About Girls Build!
Girls Build! is a unique experiential program designed to engage girl-identifying youth in 7th to 10th grades.
Participants will explore Chicago’s built environment, build architecture and design skills, and learn from women who are leading the way in STEAM fields—all in a gender-affirming environment.
Girls Build! programs occur throughout the year, at the CAC and in locations around Chicago.
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WHY GIRLS?
Various studies have shown a persistent gender gap in the STEAM fields, with women representing less than 30% of the personnel in the various industries. While Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color make up less than 5% of the fields.
As numerous studies have shown, what these numbers indicate is not that women don’t have the capacity and competence to enter these fields, but rather that there are real structural biases in the STEAM fields that make it hard for women to pursue these careers.
In their study “Using design thinking to cultivate the next generation of female STEAM thinkers” Rie Kijima, Mariko Yang-Yoshihara, and Marcos Sadao Maekawa show that intentionally engaging young girls through STEAM programs “can produce positive change in how female youths relate to STEM.” Their findings note that an engendered approach to STEAM programing showed that girls displayed an “increased interest in engineering, greater creative confidence, more positive perceptions of STEAM, higher levels of empathy and pro-social factors, and a more varied outlook on career options.”
Our program was purposely designed to empower young girls and positively impact the gender gap in STEAM.
Upcoming Programs
Girls Build! Day
Join us at the Center for one of our most popular festivals. The program is free, geared towards ages 11-17 and youth are invited to build, learn and network with professionals throughout the event. Registration is open now.
Festival Agenda
- Duration: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
- Hands-on activities
- Keynote speech and Q&A
Learn more & register here
Testimonials
I have always wanted to be a model, and I STILL want to do that, but after Girls Build! I think I want to own my own agency, so I have control over where my image is used and what products I endorse."
A.(Age 12)Thank you so much for allowing my girls to participate in this fantastic class, what an experience it was for them but also for me. You see, both my girls are diverse learners and I often struggle to find classes that will take them for that reason, plus where they feel like they are successful."
M.(Parent)Originally, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but after participating in Girls Build and meeting a female architect from Mexico, I think I want to be an architect instead."
C.(Age 14)Gaby is always sharing about Girls Build! at school. In fact, they are doing a group project where they redesign a local park ‘to scale.’ She busted out her Girls Build! skills and went around the class helping each student. If you couldn’t tell we love, love, LOVE Girls Build!. It’s one of the best things the girls have done since moving from California and THANK YOU so much for giving Gaby this opportunity."
S.(Parent)
Support
All Girls Build! programs are free for families, as the CAC strives to represent the diversity of Chicago through everything we do. Donate today to cover some or all of a program fee.
