The Young Women’s Design and Building Institute is an immersive week-long design/build experience for rising 9th-12th grade girls. The program brings together diverse cohorts of teen girls to design and build a real-world project for a local nonprofit client over the course of just five days. Previous projects have included furniture for a local women’s shelter, sandboxes and wind sculptures for local preschools, and more. As part of this program, girls will learn and hone creative and vocational STEM skills, from carpentry and welding to applied math, screen printing, and architectural drafting. Our work will be complemented by discussions and readings related to feminism, making, and community.

This program is led by our Executive Director, Emily Pilloton, along with highly skilled female educators, builders, fabricators, and architects who provide personalized mentorship and guidance to every girl. No building experience is necessary; we welcome aspiring builder girls of all skill levels!  This program is by application only, at no cost to participants if accepted, and limited to a cohort of 12 girls. Priority will be given to girls with limited financial resources and/or limited access to similar programming in their schools or communities.

Each day will run from 9am-4pm and will include all materials, lunch and snacks, a T-shirt, and a reader of supporting texts. For out-of-town attendees, please note that we are unable to provide additional funding for travel or lodging.

Weekly Activity Schedule (subject to change):

• Monday
  Community-building, t-shirt screenprinting, site visit to community client, tool training and “bootcamp” building project
• Tuesday 
  Design and drawing, material shopping, measuring, and cutting wood and metal
• Wednesday
  Assembly of projects (including carpentry and welding)
• Thursday
  Sand, paint, and finish community client projects, afternoon field trip to local fabrication facility
• Friday
  Installation of projects for community client, final reflection circle and open maker time

Annual Application Schedule:

• February 1
  Applications open online
• March 1
  Applications due
• March 15
  Notifications sent to all applicants
• April 1
  Final registration forms and online waivers due