On Saturday, February 15, we celebrated Women’s and Girls’ Day in Science at Fab Lab León. We invited girls and young women from our extracurricular activities, who shared their experiences, projects, and vision of the world of technology with us.
It was the tenth year we celebrated this event, and this time we framed it within the European project Fab Connect Her, in which we are participating. The project’s goal is to promote the presence of girls and women in the world of fab labs by creating educational resources and tools that teachers can use in the classroom with girls and women. For this reason, the event invited not only girls and their families, but also teachers interested in changing the current trend.
People Above Machines
Nuria opened the event by reminding everyone of all that has brought us to where we are today. “At first, we gave a lot of importance to the machines, but now we give more importance to the people behind the projects because without them we couldn’t do all these things,” she said.
She then held a talk with the young attendees, who recalled their first time at Fab Lab León, sharing their nerves, enthusiasm, and some anecdotes from those early days. Afterwards, they showcased some of their work and explained the process behind it. Their projects included lamps with sensors for reading, color-changing lamps, and even a robotic arm in which several of them were involved.
They also discussed the vibrant atmosphere of the activities, the teamwork, the friendships they have formed, and the enriching experience of sharing time with some of the visitors to the lab, such as Yuki Takemura from Japan, and Vicky from Germany.
Breaking with Stereotypes
The event also served as a moment to reflect on the lower presence of women in science and the smaller percentage of girls and young women participating in Fab Lab León’s activities. In light of these figures, the participants remarked, “We need to stop thinking in terms of old stereotypes,” as Sofía stated. “I feel very proud of having joined here,” explained Elisa. “If you like it, it doesn’t matter what others think—focus on what you love and what will make you happy,” added Blanca.
Alquimétricos Workshop
The second part of the day was dedicated to a workshop led by Luciana and Fernando from Alquimétricos, a platform for designing free-code educational toys using open and collaborative technologies to learn about STEAM through play.
They got hands-on to build a catapult using simple materials that were distributed, while Fernando explained how these materials could even be assembled at home using milk cartons.
What initially seemed like just a game quickly became a lesson filled with concepts of geometry, force, tension, and capacity. The participants analyzed and experimented with these concepts to improve the catapult’s design so that its projectile could go farther. This entertaining way of learning managed to engage everyone, uniting them in the pursuit of their goal.
