BEDFORD, NH – Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains will collaborate in a public-private Manufacturing USA initiative called the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) to increase girls’ awareness and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for future careers.
Headquartered in Manchester, ARMI is the 12th Manufacturing USA Institute and was founded in 2016. ARMI brings together a consortium of over 100 partner organizations from industry, government, academia and the nonprofit sector to develop next-generation manufacturing processes and technologies for cells, tissues and organs. ARMI’s mission is to make practical the large-scale manufacturing of engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies, to benefit existing industries and grow new ones.
Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains will pioneer a collaborative and creative partnership with ARMI|BioFabUSA to:
- Increase awareness of and interest in the STEM fields, and the biofabrication industry in particular;
- Learn about the biofabrication industry, the value it brings to society, and meet professionals already working in the field; and
- Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains staff will partner with industry experts to offer biofabrication-related activities to enhance existing STEM programs, and create web-based resource videos that will help local troop leaders and other volunteers to deliver learning on such complex subjects as mechanical engineering, robotics, coding, and more.
Girl Scouting at the national and local levels is increasing its focus on STEM engagement and programs, and provides the head start for G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders)™ in Girl Scouts who may be interested in becoming the scientists, engineers, and innovators this new field will require.
“Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is committed to helping every girl reach her full potential. In today’s world, supporting girls in STEM is essential to their future success. From designing high tech fashions to helping people recover from potentially devastating injury or illness, STEM exists in every part of our world,” said Patricia Mellor, CEO of Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, adding, “With our unparalleled reach, the interest and enthusiasm of the girls we serve, and our partnership with ARMI, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is poised to move thousands of girls into the STEM pipeline.”
Girl Scouts offers dozens of STEM-focused programs and badges, affording girls the opportunity to combine STEM learning with leadership development, growth mindset development, and other socially desirable skills in a flexible, informal environment that supports student-driven exploration and experimentation.
“We need to develop 21st century tools for engineered tissue manufacturing that will allow these innovations to be widely available,” Dean Kamen, Executive Director of ARMI, has explained, “Similar to how a 15th century tool (the printing press) allowed knowledge to be spread widely during the Renaissance.”
Girl Scouts Leadership Experiences fuel the female leadership pipeline. No other organization brings together time-tested, research-backed methods with exciting, modern programming that speaks to today’s girls and is designed to cater to the strengths of girls’ leadership development.
