Manassas team wins TOYchallenge at Sally Ride Science Festival
Ride, the first woman in space, created the Sally Ride Science Club to encourage girls to get involved in math and science.
On Saturday, April 17, George Mason University's Fairfax campus played host to the club's Science Festival, which drew teams of students from around the region for a fair, workshops and a toy-building competition.
The Manassas team was led by Jean Lewis of Manassas, a teacher at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Centreville. She took a keen interest in the Toy Challenge and brought the proposition to her after-school religious education class.
Lewis said she had a great interest in the art of invention and wanted to involve her students as well.
She and three of her students formed a team called Outside The Box and chose to create a toy that teaches, which they called Lady Genius.
Emily Edwards, 14, Jessica Sugarman, 14, and Amanda Taylor, 13, participate in St. Andrews' after-school program.
With Lewis' help, they put together project kits that provide girls with an insight into engineering, electricity and mechanics.
"The kit is designed to be one of a number of expandable kits that can use additional parts with increasing sophistication to make new gadgets," Lewis said. "A beginner kit can start with the components to make light-up jewelry, a personalized lighted music box, a personalized night light, a solar operated fan or a flashlight."
The idea is that, once students gain a certain amount of confidence with the basics, they can then move on to build more complex gadgets.
Amanda said her experience designing and building the toy "taught me more about science. It made me know that I can do things just as good as guys. I can accomplish things now. This proves I can do anything I want to."
Outside The Box chose a target audience of girls ages 10 to 16, but the team members said anyone can gain insight on fixing, making and creating electronic devices from using these kits.
The Lady Genius toys and their creators won the appreciation of an Oakton resident who asked not to be identified. She found the girls at the festival on Saturday and gave them a monetary donation that will help them meet their dream of attending the Sally Ride Science Camp.
"They are a fine group of young students who deserve help," said the woman, who also dedicated a Haiku poem to the team:
"Toy Challenge Contest
Lady Genius Electronics
Good Cause Donation"
Outside The Box's Lady Genius line also won the appreciation of the Toy Challenge judges. The team won an engineering prize, as well as one of two $250 cash prizes.
The cash prize, said Kristen Greenway, advice judge and director of marketing for the Sally Ride Science Club, is “to hopefully help them get to the Toy Challenge National Showcase in San Diego, Calif., July 8 at the San Diego Aerospace Museum."
Emily, co-creator of Lady Genius, said she wanted to prove that girls can build electronic crafts and that engineering is not only for boys.
"It's creative and fun," she said.
Amanda pointed out that, in the toy market, boys have an abundance of hands-on, self-taught electronic and engineering models to choose from, whereas girls such as herself feel left out.
"Girls need something to show that they have worth," she said, adding that she thought assembling kits that girls can build will give them self-esteem and self-confidence.
"This whole experience gave me the idea that I can become an engineer in the future," she said.
For more information on the Sally Ride Science Club, visit http://www.sallyrideclub.com.