Update Oct. 22, 2015 Reminder: BrainCake shifted to CanTEENgirl.org in 2011 with heavy hitting sponsorship as a project of Carnegie Science Center. CanTeen has some fun STEM career explorations, complete with games and DIY challenges to encourage science exploration, from invisible ink to OOBlek…
Join @BrightGirlsCo @YellowScopeGirl @IamElemental Oct. 22, 2015 in a Twitter Chat with I Am Elemental.com for fun, fresh ways we can all use imaginative play to close the gender gap in STEM and get girls thinking about their own personal ‘super powers’ to become entrepreneurs, leaders, and inquisitive ‘sheroes’ on the global stage. Join us?
Jan. 29, 2009 The animation on BrainCake opens with, “If I could change the world I’d…” “Start marine farms…Grow crops under the ocean…no one would ever be hungry.”
As each new flash frame segues to swirling visions of colorful ideations, (some whimsical, some profound, but all uniquely girl powered) you begin to get an interesting snapshot of what’s on some of these teens’ minds, expressing themselves through Fem2.0 creativity. This “sisterhood for scientifically minded teens” carries the tag ‘Smart. Sweet.’ BrainCake is probably one of my favorite ‘she-geek’ finds in “part two” of girls in tech today, because it focuses on ‘The Girl Effect’ with strong indication of how feminine voices can alter the technological landscape with world-changing outcomes.
It’s evident to me that new product development in the techno arena would quickly segue to achieving a greater good for greening the planet going beyond just greening the wallet if more feminine STEM teen voices were in the mix. Productization of gizmos is fine to engineer and build smaller, smarter, etc., but there’s a palpable sense of bigger thinking here in ‘one world’ connectivity that gives me goosebumps with the vast potential…
The site’s flash intro concludes, “If I could change the world I’d never stop dreaming and life would get better everyday.”
Then it lands you on this colorful page (above) bursting with positive energy that just makes me want to shout, “Let’s harness this momentum to champion change!”
I’m a huge fan of using technology and media tactics in fresh, innovative ways and I have a hunch whichever teen girl came up with the ‘pizza transporter’ and ‘reverse chocolate nutrient balance’ could deploy some of those ‘what ifs’ to engineering ‘better products’ that work in form AND function…
How many times have you used a device and said, “Why would they design it like this? Obviously they’ve never used a xyzabcblahdeblah…” Ya know? Time for a Girl Revolution indeed…
Cool categories on BrainCake.org include:
…A ‘green for your dreams’ contest for 11-17 year old girls…
…GirlTalk Radio, where girls 11-15 literally run the show and add their voices to the airwaves (interviewing female leaders in multiple career realms, particularly emerging and established scientists, engineers, biomed, marine bio, pioneers)…
Feed Your Head, (games, experiments, career snapshots, peer to peer homework help) Click (urban adventure camps, using tablet computer interfaces, location-aware mobile devices, digital documentation etc.) and insightful science deconstruction like ‘what’s in your makeup?’ cosmetic analysis. (wonder if they’re teaming with our friends at Teens for Safe Cosmetics—which has their Teens Turning Green annual summit coming up Feb. 6 & 7!!)
I’m partial to the Girl Talk Radio concept, as I used to host a college show called “Women’s Radio Forum” and know how much experience I gleaned from producing, writing, interviewing, and music mixing on the air…
That was long BEFORE all the latest digital tech and multimedia mentoring that these girls are receiving via the award-winning public radio Saturday Light Brigade.
I was in the ‘old school’ wave of bringing voices and topics on the air that would’ve been overlooked, including media deconstruction even back then. (I remember dissecting the lyrics/double-standard of the Meatloaf song, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” …lots of call-ins that round!)
So who’s behind all this? Carnegie Science Center, natch.
(I figured either CSC or MIT Media Lab, but since it’s based in Pittsburgh, big clue there…They even have a BrainCake STORE to support the Girls Science Math Program with bags and tees like this one at left!)
Anyway, Girl Talk Radio has just launched Season Two of their shows, and you can listen to the interviews on GirlTalk Radio, itunes or check out the new listening link at the Saturday Light Brigade site here.
I’d love to see this branch out to our own Media Center crew and get our tween and teen advisors and GACtv cable connections involved for a regional draw…but one thing at a time. Focus. Focus.
Stay tuned for part three of Shaping Youth’s prime picks pointing to the vast opportunities in making STEM relevant for girls in visionary ways. Off to She’s Geeky…
BrainCake.org’s Teen Link Love
Science Friday podcasts. Brought to you by NPR.
10 commandments of Being a Geeky Girl in Geeky Guy World
Nerd Girls – We are a growing, global movement which celebrates smart-girl individuality that’s revolutionizing our future.
Mind Candy Clothing – cute tees that let you show the world how much you love math and science! This just in: They have a sparkly BRAINCAKE tee! Order yours today and show the world you’re a BrainCake girl!
Justine Magazine – an awesome magazine for “teens – real teens – just teens”
Instructables – the “World’s Biggest Show & Tell where people share what they do and how they do it.”
New Scientist – A great source for science news and science articles
Twitter – A fun way to stay hyperconnected to your friends through a free social networking and micro-blogging service that lets you update your friends with “tweets.”
Girl Power Fiction and Nonfiction Reading Lists – These great titles show that girls can accomplish anything.
Engineer Your Life – An awesome site for high school girls and the adults in their lives (parents, counselors, teachers, and other educators) who want to learn more about what life and work are like for engineers.
GMSP: The Girls, Math & Science Partnership…“A program of Carnegie Science Center, conducts research in order to inform its work – whether it is creating this Web site or the most innovative programs for girls possible.”
- GMSP Stats + Data (pdf)
- Who Influences Girls? Research Report (pdf)
- GMSP Summary and Charts – Research Report (pdf)
- Girls’ Beliefs About Math & Science (pdf)
“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” ~Richard Grant
Stay tuned for part three of our Girls in Tech series… (part one is here if you missed it)
well thanks for sharing all the stuff. It is incredible.
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment…I checked your blog, and the RSS feeds will enable me to ‘cut to the chase’ when I write about brain-based stories (like the one I’m about to do on ‘new product innovation’ and foods being marketed as brain food. So thanks back atcha.
Thanks for the kind words about GirlTalk Radio and The Saturday Light Brigade. We’d love to learn more about your work. — Larry Berger, Executive Director, SLB Radio Productions, Pittsburgh
Hi Larry, yes, we should definitely connect when things settle a tad…my work is in mega-media overload right now as we’re about to delve into some research to impart positive nutrition cues and do some behavior shifting inside of kids’ virtual worlds! (Elf Island.com’s Gaming for Good to be exact) All coming up in May, so we’re finishing up logistics. Looking forward to chatting thereafter! Thanks for the ping. Keep up the great work. –Amy
Amy Jussel’s last blog post..3 Sisters Adventure Trekking: Changing the Game Through Sport
cool article, very informative thanks. I was looking for a new innovation for my bakery, then i came across brain cake.org. cool article once more like it.
Thanks a lot for the article! This is very informative for my own girls. Keep the the good work!