Women’s History Month and the precations-minded return of live events to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum coincide nicely this Saturday, March 12, at the Intrepid´s 8th annual Girls in Science & Engineering Day. The event is part of the Museum’s yearlong GOALS for Girls initiative. Funded by grants from boosters including Motorola and Craig Newmark Philanthropies (established by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark), the GOALS program provides its ninth and 10th grade participants with real-world experiences related to STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) subject matter. This Saturday, the real-world applications consist of demonstrations and discussions by Museum staff, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, students from Edward Murrow High School, Hudson River Park, the NY Historical Society, Girl Be Heard, and more. Additionally, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and pilot Beverly Weintraub will lead a presentation and book signing of her book The Wings of Gold: The Story of the First Women Naval Aviators.

“I’m excited to provide our GOALS interns and their Mentors an opportunity to engage with the public, showcasing their science communication and visitor engagement skills,” said Shihadah (Shay) Saleem, Senior Manager of Youth Leadership and Alumni Programs at the Intrepid Museum. “They’ve been working so hard on their science, education and/or entrepreneurship projects through intentional virtual and in-person meetings and workshops. We are thankful and proud for the continued funding of innovative student-led, community based projects.”

Said major funder Newmark, “Everyone deserves the best STEM education and career opportunities our country can provide. It’s the fair thing, and we need everybody to get involved to support American security and prosperity for everyone.”

Adult chaperoned teens, youth, school groups, and families of all ages are encouraged to attend. Guests are welcome to enjoy and explore the Museum throughout day. The event is FREE with advanced registration. Register here.

To learn a bit more, we reached out to Shay last week, yielding this Q&A:

Scott Stiffler, for Chelsea Community News (CCNews): This is the 8th annual Girls in Science & Engineering Day. What are some “participant achievement” moments from previous years that you are most proud of?

Shihadah Saleem  (Shay): In years past, I was particularly excited when we had an overwhelming amount of registered participants attend through our intentional partnership with NYC Department of Education. On that day we had various communities of NYC attend, especially from underserved and BIPOC communities. Our registered guests engaged with various cultural institutions and special guests such as Animal Embassy, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, high school students from Edward Murrow High School presenting their science fair projects, and our guest author Vashti Harrison (Little Leaders, Bold Women in Black History). The excitement of our registered guests and visitors was palpable – everyone enjoyed learning and exploring different components of STEM, with some of our local communities visiting the Intrepid Museum for the first time.

CCNews: Regarding GOALS for Girls program: Are there any notable alums who’ve joined the Intrepid staff and/or gone on to honors in the field of science during or after their college education?

Shay: There are so many notable GOALS alum doing great things whether with the Museum, in college and/or in STEM careers. A few that comes to mind are:
—Audrey Lee, GOALS alum, 2011. Audrey has had a long-standing connection with the Intrepid Museum after her completion of the GOALS summer program. She became a GOALS Navigator intern in 2013, and was accepted consecutively as an intern until 2018. Throughout that time, she was also a guest workshop facilitator and presenter for the GOALS for Girls Summer program, sharing her passion in biomedical engineering. She even created her own robotic prosthetic arm using Legos.  In 2019, due to her work, experience and dedication to GOALS and the Intrepid Museum, she became a GOALS mentor, leading and supporting a new cohort of GOALS interns. Audrey was also a participant in the 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures program of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a two-time recipient of the NASA Research internship program. She graduated from Columbia University’s Biomedical engineering track and is currently at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai striving for her doctorate.

—Safiya Noel, GOALS alum 2011. Safiya participated as a GOALS Navigator intern in 2014, and then became a junior Museum educator, leading demonstrations on the Museum floor and assisting with public and educational events. She also became a per diem leading workshops and activities through our CASA program, and became a GOALS Mentor in 2019. She continues to support and lead her cohort of GOALS alum through various student-led projects and presentations. Safiya is a science teacher at a public school in New York City. She is also a new Fellow for the National Girls Collaborative Project.

—Martha Hernandez, GOALS alum 2012. Martha is a part time educator at the Museum and a current Macaulay Honors college student. She was a GOALS Summer Staff in 2019 and is currently a new Fellow with the National Girls Collaborative Project.

CCNews: In what ways, in 2022 or in plans for the years beyond, will the Intrepid expand its role as a place for learning and advancement, in terms of school-aged science enthusiasts?

Shay: We are currently looking ahead to our next five years of growth as an educational institution in not only the NYC but the national landscape. We will continue to build on our strengths as a place that seamlessly integrates history, leadership and technological innovation. We intend to make use of all that we learned during the pandemic to fold communications technology and forward-looking resources such as 3D imagery to increase access to learning experiences for everyone, everywhere, when they want to access it. In the immediate future,  we are continuing to host our Virtual Astronomy Live activities and speaker panels on a variety of channels for free, such as YouTube live, Facebook Live and Twitch. In the “real space,” we are once again joining forces with the New York City Department of Education to offer STEM-rich, low cost spring break and summer experiences for NYC youth. An online searchable library of free resources and activities is in development so all learners who want to delve more deeply into the engineering and technological innovations exemplified in our collections can do so. And of course, our programs for teens such as mentorship days with women in STEM careers or events which feature deep dives into STEM content will continue in addition to virtual gatherings like the Virtual Youth Summit in June – which while not all about STEM, has a lot of STEM-rich content.

The 8th Annual Girls in Science & Engineering Day happens on Saturday, March 12, 11am-3pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (Pier 86; W. 46th St. & 12th Ave. at Hudson River Park. Adult chaperoned teens, youth, school groups, and families of all ages are encouraged to attend. Guests are welcome to enjoy and explore the Museum throughout day. The event is FREE with advanced registration. Register here.

—By Scott Stiffler

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