INSPIRING LOCAL FIFTH-GRADE GIRLS FOR 28 YEARS, OUR ANNUAL STEAM GIRLS COUNT PROGRAM SERVED A RECORD 298 LOCAL GIRLS THIS YEAR!
This impactful program continues to open doors for young girls in fields where women remain underrepresented, helping them envision a future full of possibilities.
Together, we’re building confidence, curiosity, and a brighter tomorrow—one STEAM-powered girl at a time!
Once again, under the inspiring leadership of STEAM Program Chair Charmaine Klein, the wonderful women of the AAUW Greater Naples Branch proudly delivered another successful year of the the annual STEAM program for local 5th-grade girls, called STEAM Girls Count.
This exciting program is designed to ignite a passion for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics in 5th grade girls.
Working with Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) and New Horizons of Lee County, the 2025 program reached a record-breaking 298 local girls in 2025—278 from CCPS and 20 from New Horizons.
The Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) supports this Branch program, which includes:
- Two KiwiCo STEAM project kits/experiments to complete at home.
- The book,Girls Think of Everything, written and signed by Kathleen Thimmesh, about women scientists and inventors.
- Access to professionally produced videos of local women in STEAM careers and videos of local women pursuing STEAM degrees, together with their biographies. See the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@aauwgreaternaplesflbranch1212.
- Safety goggles and feedback forms.
- Tote bags bearing the name and logo of Florida Gulf Coast University.
As in 2023 and 2024, 95% of the 213 CCPS girls who responded said the STEAM Girls Count Program inspired them to want to learn more about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) and STEAM careers! Though fewer of the responding New Horizons girls (67%) said the same, the same number reported having done additional research, and 71% said they’d share their experience with their class.
We are deeply grateful to the generous donors for this program who made this program possible. Thank you for investing in the futures of local girls!!
Some of the girls’ inspiring comments:
“It inspired me to do what I love and not to give up my dreams.”
“I love how I learned new things.”
“I got to challenge my brain to do things I’ve never done before and still had fun!”
“[I]t gave me an amazing opportunity to explore my abilities.”
“[I]t has helped inspire me to pursue my dream of the of STEAM career of an astronomer.”
“[I]t showed me that girls can do everything and think everything.”
“I learn I could do something new in my life. It looked hard, but when I tried the experiments it was easy. The experiments were awesome and enjoyable! I wish I could do this next year! This was a thumbs up for me!!!”
“Anything you set your mind to is achievable.”
“I can do more than I thought I could.”
“I learned that when you work hard and make mistakes it helps you succeed and figure out your problem. […] I also learned that whatever you set your mind to you can do it. It has shown me more possibilities and that girls can do anything.”
“What I learned in STEAM is that in STEAM you can do anything even women can. When I was invited into STEAM I was happy to be in the program.”
“This program was the best thing I have ever been in and I never knew anything from this. Thank you STEAM.”
Last year, CCPS created a video about the AAUW Greater Naples Branch STEAM Girls Count program and shared it with the School Board in recognition of 27 years of collaboration. See the video here: https://www.collierschools.com/Page/19723
If you are interested supporting this program, contributions may be made by
clicking the yellow “Donate” button on the right of your screen or by mailing a check payable to “Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation, Inc,” to it at PO Box 9742, Naples, FL 34101. Note “STEAM.” Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.