Launched in 2020, the Million Girls Moonshot is a five-year initiative of STEM Next Opportunity Fund aimed at engaging millions more girls and youth across the United States in quality out-of-school time (OST) STEM learning experiences. Three recent reports capturing insights from Year 3 (September 2022 – August 2023) highlight the initiative’s enormous impact and ongoing success to inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators in STEM.
The data is clear: Year 3 of our Million Girls Moonshot initiative was a milestone year in expanding high-quality STEM opportunities through out-of-school-time programs.
This adds to the growing evidence that investing in out-of-school-time STEM works to reach youth underrepresented in STEM. And this is why we’re building on the momentum of the Million Girls Moonshot to reach 20 million more youth by 2030 and expanding our Moonshot-proven methods through the Institute for a STEM Ready America.
Highlights from Year 3
The Million Girls Moonshot’s reach and impact in Year 3 showcase the initiative’s growing influence and the power of its unique partnership model.
Key achievements include:
- Reaching 570,000 girls and 1.15 million young people overall.
- Engaging 85,000 adult staff members from 45,000 afterschool and summer programs.
- Intensively engaging 115,000 girls in STEM activities designed to develop an Engineering Mindset.
Cumulatively, from 2020 to 2023, the initiative reached more than 4.3 million young people, including 2.1 million girls.
The success of the Million Girls Moonshot relies heavily on partnerships at national, state, and local levels. Collaborations with national partners like Techbridge Girls, ACRES, and Teen Science Cafe support high-quality STEM learning experiences and professional development opportunities for educators. For instance, Techbridge Girls’ STEM Equity Community of Practice helped 48 OST educators from 28 states implement strategies to ensure girls and BIPOC youth thrive in STEM careers.
Meanwhile, state-level partners — primarily afterschool networks in each state — forged 743 new connections with various organizations including businesses, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, and museums to amplify the impact of their STEM efforts.
That’s partly because the Million Girls Moonshot provides resources that state-level partners can flexibly adapt to best serve their local communities and support relevant STEM opportunities for youth with OST programs directly serving youth.
Jobs for the Future, one of the Million Girls Moonshot’s systems-building Implementation Partners, provided curriculum content that multiple state-level partners adapted for their local contexts and leveraged to form new partnerships. Vermont Afterschool, Inc., for example, partnered with government agencies, a community college, and two workforce organizations (Advance Vermont and the McClure Foundation) to pilot an adaptation of the JFF Career Foundation program. Their implementation included Vermont-specific opportunities and a social and emotional learning component.
Read more in the report: MGM Year 3 Highlights Report
Elevating Youth Voice Through the Flight Crew
The Flight Crew, a cohort of youth advocates aged 13-18 who identify as female or gender-expansive, plays a crucial role in the Million Girls Moonshot’s mission. In 2023, the Flight Crew expanded to 44 members representing 38 states, with returning members from the first cohort serving as mentors. Over eight months, this diverse group of young leaders participated in virtual programming, leadership training, and public speaking opportunities.
In a survey of Flight Crew members about their experiences in Year 3:
- 100% of respondents reported feeling they belong in STEM and are interested in pursuing STEM careers.
- 98% felt they have the tools to advocate for themselves as female/non-binary youth in STEM.
- 96% reported feeling they can advocate for others.
- 95% believed they improved their leadership skills.
The Flight Crew members also engaged in various speaking engagements and advocacy efforts, demonstrating the initiative’s success in empowering young STEM leaders. For instance, one member served as a panelist at the Society of Women Engineers Capitol Hill Day, while another was a keynote speaker at a STEMinist Fun Night event in Wisconsin.
Read more in the report: MGM Year 3 Flight Crew Report
How Girls Benefit from the Million Girls Moonshot
Not only did we vastly expand how many girls were reached in Year 3 of the Moonshot, surveys show that we have positively impacted their attitudes and beliefs in STEM, their STEM identity, their 21st Century skills and their Engineering Mindset through Million Girls Moonshot-connected programs. Data collected through PEAR’s Common Instrument Suite (CIS) from 1,725 young people and 70 staff members provides valuable insights into the initiative’s effectiveness.
Key findings include:
- Girls who participated in Million Girls Moonshot-connected programs said they were “More” or “Much More” interested in STEM than they had been before. 56% of girls reported increased interest in science, 58% in technology, 47% in engineering, and 47% in math.
- More than a third of girls (35%) said they were “More” or “Much More” interested in pursuing STEM careers after participating in a Million Girls Moonshot program — a slightly higher level of interest than boys reported in the same programs (33%).
- Over 70% of girls reported growth in critical thinking, perseverance, and relationship skills.
Specific experiences shared by state-level partners demonstrate the initiative’s success in engaging girls in hands-on STEM experiences and building their confidence in STEM fields. For example, Vermont’s Linking Engineering to Life program offered hands-on learning experiences for middle school girls, including activities like creating prosthetic leg devices. In Illinois, the ACT Now STEM Club showed significant improvements in girls’ curiosity about STEM subjects, with 51% reporting increased interest in math.
The report also highlights the positive impact on adult staff members, who reported increased confidence and competence in leading STEM activities – a core goal of all STEM Next initiatives to sustain and scale OST STEM learning.
Read more in the report: MGM Year 3 How Girls Benefit Report
More to come
In its fourth year, the Million Girls Moonshot continued to evolve and expand its reach. New developments included:
- Expanding partnerships to include 13 regional partners through Catalyst Awards, offering deeper STEM engagement opportunities for over 8,400 girls across 450 programs.
- Growing the Flight Crew to include 51 representatives from all 50 states, with alumni mentoring newer members to deepen youth leadership opportunities.
- Providing hundreds of afterschool and summer programs with access to PEAR’s Common Instrument Suite for impact measurement, ensuring ongoing evaluation and improvement of the initiative’s effectiveness.
As the Million Girls Moonshot surpasses its goal of reaching a million girls by 2025, it continues to inspire and prepare the next generation of STEM innovators. By focusing on inclusive practices and engaging underrepresented groups in STEM, the initiative is not only increasing the number of girls in STEM but also contributing to a more diverse and equitable STEM workforce for the future. Through its collective impact model and emphasis on high-quality, transformative STEM experiences, the Million Girls Moonshot is setting a new standard for OST STEM learning and paving the way for lasting change in the STEM education landscape.