Research shows that education is pivotal in bridging gender gaps and affording equal access to employment and economic opportunities. In the last few decades, many countries and international organizations have worked to accelerate gender equality, with the understanding that it can help realize full human potential and foster economic, social, and technological growth.
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and educational bodies, among them the Bloomfield Science Museum, actively promote gender equality among adolescents. The museum seeks to engage and encourage girls to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects in school and academia, and develop STEM-related careers.
In recent years, the museum has participated in several programs, both in Israel and abroad, including:
Towards Women in Science and Technology (TWIST, 2010-2012)
A three-year initiative of the European Union aimed at encouraging adolescent girls to pursue a career in science and technology. Within the framework of TWIST, the Bloomfield Science Museum created new activities for students and the public, as well as innovative exhibits displayed at the museum. These sought to raise the awareness among adolescents, parents, teachers and the public at large about the importance of proper representation of women in the fields of science and technology.
The museum also produced and filmed six short interviews with six women in science and technology.
All films are available on YouTube.
Within the TWIST framework, the museum developed educational content on gender and science for both teachers and students.
Suggestions to improve engagement among boys and girls to pursue STEM subjects: Here
HYPATIA (2015-2018)
The EU-supported HYPATIA project (2015-2018) brought together the Bloomfield Science Museum, along with five other science museums, research institutions, science centers and industries in Europe, in encouraging more girls to engage in STEM courses and enhance their interest in STEM-related careers.
Named after a prominent 4th-century female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher from Greece, the HYPATIA project aimed to engage boys and girls aged 13-18 equally in STEM education. To that end, the Bloomfield Science Museum has sought to impact both pedagogical approaches among STEM educators and parental messages about gender.
Within the HYPATIA framework, toolkits were developed for teachers, school principals, science centers and museums, research institutions and industry players, to empower the different players to address the current gender gap in STEM-related subjects, and create gender-inclusive activities, programs and events around these subjects.
HYPATIA Toolkit for museums (in Hebrew)
HYPATIA Toolkit for industry (in Hebrew)
HYPATIA Toolkit for schools (in Hebrew)