SBPLI Celebrates “Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month”

(Kings Park, NY) — School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) is announcing that March is Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month and is urging girls to get involved in robotics as a way to become interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month was created by the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Network, a not-for-profit organization that encourages young women to pursue careers in STEM. According to the EYH Network, girls become most interested in these areas of study when they are in middle school.

This season, SBPLI had 85 teams compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League (FLL) Qualifying Tournaments; of those teams, 16 teams were fully comprised of Girl Scouts from Nassau and SuffolkCounties. In addition, the upcoming Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition will host a team from The Brearley School and The Chapin School, two all-girls schools from New York City.

“It is encouraging to see girls and young women take part in our robotics programs, especially those who start early in our Junior FIRST LEGO League program,” said Joani Madarash, Executive Director, SBPLI. “Many of these young women who have gone through SBPLI’s programs have since graduated and continued their pursuit of STEM in college and in their careers. We urge all young girls to get involved in the robotics program, where you will learn about science and have fun as well.”

For more information on SBPLI, visit www.sbpli.org.

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School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) was founded in 1984 by Fred Breithut with the goal of developing partnerships between local high schools and businesses that would provide students with practical experience and curriculum development, while helping the business community develop its future workforce. Over 100 partnerships have been formed. In 1999, SBPLI brought the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition to Long Island, in which eight high school teams participated. Since then, the Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition has grown to 50 teams competing each year. SBPLI also hosts Long Island’s annual FIRST LEGO League Qualifying and Championship Tournaments and the Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo, in which approximately 1,000 elementary and middle school students from Nassau and Suffolk Counties take part each year. For more information, visit www.sbpli.org.