American Association of University Women

3 amazing accomplishments of women and girls in STEM

You might not have heard about these women and girls doing awesome work in STEM fields, and that’s exactly why we’re marking Women in Science and Tech month.

An iPad app that teaches kids to code. Hopscotch uses colorful ‘building blocks’ that stand in for lines of code. Kids can easily learn the skills that are used to create programs in languages like Python, C, and Ruby.DevelopersSamantha John and Jocelyn Leavitt created Hopscotch because they wanted girls to have more options for interactive toys that encourage creativity and introduce them to programming early.

An organization that supports after-school programs in science. After-school programs are one of the most valuable resources when it comes to narrowing the skills gap in STEM. Carol Tang, director of the Coalition for Science After School, wants to promote fun and academically rigorous programs that prepare the next generation to find solutions to global scientific challenges.

A prosthetic eye that gives sight to the blind. Sheila Nirenberg is using technology to help people live better lives. Her prosthetic eye connects directly into the optic nerve and sends signals from a camera to the brain that can be interpreted as visual images even by people with certain types of blindness.