2018 GEMS Workshop Registration

Since 2001, a group of dedicated professionals have hosted GEMS at the University of South Alabama to provide middle-school girls with exciting, hands-on experiences in a wide variety of STEM professions. GEMS is a half-day program that will include three hands-on workshops designed to help students experience the fun and excitement that can be found in STEM careers.

GEMS 2018 Tentative Schedule

8:00am-8:30am Registration

8:30am-9:20am Opening Session

9:40am-10:30 am Workshop Session 1

10:50am-11:40am Workshop Session 2

12:00pm-12:50pm Workshop Session 3

1:00pm - 1:30pm Lunch

Workshop Structure

Workshops sessions are 50 minutes and typically look like this:

Greeting and opening introduction about your field or job: 5 minutes
Question and answer session to get the girls started: 5 minutes
Hands-on exercise or experiment: 35 minutes
Closing questions and answers: 5 minutes

Ideally the girls will leave the workshop with a creation, trinket, or tool to remember their experience. We encourage you to provide handouts and take-home information so the girls can continue to consider your field, organization, or company as a future career option. Remember, this is an opportunity to promote your profession, your organization, and your career!

What do I do?

Select a fun, hands-on workshop that engages the students in a STEM-related activity.
Select fun, engaging assistants to help you run your workshop. Or, let us know how many volunteers you will need to help you run it.
Register your workshop ASAP! Workshop registration closes September 23, 2018.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my workshop can be completed in 30 minutes or less? We can group you with another workshop team so the girls can spend their time participating in various activities.

I want to conduct a workshop but have no idea what to present. Can you help me get ideas? Of course! We can help you find lesson plans and workshop ideas. Just call Angela Nocera at 251-656-4989.

Is it guaranteed my workshop will be included in GEMS? This year, by popular demand, we will allow the girls to select their workshops when they register. All workshops will be included on the registration list. Once registration closes (approximately mid-October) we will contact you to confirm if and how many students registered for your workshop. Make sure to create a FUN workshop so the girls pick you!

How many girls attend GEMS? In recent years we capped the GEMS program at 200 girls. This year we aim to open to GEMS to 300 girls.

How many girls can I expect in my workshop? In past years we capped workshops to 10 girls. This year, due to popular demand by presenters as well as GEMS students, we will let you tell us the maximum number of girls you can comfortably accomodate in each session. Once registration closes (approximately mid-October) we will contact you to confirm if and how many students registered for your workshop. Make sure to create a FUN workshop so the girls pick you!