About the Million Girls Moonshot
AELA is proud to be a part of the Million Girls Moonshot initiative, working to inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators by engaging one million more girls in STEM learning opportunities through afterschool and summer programs over the next five years. The Million Girls Moonshot is an initiative of the STEM Next Opportunity Fund.
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The Million Girls Moonshot will not only allow girls to envision themselves as future innovators, but it will increase the quality of out-of-school STEM learning opportunities for all young people, particularly underserved and underrepresented youth.
We’re going to transform the pathways into engineering, the sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Together.
Learn More about the Million Girls Moonshot!
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Resources and Tools
The Million Girls Moonshot provides a collection of resources and tools for partners and programs to utilize when participating in the Million Girls Moonshot Initiative.
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All transformative practice resources have been vetted using a culturally responsive and equity lens to foster inclusive STEM learning spaces for all youth, particularly girls. Click the button to access the Million Girls Moonshot Toolkit to get started!
Impact of STEM Programs in Alabama
Jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields power our global economy and are growing most rapidly across our state and the country.
In Alabama, STEM jobs are expected to grow by 9% between 2017 and 2027, compared with 5% for other jobs. Afterschool STEM programs can almost double the amount of time some students have to question, tinker, learn and explore STEM topics and careers. More than 83% of Alabama parents report their kids have STEM learning opportunities in their afterschool program.
A study of afterschool STEM programs found that among participating students:
80%
gained a deeper understanding of science careers
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78%
increased their interest in STEM
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73%
developed a “STEM identity,” a personal belief that she/he can do well and succeed at science
72%
developed perseverance and critical thinking skills
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“On behalf of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, we are proud to be a partner with the AELA and their continued efforts to provide STEM education across the great State of Alabama. STEM jobs are mission critical to our future. Innovative-reasoning, problem-solving, and critical-thinking are vital to Alabama’s workforce needs and requirements. Engineers in Alabama helped put the first man on the moon and The Million Girls Moonshot will further our efforts to put the first woman on Mars!”
— Jeremy L. Arthur, President & CEO Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama
