Aidan wanted to try something new this summer.  We found some great week long camps at the Museum of Science.  So we decided to try one out- creating your own video game.

Minecraft has been Aidan’s big thing since getting his laptop for his birthday.  He loves to build things and is really proud of what he can make.  During his week of science camp he was super enthusiastic every day.  He couldn’t wait to see what was in store and eagerly looked forward to showing us the game he created.

A few things stood out for me though- there were no female instructors.  Four men- two staff from the company running the camp and two MIT college students staffed the week.  There were twelve students (it was limited and “sold out” in April!).  Of the twelve students only two were girls.  When it was time for the students to present, one of the girls had asked in advance for the instructor to demo her game while she showed it off on the projector (the reverse of all the other students).

I know how much Aidan loved the camp and he really wants to do something like this again.  It was my first experience seeing the effects of girls and STEM camps.  It made me realize how important supporting girls in STEM fields are and making sure my boys know how valued everyone is in whatever field they choose.