Hosting Superhero Daughter Day is by far one of our favorite events of the year and without a doubt the best way to celebrate International Women’s Day! We love seeing the excitement and fun the girls have as they explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) through a range of activities.
Continuing to engage your young superhero in all things STEM after the event is crucial to keep them excited. Don’t’ worry, we’ve made it easy for you. Here is our list of suggested activities to keep the learning up until the next Superhero Daughter Day!
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the next round of events.
Interested in supporting Superhero Daughter Day 2019? Expressions of Interest now open for organizations to support Superhero Daughter Day 2019. Register here (closing June 30).
If you have any questions about Superhero Daughter Day or would like to get in touch with the WORK180 team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via hello@work180.co
Gamefroot
Gamefroot is an online web application that teaches programming in an interactive and fun way. Create a login and explore the site -there are many tutorials to help you and your superhero get started!
Additionally, there are a number of YouTube tutorials including the below and this one:
Lego Education WeDo
Lego WeDo is a great way to introduce your superhero to robotics. She will be able to build LEGO models featuring working motors and sensors; program their models; and explore a series of cross-curricular, theme-based activities while developing skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as well as language, literacy, and social studies.
Here is a fun tutorial to help you get started.
Makey Makey
Makey Makey is an easy to use invention kit. It’s fun and easy to assemble, and also a great way of creating a banana piano! It helps children understand the basics of electronics in a meaningful and tactile way.
Watch this awesome video tutorial:
mBot by MakeBlock
It’s cute, it’s fun and easy to assemble, it’s mBot by MakeBlock– the new educational robot based on Arduino! mBot is an all-in-one solution for beginners to enjoy a guided, hands-on experience with robotics, coding, and electronics.
Paper Circuits
Paper circuits are a great way of adding light to your drawings, origami, or papercraft creations. Instead of using wires to connect a battery to LEDs, paper circuits use conductive metal tape.
Copper tape can be found online at places like Amazon, Sparkfun, and as part of the Circuit Stickers kit at Maker Shed. It can also be found at hardware stores as “slug tape“. Or try cutting long, narrow strips of aluminum foil tape, used for repairing HVAC ducts (but not duct tape!).
Check out this awesome video tutorial and learn how to make paper circuits.
Binary Bugs
Teach your Superhero how to combine math and origami with Binary Bugs. Melissa Silk does amazing workshops using these techniques and more details can be found here.
Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny and affordable computer that you can use to learn programming through fun, practical projects.
Raspberry Pi Australia has some great kits for kids to get started. Here is a recommended kit.
Wearables
There are a variety of exciting wearables like Lil’Makers, Adafruit, Gemma, Codebugs and Jewelbots friendship bracelets. These products use Arduino coding to create amazing new additions to clothing and jewelry.
Little Bird Electronics supplies great Adafruit products and the Adafruit site has some terrific tutorials.
Lil’ Makers is the world’s first build-your-own electronic jewelry kit for kids ages 5-12. The product is made up by pieces, similar to jewelry beads that kids can paint and then interconnect to form bracelets and necklaces with a twist. Extensions of the kit will allow kids to connect electronic jewelry to each other and interface with coding and smart phones. They light up with touch, light up with a shake, change colors, sense your temperature, measure your heart rate and more! Founded by electrical engineer and entrepreneur Shilly Inguva.
Like Lil’Makers on Facebook and follow their Twitter.
HTC Vive
The HTC Vive is a virtual reality system that completely immerses you inside virtual worlds. Naturally, it’s been one of the most popular stations on Superhero Daughter Day and it is always a big hit with the girls. It can be purchased at Harvey Norman and JBHiFi but it has a price tag of around $1,400. Read more about the headsets here. You can also purchase cheaper Virtual Reality headsets and use them with your phone for a similar experience. Read more about the different kinds of headsets here.
Early Learners
Early Learners handpick toys, books, games and puzzles that provide learning experiences to children and sell them in their online store. Their blog also offers lots of ideas and activities to engage your child in STEM activities, starting from just two years old!
**Captive Touch Unicorn Horn **
Make a magic costume unicorn horn that lights up with your touch! Click here for more detailed instructions.
Based in New Zealand?
Join OMGTech! Rangers. OMGTech! regularly runs hands on fun workshops for kids and big kids exploring fun new technologies. If you enjoyed the workshops at Superhero Daughter Day in Auckland you’ll love the full day events. Learn more about OMGTech! here and sign up to hear about the next OMGTech! Rangers events.
About Superhero Daughter Day
Superhero Daughter Day is an initiative by WORK180 and Tech Girls Movement to encourage primary school girls to get excited about STEM. Held in March throughout various locations, the event is a unique International Women’s Day Celebration (IWD) celebration. The idea came to us in 2016, when we were searching for an alternative to the morning tea/lunch event options, and decided to create a hands-on event for our next generation of women in tech. Together with partner organizations across Australia and New Zealand, the event introduces girls aged 5-12 years to the exciting world of STEM through engaging activities and workshops. On a Saturday afternoon, the girls participate in a range of activities, including:
- Programming robots
- Exploring Virtual and Augmented Reality
- Fashion technology and wearables
- Learning how to design an app and much more!
The girls also have an opportunity to meet inspiring female role models, enjoy cupcakes and receive a goodie bag to take home. Check out the photos from our 2017 events on Facebook.
Since its inception in 2016, the event has engaged over 1,000 superheroes and their parents/guardians. Beginning as a one-off event in Brisbane in 2016, Superhero Daughter Day took place in 9 cities in Australia and in Auckland, NZ in 2017 and 2018.
When is the next Superhero Daughter Day?
Sign up for our newsletter to hear about future events.
A big THANK YOU to our 2018 Superhero Daughter Day supporters and activity organizers:
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the next round of events.
Interested in supporting Superhero Daughter Day 2019? Expressions of Interest now open for organizations to support Superhero Daughter Day 2019. Register here (closing June 30).
About us:
Tech Girls Movement
Founded by Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen in 2014, the Tech Girls Movement, is a non-profit organization promoting positive female information technology role models to encourage and raise awareness of technology careers options for girls. For more info click here.
About WORK180
WORK180 is a jobs board with a difference! We pre-screen employers on paid parental leave, pay equity, flexible working arrangements and much more.
