CES establishes Girls Who Code Club

California Schools SmartLab facilitator Mazie Osman creates new learning environment for young students. (Submitted photo)
California Schools SmartLab facilitator Mazie Osman creates new learning environment for young students. (Submitted photo)


California Elementary School has launched a new program designed to get girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers at a young age.

SmartLab facilitator Mazie Osman said she was motivated to establish the Girls Who Code club after receiving an email from CES Principal Gary Baker.

"I looked into their program and found that it was absolutely free," she said. "They provide all of the curriculum and the projects for us. It focuses on getting girls interested in STEM careers because currently, about 27 percent of the STEM population is female. And of the female population, they only make about 84 percent compared to their male counterparts."

With that in mind, Osman said she was eager to bring the club to CES. During every meeting of the club, she and the students read a chapter out of their textbooks focused on prominent women in STEM. Some of the projects the group will be working on include animation, storytelling and creating video games using computers.

Students work with child-friendly computer coding websites and programs. By breaking the process down for younger ages, students can put together code more easily. She said some of the programs the group will be working with will even have code presented in blocks for students to put together "like a puzzle" so they can properly animate their projects without needing to write them out.

Osman said she hopes the club will spark and nurture an interest in STEM that will follow the students as they get older.

"I know a lot of these girls wouldn't have the opportunity to really explore all of this if it weren't for SmartLab or the Girls Who Code Club," Osman said. "I just really want to give them that opportunity and ... if they don't find any interest in STEM, then I'm hoping it'll help them build relationships with the other girls."

With this being the club's first active year at CES, Osman said the main focus will be creating sisterhood and a strong interest in coding. She said she asks students to not be afraid of STEM and encourages parents to help their children take an interest in the subject.

"Finding resources like ... Girls Who Code is a great jumping off point for getting that interest (in coding) because it's very basic and very easy to understand," Osman said. "I know for a lot of people, if (a subject) is not something they're familiar with, then they don't pursue it. So, I would just love for parents and students to both just be open to it and at least test it out."