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Expanding Your Horizons at Berkeley

$5,110
113%
Raised toward our $4,500 Goal
48 Donors
Project has ended
Project ended on October 31, at 11:59 PM PDT
Project Owners

Expanding Your Horizons at Berkeley

Who Are We

Expanding Your Horizons at Berkeley is a group of graduate students, post-docs and undergraduate women from a broad range of STEM departments (chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, neuroscience, biophysics, etc), experiences and ethnic backgrounds at UC Berkeley. We want to share our passion for STEM subjects with younger women and girls, to encourage them to pursue STEM subjects in their future studies and careers. In the United States, cultural gender stereotypes dictate that women are less capable of excelling in STEM fields than men. This stereotype manifests in both an achievement gap for girls at the K-12 level in STEM subjects, as well as in the underrepresentation of women in STEM professions. Research has shown that particularly middle school represents a critical period in which young women first begin to question whether STEM subjects are “for them” and lose interest in STEM fields. 

EYH at Berkeley aims to encourage middle school girls to explore and participate in STEM activities by giving them access to education and mentorship from women in STEM fields, reducing the attrition of young women from science and mathematics fields. Founded in 2012, EYH at Berkeley hosts an annual conference where over 300 middle school girls from the East Bay Area community have the opportunity to visit the UC Berkeley campus and explore STEM subjects through hands-on workshops led by female mentors that are experts in their fields. The EYH conference offers an exciting keynote speaker, a full day of hands-on workshops, and opportunities for the girls to closely interact with undergraduate and graduate student mentors working in STEM related fields. 

The 2022 conference featured 15 unique and engaging workshops that were prepared and supervised throughout the day by 156 volunteers from a wide range of STEM departments of the UC Berkeley campus including:

Code for Life

Let’s talk about DNA – what actually is DNA? Why do genetic differences matter? Most importantly, how do your genes make you YOU? In this workshop, we’ll use hands-on activities to learn about these questions and more.

Science of Slime

We all love to play with slime, but how do you make it? In this workshop you will become an engineer at a toy company! We will conduct a series of stretchiness and bounciness experiments to make the perfect slime.

Edible Water Capsules: Replacing Single-Use Plastics

Disposable plastics – we use them once, then we throw them away! How can we replace these plastics with similar but more sustainable materials? This workshop will let you make your own edible water capsules, learn about green chemistry, and explore solutions to the single-use plastics problem.


2022 Conference 

On Saturday March 12th, the UC Berkeley Chapter of Expanding Your Horizons hosted our eleventh annual conference. After having our 2021 in a remote format, we were extremely lucky to be able to organize our 2022 conference in person on the beautiful UC Berkeley campus this March. We had the opportunity to reach 230 young science enthusiasts from various schools around the Bay Area.  The participants had the chance to immerse themselves in a full day of hands-on exploration, ranging from introductions to food science and animal behavioral studies to the basics of computer science. The fifteen workshops were prepared and supervised throughout the day by volunteers from a wide range of STEM departments of the UC Berkeley campus.


The day was topped off by our keynote speaker, Dr. Vanessa Pirotta. Dr. Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and science communicator who authored the children’s book “The voyage of whale and calf”. Throughout her career, Dr. Pirotta has been a champion for STEM education and women’s representation in the sciences. Her work has been recognized by foundations and educational programs internationally. Vanessa shared her story from how she became interested in STEM when she was young to the exciting research she has done using drones to catch "whale snot" and the opportunities she has had in pursuing her love of whales. She encouraged the audience to pursue their passions and that all have a place in STEM with their different backgrounds and stories. 


Additionally, 54 of our participants’ parents registered to attend the parents’ workshop aiming to provide information and guidance in encouraging their children to further their STEM education.

Importantly, our organization is committed to making the conference accessible and fair to those from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds. For the second time, this year, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we were able to offer the conference free of charge to all participants who applied to waive the registration fee.


How Your Support Helps 

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Despite the hundreds of volunteers that will donate their time to the EYH conference, it still costs over $25,000 to provide a day of interactive learning for over four hundred girls (this amounts to less than $60 per participant!). We are committed to ensuring the conference remains accessible for all young women and therefore ask for only $15 per student in registration fees. Furthermore, we are committed to honoring every single scholarship request. Your donation to the EYH conference at Berkeley will have a significant impact on our ability to inspire the next generation of female scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. With your support, we hope to be able to offer 300 conference scholarships to young girls across the Bay Area, ensuring that our STEM education program is accessible regardless of socioeconomic status.

  • 2016 – 466 registered
  • 2017 – 461 registered
  • 2018 – 390 registered
  • 2019 – 428 registered
  • 2020 – 450 registered
  • 2021 – 236 registered
  • 2022 – 275 registered

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We are seeking $4,500 to sponsor 300 girls to participate in the conference. The cost for each girl to attend the conference is $15 which includes an EYH at Berkeley T-shirt, all the necessary materials sent to them for workshops they are interested in, and mentorship from UC Berkeley graduate students, post-docs, and undergraduates in STEM. Additionally, all parents will have the opportunity to participate in a parents’ workshop to learn how to support and prepare their child for a college education and explore ways to foster their interest in STEM fields. Your support for the EYH conference at Berkeley will have a significant impact on our ability to inspire the next generation of female scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. Please consider donating and sharing our page with your friends and family! Thank you!

Keep in touch with Expanding Your Horizons at Berkeley by following our social media pages below!

Website: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~eyh/index.html

Instagram: @eyhatberkeley                                                                               https://www.instagram.com/eyhatberkeley/

Facebook: Expanding Your Horizons at Berkeley Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/EYHatBerkeley/

Twitter: @EYHatBerkeley

https://twitter.com/eyhatberkeley?lang=en

 

Questions? Email us at eyhberkeleyinfo@gmail.com or contact Erin Aisenberg, co-chair of the Finance team, directly at erinaisenberg@berkeley.edu

 

Want to learn more about the network of Expanding Your Horizons conferences powered by Techbridge girls? Visit their website!

Our way
of Thanking You

$15

Social Media Shoutout

Receive a thank you shoutout on one of our social media channels for sponsoring 1 girl!

4 of 10000 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2022

$60

Website Donor Wall

In addition to the perks above, your name will be listed on the EYH @ Berkeley website! Thank you for sponsoring 4 girls!

9 of 10000 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: September 2022

$90

Name on Materials

In addition to the perks above, we will put your name on printed and digital event programs and materials! Thank you for sponsoring 6 girls!

3 of 500 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: September 2022

$150

Handwritten Thank-you Note

In addition to the perks above, these donors will receive a handwritten thank-you card on a custom-made photo postcard from a member of the planning committee! Thank you for sponsoring 10 girls!

5 of 50 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: April 2023

$300

Zoom with a Scientist

In addition to the perks above, you will be able to have a Zoom meeting with a member of our planning committee! Thank you for sponsoring 20 girls!

3 of 25 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: April 2023
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