UT Austin's STEM Girl Day draws K-8 students, organizers consider adding high school programming

March 30, 2026

UT Austin opened its campus for STEM Girl Day, an annual outreach event led by student organizations focused on women in science. Groups such as the Society of Physics Students, the Association of Women in Astronomy Research and Education, and Gender Matters in Physics staffed stations across the event, giving families hands-on opportunities to explore physics and astronomy.

Children in kindergarten through eighth grade moved between demonstrations, crafts, and short lessons designed to make scientific ideas approachable. Alyson Tran, a sophomore who helps organize and run activities for Gender Matters in Physics, said volunteers try to offer a range of experiences so younger visitors without much background in science can still participate and older kids can find more challenging material.

Organizers and volunteers noted a gap in programming for high school students who are weighing college and career decisions. Tran suggested the event could add more advanced lectures, demonstrations, or experiments that would engage older teens and link them to university resources, career services, and research opportunities.

A popular draw this year was a planetarium demonstration led by Ansh Gupta, a second-year astronomy graduate student, which attracts audiences across ages. Gupta said high school students and adults enjoy the show, but the planetarium's fixed seating and capacity limit how many larger or older groups can attend at once, complicating any effort to scale up programming for older students.

Beyond logistics, volunteers emphasized the educational purpose: hands-on activities offer a counterpoint to classroom formats that can discourage students who fear failure. Gupta argued that engaging high schoolers matters because many arrive with gaps in science education, and positive, low-risk experiences can encourage them to pursue STEM paths.

Participants and organizers pointed out that STEM Girl Day also highlights women's progress in fields long dominated by men. Expanding the event to better serve high school students could strengthen the pipeline to higher education and careers in science, while continuing to showcase the work of UT students who run the activities. Medha Shah, a physics freshman from Frisco, Texas, assisted coverage of the event.