Hosting organization: High Technology High School
County: Monmouth
Total Attendees: 55
cypHER is a full-day web development workshop run entirely by female high school students and dedicated towards teaching girls in grades 6-8 how to code! Participants ranged from girls who have never been exposed to coding before to girls who are fluent in code and want to learn more. In the morning, the students heard from guest speakers, who inspired them to pursue and explore STEM fields. The girls were able to hear from women who work in programming and use interdisciplinary approaches to working on things they are passionate about. Then, girls were split into various groups and were taught HTML, CSS, and Javascript fundamentals by female HTHS student volunteers. The girls were taught how to create and design webpages, and even add interactive and creative elements. After lunch, the girls formed groups and were told to use what they learned and teamwork to develop their own unique website projects. This year, 55 students created a total of 19 working website projects, and presented them to student judges to pitch their idea. Most of them had no prior experience in programming, and learned how to present a project they coded from scratch. Students were able to win a variety of prizes for their work on the websites, and receive a free T-shirt, wristbands, and a certificate congratulating them on their achievements.