Schülerlabor Informatik - InfoSphere, Informatik entdecken in Modulen für alle Schulformen & Klassenstufen
Girls'Day

Report on the Girls'Day 2015

Two Wonderful Girls'Day Workshops come to an end

This year's Girls'Day was on April 28. There were two (hopefully) interesting workshops at InfoSphere. 16 girls programmed their first game using Scratch and guided by Andrea, Evelyn and Nina. 12 other girls got a look into chemistry, physics and computer science – all in one day. A huge 'Thank you!' goes out to all girls that participated and thus caused both workshops to be completely booked out. It was amazing having you all here!

During the workshop "Programming your own Games with Scratch" that focused solely on computer science the girls became experts in the fields of:

  • Motion and Drawing,
  • Feelings and Variables,
  • Graphics and Appearance and 
  • Sound and Communication.

Afterwards, the girls formed new teams so that each group had four members and thus had all four expert fields covered. Together each team then developed its game which, of course, could be tested thoroughly in the end. The result could look like this:

Everyone who's interested in Scratch now and wants to try it at home is free to do so. Here you can find our Guide for Scratch. Take a look at the document "Scratch-Online-Editor.pdf" first, it explains how to create your own Scratch account.

The second Girls'Day workshop was called "It Glows, Beeps and Moves; Bettering the World with Technology'" and was a premiere for us. Together with lecturers for chemistry and physics we developed a workshop revolving around the following topics:

  • What is a crystal and how does it form?
  • What does a LED do and why does colored light exist?
  • How can LEDs and Piezoelectric crystal be programmed? 

Announcement of the Girls'Day 2015

An excursion to the world of programming – for girls only

'Programming your First App' is the name of the InfoSphere workshop for this year's Girls'Day.

Other than that, two more workshops lured girls into the computer science department at the RWTH Aachen. A total of 30 female students could be fascinated by computer science at the RWTH Aachen, 11 of those discovered app programming for themselves during the InfoSphere workshop.

After a short opening speech held in a real lecture hall 11 female students of a 7th grade from Aachen's vicinity successfully participated in the InfoSphere workshop 'First App Programming'.The girls created their own Android smartphone apps with much creativity and passion and, at the end of the workshop, could take them home to proudly present them to their parents, siblings and friends either on a simulator or their own smartphone.

Afterwards  a stroll through the world of computer science at the RWTH Aachen gave the participants a look into the different existing facets, from theoretical computer science to models of autonomous vehicles, which can drive around without a human operating it. A glimpse into the depths of the computer science library's archives concluded the tour.

After a meal among real students at the in-house cafeteria the girls got to sneak a peek at the Cave, which is a 5*5m2 box with a bordered projection surface for simulation a three-dimensional virtual reality. It is the world's largest cave. Employing 24 projectors and computers as well as special Shutter glasses the girls could marvel at the 360° view and navigation in a virtual environment.

We look forward to next year and the Girls'Day 2016 with lots of impressions, realizations and the striking display in the Cave in mind.

Many thanks to the advisors Michaela and Matthias as well as to Evelyn and Sandra who run the workshop of app programming. And of course, to Helen, Isabel and Birgit who perfectly organized the Girls’Day.

The feedback of the organization team can be viewed here.

Report on the Girls'Day 2012

Yesterday 15 girls went on a hunt for the lost treasure with us in the context of the Girls'Day 2012. The participants are now experts of encryption. They have mastered the cryptographic procedures related to skytale, the Fleissner grille, the Caesar & Vigenere cipher.

Both the participants and the supervisors had lots of fun during this workshop and we would love to welcome everyone back at the InfoSphere for another excursion into the various facets of computer science.