This collaboration between the girl-centered organizations Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) and Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls (WMRC), utilizes music as the medium to teach scientific principles. Sponsored by the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in the New York Community Trust, this STEAM-focused learning program has a strong emphasis on digital technology, while building technical skills and academic pathways to science, engineering, mathematics and physics.
There have been two conferences where professional women in the field of music and technology, lead panel discussions and workshops on: Audio Engineering, Robotics/Maker Technology, Sound Design and DJing. The girls learn about these four fields and utilize their technical and scientific knowledge to create, capture, manipulate, mix, record and broadcast sound. Making Waves‘ goal is to build cross collaboration artistically, while creating awareness of STEM for young women and girls, while providing an encouraging and supportive environment for girls to explore STEM. Moreover, the program is bringing awareness to these field in hopes of addressing the gender imbalance that has been historically present in this industry.
The outcome of this program produced some exciting sounds from the girls workshops! From creating beats and soundscapes on Ableton Push, to soldering components onto a circuits board to build mini speakers, the girls hands on experience gave them the ability to speak to their creative process with a technical and scientific understanding. Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is looking to have another STEAM workshop or program track for their Girls Rock! Camp this summer. Keep your ears open for future sounds to come and stay connected with LESGC and WMRC through their social media channels.
Girls Making Waves Tumblr | Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Tumblr | Lower East Side Girls Twitter | Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Twitter
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