Girls Rock Science
Sat., Sept. 25 | 10 am–5 pm
FREE with general admission!
Enjoy exciting STEM activities, demos, and experiments showcasing all the ways that science “rocks.” Interact with STEM leaders both virtually and on-site.
Girls Rock Science is a welcoming and inclusive event, open to any child who would like to attend, including those who identify as a girl, trans, genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and non-binary.
On-site activities with STEM role models and organizations:
- Learn about the different types of adaptations that birds have to survive in their specific environments with the National Aviary. Explore conservation and how you can make small differences to protect nature.
- Interact with several STEAM demonstrations and enjoy creative experiences with Assemble Pittsburgh.
- Examine artifacts – ranging from pottery, stone tools, and animal bones – created by the ancient Maya culture over 2000 years ago with archaeologists from the University of Pittsburgh. Plus, learn about the methods for examining artifacts in order to identify and document their details, and to figure out what they were used for by past peoples.
- Chat with experts from Duolingo about a day in the life of product management and how to get into this career path!
- Engage with an expert from the Center for Architecture Explorations at Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture.
- Dig in to a gardening activity with our friends at North Hills Community Outreach.
- Experience how science is part of your everyday life though interactive activities related to the engineering and design of cosmetics with Women in Bio (WIB) and Young Women in Bio (YWIB). Learn about the science behind the food you eat from bacteria in your yogurt to the chemistry of cooking.
- Get a behind-the-scenes look at Allegheny Observatory with Dr. Sandhya Rao in the Science Stage at 1 pm. Dr. Rao will talk about her research into the evolution of galaxies and show off the observatory’s huge telescope. You can view the tour virtually by clicking at this link at 1 pm.
- Plus, join four brilliant female and non-binary/gender-non-conforming STEM professionals in a moderated roundtable conversation about their inspirations, their experiences in the STEM workforce, and the advice they have for girls, GNC, and minority students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. The panel discussion will be streamed in an on-site theater space and to Carnegie Science Center’s Facebook Live
. - Stop by the H2Oh! gallery on the first floor to meet residents of the Science Center’s Animal Habitats Department, and discuss their care and feeding with our Environmental and Ecological experts. At 11:30 am and 1:30 pm, our Animal Habitats specialists will lead a half-hour, family-friendly story time.
- Chat with Site Reliability Engineer Abi Hunter at 11 am in the Works Theater for a discussion on, “How I went from linguistics major to software engineer.”
- Engage with Yuri Miyazaki, Integration Engineer in Software Technology at ICE Mortgage, at 2 pm in the Works Theater for a discussion on, “Empowering girls to strive for STEM careers regardless of what they think their academic strengths are.”
Learn more about the on-site STEM leaders!
Angelica Miller
Angelica Miller (She/Her)
Program Specialist, Education
National Aviary
About Angelica: The National Aviary’s mission is to inspire respect for nature through an appreciation of birds. My job at the National Aviary is to educate the public on why conservation and understanding birds is so important. I do this in many ways: inside of our habitats talking with daily visitors, teaching classes to school age children on-site or inside of their schools, and through many other programs targeted to all age learners. I have a degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education. I spent most of my early career working at nonprofits doing informal education. I always wanted to be a teacher, but I found my true passion in teaching people about specific topics, such as science or animals, rather than in a mainstream school environment. Though my degree is not in a topic related to animals, I am able to combine my professional passion of teaching with my personal passion of animals and birds in my role at the National Aviary.
Assemble Pittsburgh
About Assemble Pittsburgh: Assemble is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering learning and creativity. Assemble envisions diverse neighborhoods of empowered people who create, connect, learn, and transform together. We build confidence through making by uniting communities of artists, technologists, makers, and learners.
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Claire Ebert (She/Her)
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
University of Pittsburgh
Emma Messinger (She/Her)
Graduate student, Department of Anthropology & Center for Comparative Archaeology
University of Pittsburgh
About University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Anthropology: The Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh covers a wide range of geographical and topical specialties in all four subfields of anthropology (social and cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, and anthropological linguistics). The Center for Comparative Archaeology encourages, fosters, and supports comparative archaeological research on the dynamics of long-term human social change, so as to contribute not only to our knowledge of the human past but also our understanding of it.
Product Management Team, Duolingo
Emily Li (She/Her)
Product Management Team
Duolingo
Janelle Sands (She/Her)
Product Management Team
Duolingo
About Duolingo: Duolingo was founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker. The Duolingo app launched in 2012 and has since become the most popular way to learn a language and one of the most downloaded education apps in the world. We’re here to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Our global team works together to make language learning fun, free, and effective for anyone who wants to learn, wherever they are.
Jenna Wizzard Kappelt, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture
Jenna Wizzard Kappelt
Center for Architecture Explorations
Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture
About Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture: The Center for Architecture Explorations is a founding member of the Architecture Learning Network and is committed to cultivating lifelong learning at the intersection of arts and technology. The Center for Architecture Explorations (CAE) supports architecture education for all ages. Building on the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture’s experience with youth education, university service learning projects, engagement with architectural practice, and academic research, we create dynamic architectural education pedagogy with an emphasis on building equity and diversity within the design professions.
North Hills Community Outreach
About North Hills Community Outreach: North Hills Community Outreach is a community- and interfaith-based organization addressing the needs of people in crisis, hardship, and poverty.
Edwina Kinchington, PhD, Young/Women in Bio
Edwina Kinchington, PhD
Chair of YWIB-Pittsburgh Chapter
Young/Women in Bio
About Edwina: Edwina is a teacher at the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. She began her career in STEM focusing on cancer research for almost 18 years before obtaining her teaching certification in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. Presently, Edwina teaches and serves as the high school science department chair and the instructional teacher leader of the Body and Behavior concentration which focuses on life sciences and biomedical technology. She is also the Chair of the Young Women In Bio-Pittsburgh chapter.
About Women In Bio (WIB): WIB was established in 2002 to help women entrepreneurs and executives build successful bioscience-related businesses. The mission of WIB has expanded to an organization with a national footprint that impacts the careers of women in all sectors of the life sciences industry with more than 600 volunteers and a membership base of over 3,000. WIB membership and events are inclusive of all who support our mission.
About Young Women In Bio (YWIB): YWIB is a nationwide, nonprofit, volunteer organization that encourages young girls to explore opportunities, education, and careers in STEM. YWIB is affiliated with Women In Bio. The mission of YWIB is to empower today’s girls to become tomorrow’s leaders, helping them effect positive change through science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Veronica Hinman, Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Veronica Hinman
Department Head, Dr. Frederick A. Schwertz Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Rana Zakerzadeh, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Duquesne University
Rana Zakerzadeh, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Duquesne University
About Dr. Rana Zakerzadeh: Dr. Rana Zakerzadeh is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in The Ranges School of Health Sciences at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she has been a faculty member since 2019. Dr. Zakerzadeh received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at University of Pittsburgh and completed a three-year Postdoctoral Fellowship research in the field of cardiovascular mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. Zakerzadeh has spent most of her academic career analyzing and modeling blood flow in human arteries and blood flow through the heart and heart valves. She has collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines, particularly Applied Mathematics on modeling of multiphysics problems with applications in life sciences, to help with medical decision making.
Learn more about the panel discussion leaders! Noon | Facebook Live
Join four brilliant female and non-binary/gender-non-conforming STEM professionals in a moderated roundtable conversation about their inspirations, their experiences in the STEM workforce, and the advice they have for girls, GNC, and minority students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. The panel discussion will be streamed at noon to Carnegie Science Center’s Facebook Live .
Styger, Disaster Volunteer Coordinator, City and County of San Francisco
Styger, (They/Them)
Disaster Volunteer Coordinator
City and County of San Francisco
About Styger: Styger has helped build robots and rockets, done Material Science research around hard drives and fighting tumors, has lived on the grounds of a particle accelerator, and loves interdisciplinary studies and the ways science overlaps with everyday life! Styger currently works for a Fire Department in California teaching safety and preparedness around fire, heat, seismic activity, air quality, and public health, and believes that science can be found in, and lead to, any field.
Carla Rosenfeld, Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carla Rosenfeld, (She/Her)
Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
About Carla: Carla is an environmental biogeochemist whose research combines mineralogy, geochemistry, and microbiology to study how elements behave in the environment. Her research focuses on human-impacted environments and aims to understand how microbes can be used to help solve environmental problems. Carla’s work combines field- and lab-based research and she has projects studying microbial biominerals, bioremediation, and plant-microbe feedbacks on environmental processes. When not doing science, Carla loves being outside hiking, biking, or in the vegetable garden. She also loves to bake, cook, and eat food.
Dr. Danielle M. Andrews-Brown, Soil and Water Science, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Danielle M. Andrews-Brown, (She/Her)
Faculty, Soil and Water Science, Environmental Restoration
University of Pittsburgh
About Dr. Andrews: Dr. Andrews received her PhD (Soil Science) in 2011 at The Pennsylvania State University. She remained at Penn State as post-doctoral scholar and research associate. Dr. Andrews came to the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 as a lecturer and the advisor and coordinator of the Environmental Studies program. For over 14 years, Dr. Andrews has conducted lab and field scale research as it pertains to water and soil quality. Specific research has focused on carbon, nitrogen and emerging contaminants (mainly estrogens and antibiotics). Dr. Andrews has conducted research at two nationally known research sites – The Susquehanna Shale Hill Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) and The Living Filter. More recently, research interests are also centered on [informal & formal] science education.
Tiffani Teachey, STEM Author & Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Westinghouse Electric Company
Tiffani Teachey, (She/Her)
STEM Author & Senior Mechanical Engineer
Westinghouse Electric Company
About Tiffani: Born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Tiffani Teachey is an international bestselling Author, STEM Advocate, Engineer, and founder of Thrive Edge Publishing, LLC. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management, both from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Tiffani is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advocate who strives to educate young children and parents about the importance of STEM Careers and representation in those industries. She is the award-winning author of children’s book, What Can I Be? STEM Careers from A to Z , available in Spanish, French, and Swahili, coloring and activity book, teacher’s guide. She also wrote two books aimed at uplifting and empowering women; Saving Lives While Fighting for Mine: Stories Empowering Women to Win and Pretty, Paid, and Powerful: 40 Days to Empowering the Woman Within. Tiffani has a passion for inspiring the next generation to engage in STEM careers, she is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and enjoys traveling and being a youth mentor.
Tune in virtually!
In addition to the dynamic lineup of on-site activities, esteemed STEM leaders will join the Science Center virtually to give in-depth presentations and answer the audience’s questions. Webinars will be streamed virtually and on-site in a Carnegie Science Center theater space.
The virtual line-ups include:
(10:30 am) Dr. Deanna Sinex, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Deanna Sinex, PhD
Bioengineering
University of Pittsburgh
10:30 am: Science Stage or tune in virtually here!
Webinar topic: Dr. Sinex will be presenting a webinar on skills and tools used in her field and health literacy, as well as discussing her journey in school, why she loves STEM, challenges she’s faced, and how she overcame them.
About Dr. Sinex: Deanna C.E. Sinex, PhD, is a teacher, researcher, and mentor. As an undergraduate, Dr. Sinex attended The University of Maryland Baltimore County, and was a Meyerhoff Scholar. While there, she earned her B.S in Mechanical engineering, tutor certification, and a minor in music. In 2021, She earned her PhD in bioengineering, and CIRTL scholar certification from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Sinex served as an instructor for two years in the first-year engineering program at the University of Pittsburgh. Furthermore, Dr. Sinex is passionate about supporting historically underrepresented students in STEM (undergraduate and graduate) and k-12, and has developed several workshops, curriculum, and assessments towards this cause. Dr. Sinex’s research uniquely combines her bioengineering and urogynecologic training and her passion for education and equity toward the application of engineering concepts and active learning techniques in clinical and institutional learning environments to help improve the literacy of fundamental, yet critical aspects of health.
(11:15 am) Jennifer A Sheridan, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Jennifer Sheridan, (She/Her)
Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
11:15 am: Science Stage or tune in virtually here!
Webinar topic: Frogs: Who are they and why should you care?
About Jennifer: Jennifer Sheridan, PhD, is the Assistant Curator for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Jennifer is a tropical conservation ecologist. Her research interests are ecological responses to changes in both climate and habitat and land use. She utilizes frogs as study organisms but with an eye for how they fit into the ecosystem as a whole. Most of her research has been in Southeast Asia (mainly Sabah, Malaysian Borneo), but Jennifer also examines impacts of climate change and land use change on amphibians in Pennsylvania utilizing Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collections along with field work at Powdermill Research Station.
(Noon) Lynn Shay, Certified Professional Midwife, Meadowloft, LLC
Lynn Shay, (She/Her)
Certified Professional Midwife, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
Meadowloft, LLC
Noon: Science Stage or tune in virtually here!
Webinar topic: Understanding what it’s like to work as a primary nurse practitioner, midwife, and nurse educator.
About Lynn: Lynn has been a midwife and nurse practitioner for over 30 years. Lynn started her career in healthcare as a midwife then received additional training in Family Health as a nurse practitioner and nurse educator. Since that time, she has served as a primary care clinician in rural Pennsylvania and works remotely as an assistant professor in a graduate level nurse practitioner program. Her academic professional interests include creating community within online programs and promoting restorative justice practices in academic integrity initiatives. Lynn’s clinical interests include the incorporation of complementary medicine into primary care and the holistic approach to patient care.
(2 pm) Mary McGlohon, Site Reliability Engineer
Mary McGlohon, (She/Her)
Site Reliability Engineer
2 pm: Science Stage or tune in virtually here!
Webinar topic: Solving technical and human puzzles in software engineering.
About Mary: Mary McGlohon grew up liking math (among a lot of other things), and in college decided to try some computer science courses. She really enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspect of coding, and eventually found her way to becoming a software engineer. She now works in reliability engineering for AI systems, and her favorite part of the job is that now she gets to solve puzzles that are both about systems and about people.
(3 pm) PhD students, Computer Engineering/Cyber Physical Systems, Carnegie Mellon University – Adeola Bannis and Amelie Bonde
Adeola Bannis, (She/Her)
PhD candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Amelie Bonde, (She/Her)
PhD candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
3 pm: Science Stage or tune in virtually here!
Webinar topic: Adeola & Amelie will lead an interactive seminar on the process of problem solving in cyber physical systems deployments, focusing on real world projects and failures, what went wrong, and how we fixed it. We’ll walk through our experiences installing sensors on a farm to monitor sows and piglets, from our first disastrous deployment to our much more successful fifth deployment, and what we learned.
About Adeola: Adeola Bannis is a PhD candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research mainly focuses on device-device and user-device interaction for IoT/cyber-physical/autonomous systems.
About Amelie: Amelie Bonde is a PhD candidate in Electrical Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow with a focus in cyber-physical systems, smart homes and devices. Her research focuses on combining behavior and data-based models for human and animal activity recognition using structural vibration.
Thanks to our friends at Braskem for creating this awesome demonstration in celebration of our Girls Rock Science event!
About Girls Rock Science:
Women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) take center stage at Pittsburgh’s most-visited museum for Girls ROCK Science. On this day, Science Center visitors can enjoy exciting STEM activities showcasing all the ways that science “rocks.” Inspirational people who have made important contributions to STEM will be elevated as role models, and visitors will have the opportunity to interact with these scientists and professionals both virtually and on site. The event will also include exciting on-site science demonstrations and educational activities. Girls ROCK Science is open to the public and all activities are included with general admission.
On-site safety guidelines:
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in areas with substantial/high transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends that every person—vaccinated and unvaccinated—wear a mask when inside public spaces. Our staff members will be wearing masks, and we require all visitors age 2 and over to wear masks as well. Additionally, we strongly encourage all visitors to purchase their tickets online in advance of arriving to ensure availability. Members can reserve their timed ticket by adding their membership number at check out.
NOTICE FOR ALL BUYERS – By attending an in-person event at any of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, you and any guests agree to voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold any presenting entities, artists, and the venue; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.
