Wine Country Times

The Girls Tinker Program is a program for middle school students that is designed to help girls gain an outlet for their STEM interests. 

Girls that are interested in STEM careers, school subjects and hobbies are invited to explore, investigate, design and make with the Girls Tinker Program. For years, the Girls Tinker Program has provided a program for STEM-minded girls to thrive and grow in their hobbies and interests. The application period for this year's Girls Tinker Program is now open. 

This year, one notable change is that there is an additional TINY TINKER program which is available for younger girls that want to just start to explore STEM subjects but are not quite in middle school yet. 

Another new development this year to the Girls Tinker Program is that all sessions will be virtual to protect the participants and instructors and be compliant with COVID-19 guidelines. These virtual sessions will include hands-on activities such as coding, modeling, crafting, sewing and building. The participants will be able to enjoy all of these courses while interacting with other children from different school districts throughout the county. 

The meetings for the Girls Tinker Program will take place via Zoom each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The courses are a manageable 90 minutes each day and each day, the instructor will present a unique and engaging challenge to the participants to keep them motivated and engaged. 

Through these activities and lesson plans, the Girls Tinker Academy is moving closer each year to ensuring totally equal resources being available for young girls that are looking to become trailblazers in STEM industries. The program is available for those in seventh through ninth grades and those that are interested in learning more about the program can apply here and read more about the Tinker Girls Academy here.