March 14 is Pi Day!
Pi is one of the most well-known constants in mathematics. It is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Today, women across the globe are Dressing for STEM! The past seven years, female STEM professionals wear purple on Pi Day to encourage girls to go into STEM fields. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Dress For STEM was launched by a group of female meteorologists in 2016 to encourage girls to pursue their passion for science. Research shows that the percentage of young girls interested in STEM declines in middle school as a result of exposure to inaccurate gender stereotypes. This translates to a lower proportion of women pursuing STEM careers later in life. Today, women account for nearly half the U.S. workforce, but only 27 percent of STEM careers.
In broadcast meteorology, less than 30 percent of meteorologists are female and less than 10 percent of all chief broadcast meteorologists are women. WHIO’s Chief Meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs makes up one of those few female chiefs.
If you’re child, boy or girl is showing interest in STEM, take a minute and do one of these fun weather experiments with them!
- Make a rain gauge with your kids
- How to make a tornado in a jar
- How to create frost at home
- Make a cloud in a jar with your kids
- Water Bottle Trick Using the Power of Air Pressure
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