Put on Your Thinking Caps: Galaxy Trek STEM Challenge is This Weekend!

In addition to rotating through stations of stimulating challenges, participants will engage in an imaginative daylong theme — Galaxy Trek — developed by Foxcroft’s STEM faculty and organizers. Using an app and Kindle Fire assigned to each team, girls will have the opportunity to answer questions and earn raffle tickets towards a great selection of prizes.

The success and momentum of this annual science, technology, engineering, and math competition keeps on rolling. For the seventh year in a row, the high school and middle school divisions have filled up, with 40 teams competing again. This means that about 160 girls — including many of your daughters! — will spend the day using their STEM knowledge, along with deductive reasoning skills and common sense, to solve challenges in the Athletic/Student Center and the science wing of Schoolhouse.

Back by popular demand, high school students are invited to a lunchtime career panel with female engineers from Stryker. This panel will offer teen girls an opportunity to broaden their views of the field, from how to become an engineer to a glimpse of the many things that engineers do.

Following the career panel, Foxcroft is excited to welcome Dr. Sandra H. “Sandy” Magnus, former astronaut and current Deputy Director for Engineering within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering serving as DoD’s Chief Engineer for Advanced Capabilities. Magnus will draw from her extensive career and experience living on the International Space Station to speak about the importance of girls in STEM. She will then assist with the awards ceremony after which she will hold a round-table discussion with our STEM Concentration students.

Foxcroft’s nine teams, along with teams from Highland School, Wakefield School, Woodgrove High School, Madeira School, and two homeschool groups, Azer Homeschool and Solid Foundations in Math and Science, will convene in Engelhard Gymnasium by 8:30am on Saturday. Awards and prize drawings will wrap up the high school event around 1:20pm.

The middle school competition offers a wonderful opportunity for girls to learn about Foxcroft and its STEM program, as well as to have fun! Middle school participants are coming from Blue Ridge Middle, Grymes Memorial, The Hill School, Immanuel Christian, Nysmith School for the Gifted, Powhatan, St. John's Episcopal, Wakefield School’s middle division, St. Patrick's, Village School, Washington (DC) Episcopal, Norwood School, Mercer Middle, and Harmony Middle. Foxcroft’s team of student tour guides — CAPs — and other volunteers will help the Admission Office staff welcome them and show them around. The middle schoolers’ day will end with awards and prizes, as well.

For the full schedule of the day, click here. We hope everyone has a STEM-sational time on Saturday!