GISMO Girls Initiatives for Science and Math Opportunities

Isn’t it nice that you can just walk into your home and turn on the heat when you’re cold? You can thank Alice H. Parker for that.

Parker took it upon herself to design a natural gas-fueled “new and improved heating furnace.”

Her design earned a patent in December 1919 and helped give birth to the thermostat and the familiar forced air furnaces in most homes today.

Parkway High School fishing team makes history

Parkway High School fishing team makes history SHREVEPORT, La. - It was a big weekend for local high school anglers on Caddo Lake and one team from Parkway High School made history.

Artist Jade Yasmeen Creates The First Hyperrealistic Portrait Of Harriet Tubman In Color

Beautifully done!

Artist Jade Yasmeen Creates The First Hyperrealistic Portrait Of Harriet Tubman In Color Jade Yasmeen, a Los Angeles based artist, recently debuted her hyper realistic portrait of Harriet Tubman in color. The image, which stands at 74x60 inches tall was a part of the Aku World exhibit during Art Basel in Miami, Florida. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @jadeyasm In an Instag...

For Women in Aviation Week, we're celebrating Maggie Gee, the pioneering aviator and physicist who became one of only two Chinese-American women to fly with the Women Airforce Service Pilots or WASP during WWII. When the United States entered WWII in 1941, the Berkeley, California native was eager to support the war effort and dropped out of her freshman year of college to become a draftperson for engineers working on Navy ships. Gee's dream, however, was to follow in the footsteps of her childhood hero Amelia Earhart and become a pilot. After saving up the $800 she needed for six months of flight training, she moved to Nevada to learn to fly. Soon after, she was accepted into the highly selective WASP training program and earned her silver WASP wings. While serving as a WASP, Gee worked as a tow target pilot at the Las Vegas Army Air Field, pulling targets for gunners to use for practice -- with live ammunition.

Following the war, Gee returned to the University of California at Berkeley, and eventually completed her graduate studies in physics. She worked as a research physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for thirty years, researching topics ranging from cancer to fusion energy. In 2010, Gee, along with all living WASP pilots, received the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service. Gee passed away in 2013 at the age of 89 and, throughout her long life, she remained committed to making a difference in the world: "I’m very optimistic about the world and people... it will be all right... You can make changes. I think just one small person can make a little bit of change."

For an inspiring picture book about the only other Chinese-American woman who flew with the WASP, we highly recommend "The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee" for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/fearless-flights-hazel-ying-lee

The story of these heroic women is told in a thrilling photo-filled book for young readers 10 and up: "Fly Girls: The Daring American Women Pilots Who Helped Win WWII" at https://www.amightygirl.com/fly-girls-women-pilots

For an excellent book for adult readers about the women of WASP, check out "The Women with Silver Wings" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-women-with-silver-wings

There is also a bestselling historical fiction novel for adults telling the story of a young WASP pilot: "The Flight Girls" at https://amzn.to/2EQPQzY

Several WASPs are also profiled in the book “Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys” for teens and adults, ages 13 and up, at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-aviators

For books for both kids and adults about trailblazing female pilots throughout history, visit our blog post, "30 Books About Boundary-Breaking Female Pilots," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=20960

GISMO girls excel at so many wonderful things! Congratulations on your nomination, Carrine! You'll represent Youree Drive Middle School very well in Washington, D.C.!

The 2022 GISMO STEM Scholarship is now available. Visit us at gismoscholars.org. Click on the SCHOLARSHIP tab to apply. This year's award is $1000.

"A Latina has created a platform to provide access to scholarships worth almost $38 million for Latinos and other students interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

The free platform gives STEM students in high school and college a place to find scholarships, internships, work opportunities, financial education and resources based upon GPA, merit and financial background."

Black History Unlocked

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport outpatient clinics sold "Sweet Treats" to raise profits for 2 local organizations founded by African Americans. We were selected to receive a generous portion of the proceeds! Thank you Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport and @Shelby Rhodes!

Morgan understood the assignment! She used resources from yesterday's workshop to learn more about lunar landers! Nice work, Morgan!

We're building lunar landers! Engineering Design is the name of the game!! Join us! Sign up at gismoscholars.org.

Guess what!! We've added kindergarten through second grade to our program!! Nice huh?? Sign up at gismoscholars.org
Erika Fletcher is amazing!

This is a great opportunity to learn and have fun!

Got family or friends in Shreveport? Let em know about our upcoming in-person STEM Saturday!

Join us for an exciting STEM Saturday focusing on the lungs and how the respiratory system works 🫁 through fun interactive activities!

The event will be held on March 5th for 9AM-12:30PM.

Register at
https://stemnola.com/event/stem-shreveport-bossier-live-stem-saturday/

This is a fantastic idea!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Check out the Periodic Table of Black History created by fourth-grade teacher Lakisha Graham at Archer Elementary. Students can use their school-issued devices to scan the QR codes to learn about notable African Americans in history. Kindergarten students are featured in this photograph. Students in grades PreK-fifth grade will also showcase their talent in the second annual virtual Black History program later this month.

Marie M. Daly (1921-2003)
Today we are featuring the first African American woman in the U.S. to earn her Ph.D in chemistry! She was an amazing and who was able to courageously fight limits and achieve a revolutionary career.
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Some of the best inventors and their inventions!

We love corny jokes! 😂

Buk! Buk! Buk! 😂

FAMU Student's Winning Graphic Designs Featured In Target And JCPenney For Black History Month - Blavity

Girls are amazing!!

FAMU Student's Winning Graphic Designs Featured In Target And JCPenney For Black History Month - Blavity Florida A&M University's Kah'Milah Ledgester decided to go out on a limb and take advantage of two separate design competitions last year, and it paid off beautifully for this graphic design student! Ledgester entered Target's 2021 "HBCU Black History Month Design Challenge" and JCPenney's "Young, G...

Calling all GISMO Girls enrolled in the 2022 program!
We will resume our monthly workshops next Saturday, Feb 26th from 12:00 PM-2:00 PM. Check your REMIND app for details.

A Mighty Girl, indeed!

Dr. Olivia Hooker, who became the first African American woman to ever enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard, was born on this day in 1915. To honor this trailblazer, who passed away at the age of 103, the Coast Guard named a building on Staten Island in her honor. At the ceremony, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft unveiled a plaque, stating: “Dr. Olivia Hooker was among those who would fight the battle to open the military to all women... [she] is an inspiration and a hero to every member of the Coast Guard and our nation.”

Dr. Hooker was born in 1915 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was six years old when her family’s home was destroyed in the infamous Tulsa race riots of 1921; she remembers being woken in the middle of the night by the sound of military machine gun fire hitting her house. She grew up to be a passionate advocate for civil rights. At first, she hadn't considered a career in the military, but after her sorority at Ohio State University campaigned for integration in the military, she decided to enlist: "I thought well, we campaigned for it. We helped to build this nation, but we didn’t get paid. We ought to be a part of everything.”

She was granted admission into the Coast Guard in 1945 as a SPAR (Semper Paratus - Always Ready), the designation used for women service personnel in the Coast Guard during World War II. She served until the SPAR program was disbanded in 1946, eventually becoming a Petty Officer, 2nd Class, and winning multiple awards for her service. She used her GI Bill benefits to earn masters and doctorate degrees in psychology, and taught at Fordham University for many years until she retired at the age of 87.

When she learned of the decision to rename the galley at the Coast Guard's base on Staten Island in her honor for her 100th birthday -- a building selected because it is one of the base's most popular -- Dr. Hooker said, “I was astonished. I would never have expected anything like that to happen.” At the ceremony in 2015, Rear Admiral Linda Fagan also praised the lasting influence of this groundbreaking pioneer, stating: "I've never met anyone like her. She remains open and unafraid of what life will bring. She draws people in with grace and sincerity."

For several books to introduce children to more trailblazing American women, we highly recommend "Baby Feminists" for ages 0 to 3 (https://www.amightygirl.com/baby-feminists), "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/she-persisted) and "HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World" for ages 8 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/herstory)

For a fascinating book about pioneering women in the military, we recommend "Heroism Begins With Her," for ages 9 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/heroism-begins-with-her

For an excellent book for teens and adults about the contributions of African-American women during World War II, we highly recommend “Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II” at https://www.amightygirl.com/double-victory

For books for young readers that honor the service of women in the military, visit our blog post "The Price of Peace: A Mighty Girl Recognizes Veterans" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12356

Role models help show Mighty Girls everywhere the possibilities before them -- to introduce your Mighty Girl to real-life female trailblazers in science, arts, and other fields, visit our "Role Models" biography section at https://www.amightygirl.com/books/history-biography/biography

American Erin Jackson wins 500m speed skating gold at Winter Olympics after teammate gave up spot

Way to go, Erin!!

American Erin Jackson wins 500m speed skating gold at Winter Olympics after teammate gave up spot US speed skater Erin Jackson won the women's 500m gold medal at the Winter Olympics in a time of 37.04 on Sunday.

Winter weather is moving into the area and we'd like to remind you to practice safe travel as you move across Caddo Parish. Check out the tips below!

Should winter conditions cause any parish road/bridge closures, stay connected by visiting caddo.org or by following the Parish on our social media platforms.

North Louisiana high school grad, accepted into 37 colleges

Outstanding!!

North Louisiana high school grad, accepted into 37 colleges She said she plans to use her degree to become a compound pharmacist.

This is interesting!

🦎 Falling iguanas possible this weekend — especially Saturday night!🦎

This is awesome!!

CADDO PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS IMPLEMENTING A PHLEBOTOMY COURSE AT B.T.W. SOON.

IT IS AN INTRODUCTORY PHLEBOTOMY COURSE THAT WILL PROVIDE A TRANSFERABLE CREDIT TO AN ACCREDITED PHLEBOTOMY COURSE.

THIS PROGRAM WILL BE FOR 11TH & 12TH ONLY
STUDENTS CAN SIGN UP BY SCANNING THE QR CODE BELOW.

Let's make 2022 STEMtastic!

We love to see girls doing great things!