What's All the Chatter About?

Mikaela speaks to a group of tech-focused women at the Women & Hi Tech luncheon on February 12th.

Mikaela Gilbert is a senior at Noblesville High School and, at 18 years old, she's already been bitten by the entrepreneur bug. She's currently in the development phase of a toy that is designed to teach basic vocabulary in a variety of foreign languages to children.

Prototype of a panda Chatter Egg.

Her project began with an old assignment she had in a Digital Design course her sophomore year. The students were given a wooden egg and told to make an original product and package it. From there, Chatter Eggs was born. The original idea was simply an egg with a weight in the bottom that made farm animal noises when it was shaken. She brought the old project to her Innovations class, which focuses on action and pursing passion-based projects, and after a successful brainstorming session, it emerged as a language learning tool for children. Today, Chatter Eggs is an egg-shaped toy with the face of an animal representing the language the toy speaks. It is activated by a wobbling motion, and 10-15 fundamental phrases are played, one with each wobble, and the English translation is repeated directly after the phrase.

"The coolest thing I've learned throughout this process is a new love of business," Mikaela said. "College is quickly approaching and this class has brought business to my attention, inspiring me to transition to an entrepreneurship major."

When asked about advice she had for other girls following in her footsteps, she had three tips:

1. Start today.   Waiting for tomorrow is throwing an opportunity out the window.
2. Fail Fast.   If something doesn't work, move on.
3. People are nice.   If you reach out to them, the majority are more than willing to help you.

As for the future?  Mikaela is looking at the big picture and hoping "to create a company with multiple products that can eventually teach children their second and third languages when they're young and best at learning them."

Follow Mikaela's progress on her blog. And keep an eye out for her when she presents at the upcoming launch event for the state of Indiana Million Women Mentors movement on March 25th.

FabFems Spotlight

While we could always use more, there are a good number of fabulous females in the vast network of STEM professionals. The problem is connecting with them. That's where the FabFems directory comes in. 

The National Girls Collaborative Project, in response to the lack of women in STEM fields, is implementing the FabFems Project. As the initial phase of the project, the FabFems directory will serve as a "national database of women in STEM professions who are inspiring role models for young women." This directory will allow young girls and girl-serving STEM programs and organizations to find inspirational role models with a simple search that can be modified by city, state, country, interest area, ethnicity, field of work, etc. Once a role model is found, her profile can be viewed with a picture and information about her career, education, interests, a biography, and what level of participation she is willing to entertain. Participation levels range from online role model, during- or after-school visits, and field trip and summer camp participation. 

As of today, we have fewer than 20 FabFems in Indiana with profiles in the directory. Let's increase that number now! Click here to create your FabFems profile and then share this info with any women you know would make fabulous female (STEM!) role models. 

Now Accepting Applications! US2020 VISTA Opening

TPF4Y has been so grateful for the help of our three VISTAs during the pilot year of our US2020 initiative. They are smart, resourceful, hardworking, self-starters who have been completely capable of picking up and running with every task we've asked of them since day one. Their one-year terms of service will be coming to a close this summer, which means we are in the process of interviewing their potential successors.

AmeriCorps VISTA members live and serve in some of our nation's poorest urban and rural areas. With passion, commitment, and hard work, they create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. Want to learn more about becoming a VISTA? Visit the AmeriCorps VISTA FAQ page. 

TPF4Y is looking for a new VISTA to start in July with a focus on continuing the progress we've made with the US2020 Initiative here in Indianapolis.

Corporate & Community Coordinator VISTA (click here to apply!)

This VISTA member will focus on the messaging and recruitment of corporate partner employees and IUPUI students as mentors for US2020 programs. He or she will help to maintain positive relationships with all partners through proactive communication and assist in mentor orientation and implementing background checks.

We are looking forward to welcoming an outstanding new VISTA to our team in July - please share this opportunity with any talented individuals you feel would fit the bill!

Robots Invade the Library!

The second annual Learning Curve @ Central Library FLL Qualifying Tournament took place on Saturday, November 22nd and had 180 kids from 12 FIRST Lego League and 10 Junior FIRST Lego League teams excited about robotics!

The day began with opening ceremonies for all participants and then FLL-ers began their project, robot, and core values presentations to panels of judges. Jr.FLL-ers similarly began talking with their reviewers about their Lego models. After a lunch break and short Jr.FLL closing ceremony, the excitement began again with the FLL robot games, during which teams ran programmed missions for their robots to follow on a mat full of Lego game pieces.

Part of the teams’ registration requirements included bringing in donations for School on Wheels, a local nonprofit providing tutoring and educational advocacy for children impacted by homelessness. The donation drive resulted in the following items:

• 35 packs of notebook paper
• 38 boxes of snacks
• 25 spiral notebooks
• 126 pencil sharpeners
• 4 glue sticks
• 2 rulers
• 7 boxes of crayons
• 2 folders
• 1 pencil box
• 6 packs of markers
• 18 prizes
• 11 packs of pens
• 5 packs of pencils
• 2 pairs of scissors
• 2 packs of erasers
• 1 $15 staples gift card

“We are so excited and grateful to have all of this!” wrote Amber Ewing, the Director of Development for School on Wheels. “It means the world to us and to the kids we serve and will definitely go a long way in helping us to deliver our programming.”

TPF4Y partnered with the Learning Curve @ Central Library in 2013 in order to put on the first FLL QT hosted there. The event has been a huge success and we enjoy the time spent planning, preparing, and recruiting volunteers. 

Talk of the Town

DeveloperTown has not only become home sweet home since we set up shop in December 2013, but has also become a fantastic partner for TPF4Y. In November, we sat down with “Townies” Nate Canada and Daryn Shapurji for a coveted spot on one of their TownTalk podcasts.

Listen in to hear more details on TPF4Y’s plans to increase STEM mentoring in Indianapolis, our role in the Learning Curve at Central Library’s FIRST Lego League qualifying tournament (and Nate’s plans to accept bribes from the student participants), our stellar spot as DeveloperTown’s self-proclaimed most popular tenants thanks to “fatty” grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese days, and more fun tidbits about the TPF4Y team.

http://www.developertown.com/blog/towntalk-episode-6/

Robots Are Here!

On November 14, 2014, Bankers Life Fieldhouse was transformed into the host site of the 3rd annual City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship.

TPF4Y has worked closely with the Mayor’s office since 2012 to put on this spectacular event and, at the past two IndyVRCs, planned and implemented a STEM Fair full of vendors demoing hands-on activities that are, like the IndyVRC itself, free and open to the public.

The impact of the IndyVRC has grown significantly each year, with this year being our biggest event yet. Check out this by-the-numbers look at the 2014 IndyVRC:

TPF4Y looks forward to this event every year and is honored to help make an impact on the Mayor’s goal of making robotics programs available to every school in Indianapolis.