Women Supporting Women in the Sciences: Low-cost laboratory kits utilized in primary- and secondary-level classrooms in eastern Africa via local partners

Improving the number of women choosing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related subjects in higher education is a complex and multi-faceted challenge. One strategy to improve representation on which Women Supporting Women in the Sciences (WS2),¹ a global initiative funded by a 2020 APS Innovation Fund, has recently focused has been the development and deployment of low-cost physics and materials science laboratory kits to promote primary- and secondary-level (K-12) girls' interests in STEM. To date, these laboratory kits that utilize easy-to-find, local resources and cover topics from light and color to food science to electrostatics have been used by over 1400 students, predominantly in eastern Africa, with about 70% being girls.² Successful delivery and teaching of these laboratory kits have been accomplished by working with WS2 Partners and their local communities. This talk will discuss the lab kit design and distribution phases, as well as outcomes to date from the use of these lab kits in classrooms across eastern Africa.

¹www.ws2global.org

² https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202210/east-africa.cfm