On September 26, 2025, students from Douglas MacArthur Girls Leadership Academy in Cleveland, Ohio explored the exciting world of technology during Ohio Tech Day, a statewide celebration designed to inspire the next generation of tech leaders and strengthen Ohio’s future talent pipeline. This year’s program brought together educators, industry partners, and community organizations to deliver hands-on learning that made STEM feel tangible, relevant, and fun for students.
Two Hubs of Activity: Douglas MacArthur Academy and the Ohio Aerospace Institute
Programming was centered at Douglas MacArthur Academy and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI). Together, the two sites offered students in grades 1–8 activities that nurtured curiosity, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Girls of Tomorrow (K-5): Circuits and Creativity
As part of this year’s Ohio Tech Day, Parallax Advanced Research introduced the Girls of Tomorrow Curriculum — a new STEM Literacy program designed for girls in grades K–3. The program blends storytelling, hands-on STEM exploration, and foundational STEM concepts to spark early confidence and curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math. The program is co-led by a literacy specialist and a female leader in STEM, providing the young girls with an example of women in STEM
While younger girls participated in the Girls of Tomorrow microelectronics lesson, 4th and 5th grade students explored more advanced microelectronics concepts, including conductive pathways, switches, and design choices that influence circuit behavior. Students built simple LED circuits using maker tape and coin-cell batteries, learning the basics of power, polarity, and connections. This hands-on activity encouraged critical thinking, experimentation, and troubleshooting — skills essential for the next generation of innovators.
All students, K-5, also engaged in a hands-on, interactive Bubble Mania science program with the Great Lakes Science Center.
The Girls of Tomorrow program represents the first step in Parallax’s larger commitment to creating equitable pathways into STEM, helping young girls imagine themselves as future scientists, engineers, and creators from the very beginning of their educational journey.
Facilitators from Parallax Advanced Research and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) led the NEXTGEN STEM Girls sessions with support from Daily Dose of Reading, while Lorain County Community College (LCCC) and Ohio TechNet reinforced the spirit of experimentation—celebrating students’ successes and helping them connect what they saw on the page to the devices they use every day. Great Lakes Science Center rounded out the day with an all-around fun science experiment with bubbles.
Together, these experiences reflect a shared mission: to create intentional, developmentally aligned pathways that help girls discover the power of STEM and imagine themselves as the inventors and leaders of tomorrow.
Grades 6–8: From Concepts to Applications at OAI
Facilitated by the Ohio Space Grant Consortium, middle school students engaged with applied STEM concepts at interactive stations with industry partners that emphasized systems thinking and real-world relevance. The various exhibits introduced students to topics such as AI, virtual environments, rocketry and aerospace-inspired design challenges. The one-on-one interactive experience provided a valuable opportunity to engage with technological leaders and allowed the girls to see themselves as future tech leaders.
A hands-on activity led by Jill Marconi called “X-57 Maxwell: Circuits Activity” taught students about series and parallel circuits. After a short lesson, the students created a functional helicopter with a series circuit that powered an LED light. NASA’s X-57 Maxwell is a small, experimental aircraft powered by batteries, and this activity helped draw a direct line between learning and advanced technology that utilizes the skills the girls were developing.
Keynote Spotlight: Amy Medina Jorge
A highlight of the program was a keynote from Amy Medina Jorge, educator turned astronaut, who spoke about opportunities in technology and how early exposure to STEM can open doors to different pathways, internships, and meaningful careers.
She is a Puerto Rican STEM educator and commercial astronaut who flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32 mission on May 31, 2025, becoming the first Puerto Rican woman to enter space. Before that flight, Amy taught middle and high school STEM at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas, and led more than 60 student-based space experiments, including biometric sensors and in-flight 3D printing projects. She has been honored with the 2023 AIAA & Challenger Center Trailblazing STEM Educator Award, and she is passionate about boosting Hispanic representation in science and engineering.
Amy’s message resonated with students and educators alike: skills like problem-solving, communication, and perseverance matter just as much as technical know-how—and today’s classroom projects can be the first step toward tomorrow’s innovations.
Collaboration That Makes a Difference
Ohio Tech Day in Cleveland was a team effort, powered by a coalition committed to student success. The Douglas MacArthur Girls Leadership Academy, Lorain County Community College, Ohio TechNet, Parallax Advanced Research, Daily Dose of Reading, the Ohio Aerospace Institute, and the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC) joined together to provide engaging curriculum and activities with expert instruction.
The program helped teachers and tools engage girls where they are in their learning path, while motivating them to aim further.
Why It Matters: From Early Interest to a Stronger Workforce
Events like Ohio Tech Day help students see themselves in STEM by experiencing the link between learning and real careers. When a student creates a circuit for the first time, or debugs a simple program, they’re building confidence and agency. That spark is essential for encouraging students to pursue advanced coursework, join extracurricular teams, seek mentors, and explore career-connected learning throughout middle and high school.
By aligning engaging, age-appropriate activities with industry involvement and educator support, Ohio Tech Day strengthens the bridge between K–12 learning and the needs of Ohio’s tech economy. The Cleveland events demonstrated what happens when schools, colleges, research institutes, and industry partners work together: students gain experiences they’ll remember, and the state gains momentum toward a diverse, prepared, and future-ready talent pipeline.
To learn more about our education al and workforce development opportunities, visit: https://parallaxresearch.org/tech-based-economic-development/education-workforce-development
###
About NEXTGEN STEM Girls
NEXTGEN STEM Girls is a dynamic program designed to ignite curiosity, confidence and a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering and math. It provides engaging, age-appropriate experiences that promote exploration, creativity, and problem-solving through hands-on activities and guided discovery. The program model is built around three progressive learning pathways that can be implemented individually or as a cohesive continuum, ensuring developmentally aligned opportunities from early learning through high school
- Girls of Tomorrow (Grades K–5): A STEM Literacy program that introduces young girls to foundational STEM concepts through storytelling, hands-on exploration, and imaginative play.
- STEM Rebels (Middle School): A program that deepens understanding through real-world experimentation, team challenges, and exposure to emerging fields such as microelectronics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
- STEM Vanguard Summer Institute (High School): An immersive experience designed to prepare students for college and workforce pathways through advanced STEM learning, pre-apprenticeships, and applied research opportunities.
About The Ohio Space Grant Consortium
The Ohio Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) was established in 1989 (along with the original Ohio 12-member universities) by the United States Congress and is part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program known as “Space Grant” administered through the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Headquarters. There are 52 consortia, one in each state, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Space Grant is a unique national network of colleges and universities working to expand opportunities for Americans to understand and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects by supporting and enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through scholarships, fellowships, higher education, research infrastructure, pre-college (K-12), and informal education public outreach efforts. The Space Grant national network includes over 1,000 affiliates from universities, colleges, industry, museums, science centers, and state and local agencies. The OSGC is currently composed of 26 institutions of higher learning (20 universities and 6 community colleges), NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), the Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL), and various education outreach partners. The OSGC Program Office is located at the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) in Cleveland, Ohio.
About Parallax Advanced Research & the Ohio Aerospace Institute
Parallax Advanced Research is an advanced research institute that tackles global challenges through strategic partnerships with government, industry, and academia. It accelerates innovation, addresses critical global issues, and develops groundbreaking ideas with its partners. In 2023, Parallax and the Ohio Aerospace Institute formed a collaborative affiliation to drive innovation and technological advancements across Ohio and the nation. The Ohio Aerospace Institute plays a pivotal role in advancing aerospace through collaboration, education, and workforce development.