G.I.R.L. - Girls' Innovation Research Lab

G.I.R.L. provides hands-on activities to make electronics and programming accessible to middle school girls.

Young girls build a closed circuit during a G.I.R.L. workshop

G.I.R.L. workshop participants learn programming as they create a closed circuit.

The Girls' Innovation Research Lab (G.I.R.L.) is an outreach opportunity for young women to learn about careers related to science and engineering. This program holds workshops throughout the year to let girls in middle school and high school get hands-on practice in engineering and show girls what careers can be considered in the scientific realm. Our goal is to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In G.I.R.L. workshops, participants learn about various electronic components while building their own circuits using MIT’s Scratch programming language and a Makey Makey board. The course instructors help girls understand the basic programming needed to enable piano keys to change sound, color, and position while responding to different commands.

G.I.R.L. lectures can be applied to middle school students and high school students, and can be set up as a series of afterschool hands-on engineering workshops. The Laboratory team plans to develop the experience into a standalone online workshop to introduce more girls to programming and engineering.