The Tech Museum of Innovation

“We had a hard challenge, but I learned that if I kept trying different things, then I could solve the problem.”

That’s how one young girl described her experience working through an engineering problem on a recent field trip to The Tech. We want many more like her to have the opportunity to challenge themselves, gain confidence in their abilities and view a career in the STEM fields as an obvious path.

The Tech is committed to providing a pipeline of these opportunities for girls, an effort supported by our Generation Tech campaign. Our ultimate goal is to dramatically increase the participation of girls in STEM activities and, ultimately, women in STEM careers.

Our strategy is based on the best academic research as well as our decades of experience in providing informal education. We make sure girls understand the why of what they are doing, so they feel like they can make a difference. We focus on the growth mindset, so girls know that just because something is hard now doesn’t mean it will always be so. And we expand what girls and boys believe about who can be a scientist or an engineer, so the workplaces of tomorrow will be more welcoming to all.

Your support will go toward these initiatives:

Teacher Professional Development: Teachers are key influencers in young women’s competence and confidence in STEM fields. The Tech will help these essential influencers improve their practice by creating a network of model STEM programs — called The Tech Academies of Innovation — that over the next 10 years will train 800 educators.

Girls Days @ The Tech: These events — along with regular visits to the museum — provide opportunities for young women and their families to engage in STEM activities together, educating parents and expanding girls’ and boys’ vision of who can be an engineer or scientist.

The Tech Challenge, presented by EMC: For three decades, The Tech Challenge program has provided engineering design challenge opportunities that engage and inspire girls, who make up 45% of all participants — a rarity for a program of this kind.

Please join us in opening up pathways for girls in STEM while strengthening Silicon Valley’s workforce of the future.