Asheville museum seeks nominees to be featured in new ‘Women in STEM’ interactive exhibit

By Brittany Whitehead

Click here for updates on this story

    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Asheville Museum of Science announced it is currently seeking nominees from local women and girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) who reside in Western North Carolina to be featured in a new interactive exhibit at the museum.

Through the exhibit, the museum, in partnership with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, aims to celebrate 12-20 local women through a multimedia, hands-on experience featuring photos, video interviews and displays of local innovations.

Three of the spots will be reserved for girls under the age of 18.

The Women in STEM exhibit, titled, ‘if she can see it, she can be it,’ will be unveiled later this year and will feature women from a variety of different backgrounds, fields of study and levels of expertise. The museum received a Lyda Hill Philanthropies IF/THEN Gender Equity Grant for the proposed exhibit.

The exhibit will be an extension of AMOS’s new initiative encouraging girls to enter STEM careers, which kicked off with Women’s History Month in March.

The goal is to introduce young women and girls to experiences that will “ignite their imaginations and ambitions to pursue careers in historically male-dominated areas in science, technology, engineering and math,” a media release from AMOS said.

“We need more women scientists to put their stories out there so girls can see what they can be when they grow up,” said Amanda Bryant, AMOS executive director. “We know that girls and women are more likely to go into a STEM career if they know someone, have a role model, family members, friends and teachers to encourage them. Through this exhibit we want to bring light to this important issue and support the creation of more avenues for that to happen.”

Applicants will be reviewed by a committee of their peers. To apply or nominate a woman you know, visit the Asheville Museum of Science website.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.