Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland plan $16-million facility to attract women to STEM careers

Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland announced plans Tuesday for a $16-million facility geared toward attracting more women to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. 

The STEM Leadership Center & Maker Space will be at Camp Ken-Jockety in Galloway and is part of Girl Scouts of the USA's goal of putting 2.5 million girls in the STEM pipeline by 2025.

“These programs will have a tremendous impact on the growth of the central Ohio workforce for generations and this campus is going to be the epicenter of the community jewel for STEM learning and activity,” Tammy Wharton, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland Council said during a news conference.

About $9.45 million of the $16 million needed for the project has been raised so far.

The proposed facility would have science and technology labs, and a space to learn in-demand trade skills like welding, mechanics, and carpentry. There also would be a new greenhouse for gardening programs and a commercial kitchen for farm-to-table programming.

In addition, existing buildings and outdoor learning spaces at the Girl Scout campus would be renovated.

Renovations are expected to start by the end of the year and groundbreaking for the new STEM Leadership Center will begin in spring 2023, with a projected opening date of fall 2024.

The STEM facility won’t be limited to just the Girl Scouts. Central Ohio school districts will be able to use the facility for field trips.

This announcement comes at a time when Ohio is being hailed by some as the “Silicon Valley of the Midwest” with Intel announcing in January it will create 3,000 jobs and invest $20 billion to build two plants in Licking County that will make semiconductors.

“This is about the future, and with Intel here, with Battelle, we are going to be the technology hub of the country," said Yvette McGee Brown, a former Girl Scout and now a lawyer at Jones Day. "We are going to have our girls having high-paying jobs, leading teams, and setting the path for the world."

Many Greater Columbus businesses are collaborating with the Girls Scouts to create the STEM facility. 

Battelle has invested $3 million, AEP has invested $2 million and Nationwide Foundation has invested $1.5 million. Other local corporations that have invested include Bath and Body Works, Cardinal Health and M/I Homes Foundation.

STEM has traditionally been a male-dominated field.

Women make up 34% of the STEM workforce, according to National Girls Collaborative Project. And the numbers are even lower when it comes to certain fields in STEM. Women make up 26% of computer and math sciences and 16% of engineering.

“There is a serious need for robust STEM programming to help girls learn about the jobs of the future and spark their interest and curiosity,” Wharton said. “Gender diversity is vital to having a sustainable and strong STEM in-demand workforce.”

There has been a slight uptick of women pursuing degrees in STEM fields at Ohio State University, but men remain the overwhelming majority. 

There were about 2,130 female students representing 24% of the total enrollment, in Ohio State's College of Engineering at the undergraduate level last fall, up from 23.5% or 2,062 from fall 2016 semester. 

The number of female students at the undergraduate level majoring in computer science and engineering jumped from 180 (13.5%) in 2016 to 328 (16%) last fall semester.

Physic majors, however, only saw a minor increase to 41 total female students (17%) last fall from 39 (14%) in 2017. 

Greater Columbus school districts are finding more and more females interested in STEM careers.

Bexley started a Women in STEM club this past fall. Dublin has an engineering academy. Grandview Heights High School has a robotics team that caters to students who are interested in STEM. STEM has traditionally been a male-dominated field.

Akiilah Whitfield, a freshman at Columbus Alternative High School, is excited about the new campus and the opportunities it will provide to get more females exposed to STEM. 

“I’m looking forward to new experiences and helping other kids find their passion in STEM,” the 14-year-old said Tuesday morning at the news conference.

A lack of representation of women in STEM careers is a big barrier to young women seeing themselves as scientists, engineers or computer scientists. 

It’s important to get more diversity in STEM and eliminate barriers that prevent people from pursuing STEM careers, said Lou Von Thaer, president and CEO of Battelle.

“I just can’t wait to see what this beautiful facility is going to do and attract, excite and build that curiosity in our future generation and after they have that curiosity, give them the tools to do something with it over time,” Thaer said.

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