Women in Construction (WIC) week is a great opportunity to celebrate the role of women in the industry and to promote construction as a career path for all women. During WIC week, we focused on girls through the efforts of our Civil, Solar, Power, and Wind teams, who partnered with Girl Scouts to provide the opportunity for attendees to obtain their Power Girls Patch. This patch is intended to promote the construction trades industry and enhance STEM/STEAM skills. At the event, Mortenson volunteers exposed girls in grades 5 - 8 to the dynamic world of construction with hands-on experiences to learn about the industry!
Each of the four ‘Industry’ Teams hosted a breakout session that highlighted the excitement of the fast-paced, problem-solving, and team-oriented construction industry.
Power Team: DIY Battery
The Power Team’s session challenged Girl Scouts to build and test batteries using fruits and veggies! Using just a penny, nail, and multimeter, they built batteries out of a potato, an orange, and an apple. They were challenged to think of what could cause the power readings on the multimeter to be different between the three. Then, to cap off the activity, they connected the potato, orange, and apple together with probe wires to create a more powerful battery that lit up an LED light.
Wind Team: Build Your Own Wind Turbine
The Wind Team’s activity utilized paper cups, popsicle sticks, and hot glue to create a miniature wind turbine! The rotor was connected to a small battery with an LED secured to the back. The girls tested their turbine in front of a fan to test their light and problem-solve ways to increase the power generation through manipulating wind direction, turbine ‘blade’ placement and size, etc. Girl Scouts also had the opportunity to operate a power drill (with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of course) in the construction of their turbine, which they were able to take home!
Solar Team: Solar House
With our Solar team volunteers, Girl Scouts built, decorated, and illuminated their own paper house! After cutting out the house framework, the girls created a circuit with copper tape from the interior of the house to connect to the solar panel they installed on the roof. They were able to see their house light up and discuss the importance of copper tape in conducting electricity, correctly matching +/- terminals, and how power is generated from the solar panel on the roof.
Civil Team: Erosion Challenge
The Mortenson Civil Team challenged Girl Scouts to test erosion control techniques. They learned what erosion is, what causes it, and why it is important to limit it – especially on a project site! The girls filled three tubes: one topped with growth, one with sand and rocks, and one with soil only. The group hypothesized which bottle would hold the most water and which would have the clearest water; they capped the activity by discussing how soil erosion affects our environment.
The Power Girls gained a better understanding of the construction industry and the opportunities they could have with a career in construction. They felt a sense of pride in completing hands-on activities, both solo and as a team, that required critical thinking and problem-solving. Our volunteers were also impacted by the event, as they expanded the mindset of these young girls by showing them how many women there are in STEAM fields. Anna, from our Wind team, said “I was excited volunteers were able to show these girls that there are strong, confident women in construction and demonstrated ‘This could be them!’”
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