Book Project Seeks To Inspire Elementary Students In STEM

By: Shannon Mann

JOHNSTON COUNTY – What elementary school student hasn’t imagined being an astronaut or perhaps working on a top-secret mission? Young minds are a playground of possibility when it comes to dreaming big. The women on G- Force Robotics know this and are partnering with some pretty big names to encourage local elementary students to dream about the possibilities of a career in science, technology, engineering or math.

In 2022, the all-girl, FIRST Robotics Competition team based in Clayton, N.C., had the idea to encourage young readers to learn more about STEM through books that told the real-life stories and fictious journeys of famous women astronauts, engineers and scientists, and young girls who loved to design, build and code. The team wanted something more than just a story to share though, they wanted to make a real-life association between the tales and women who work in STEM fields.

Claire Fendrick, a sophomore on G-Force robotics and a member of the build team, helps lead the team’s Be That Engineer Literacy Project. Fendrick, an avid reader herself said the stories inside books can seem like an imaginative dream to children…something fun, but not achievable in real life.

“These notes of encouragement from real women prove that this isn’t just a fantasy, and that imagination can lead to very real achievements,” said Fendrick. “They let the readers know that somebody just like them has done this and is rooting for them too.”

When the team realized the first book they chose for their project focused on the first woman engineer at Lockheed Martin, they reached out to two female engineers working for Lockheed Martin Skunkworks in California and working for Lockheed Martin on the Orion project in Florida. They asked the engineers to coordinate a book signing in which other female STEM professionals would write notes of encouragement and inspiration to young readers on the inside covers. The idea exploded.

A year later the team has collaborated with women at Lockheed Martin, Collins Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Caterpillar, Grifols, OnLogic, Society of Women Engineers, Discovery Channel’s Battlebots and most recently, U.S. Space Force.

“Programs such as G-Force Robotics do an excellent job of creating a dynamic and educational atmosphere for young women to learn about and feel inspired by STEM,” said Col. Deborah Van Caster, IMA to the commander of Space Delta 2 at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. “Initiatives like these are what supported and cultivated my passion for math and engineering at a young age and will continue to inspire the next generation of female engineering leaders in space.”

Last year, the team donated books to five elementary schools, two town libraries and one small children’s library. The team donates the books as a part of an in-school program where they travel to the school to showcase the robot they build for competition, talk about what inspires them to learn about science, technology, engineering and math, read and donate the book and take questions from their young audience.

While G-Force Robotics is focused on engaging more elementary schools in North Carolina for the upcoming school year, they have also shared their idea with other teams nationally and internationally.

“We are collaborating with the team GirlBotz in Michigan to start the program there,” said Fendrick. “And we have been talking with teams in Libya and Turkey to see if we can get it started overseas. Finding elementary school books about girls in STEM in those languages has been a bit hard though.”

But much like the characters in their books, the women on G-Force are tenacious about getting young children engaged in reading and STEM.

“I not only picture this program being implemented in multiple schools and libraries across the country, and many places internationally,” Fendrick said. “But I see the former elementary students influenced by the project entering middle and high school with more confidence in their own capabilities and skills.”