Eureka!

Hands-on, minds-on experiences that foster curiosity, knowledge, and confidence prepare girls for college and careers.

Preparing Girls for a Future in STEM

As a 5-year STEM program, Eureka! is an opportunity for girls to gain hands-on experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This year, we are beginning to introduce the Arts, to help us become STEAM! Throughout each step of our program, girls are encouraged to explore new ideas, step out of their comfort zones, and begin shaping the future they want for themselves while reminding them that they are Strong, Smart, and Bold.

Applications for Eureka! will be made available Friday, October 2nd through Friday, November 6th.

As a member of Eureka! girls must abide by the following:

Attend AT LEAST one (1) Eureka! Event per month (this would start upon acceptance into the program)

Submit one (1) grade check per quarter

Attend one (1) additional Girls Inc. program per month

This is separate from Eureka!-specific dates and encourages broader involvement with Girls Inc.

Be available for the month of June 2027 and June 2028 for our four-week Summer Camp at UNO.

Be available for the month of July 2029 and July 2030 for their month-long externship.

Apply here: Eureka!-Application-26

For any additional questions about applying for the Eureka! program contact:

mailto: cgonzalez-dumarce@girlsincomaha.org

The Rookies

In June, newly graduated 7th grade girls or “Rookies” are brought onto the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) campus for an intensive month-long summer program. For four weeks, the Rookies participate in a variety of exciting and compelling activities that explore the cutting-edge world of STEM – nanosciences, robotics, DNA research, forensics – through hands-on experiences in a college campus environment.

In addition to the STEM camp, Rookies are involved in daily fitness and personal well-being activities. Several times each week, Rookies swim in UNO’s indoor pool. Swimming lessons are provided for girls who do not know how to swim. With complementary activities in sports and physical fitness, healthy living, and financial literacy, Eureka! fully fosters educational, professional, and personal development.

The Vets

Year Two of Eureka! brings the girls back to UNO for a month-long camp, where they are exposed to increasingly challenging and stimulating STEM-based experiments. While the second year “Vets” are on campus at the same time as the Rookies, they are in different classrooms. Daily personal development speakers expose the girls to a wide variety of careers, with an emphasis on the STEM field. As with the first year at camp, girls are engaged 50% of the time with hands on science learning, 25% of the time with personal development activities, and 25% of the time with physical activity.

Beginning in year two and continuing through Year Five, all Eurekans are required to volunteer for a minimum of 10 hours per year. Consistent volunteering not only teaches the girls compassion, but it also gives them opportunities to feel connected to their community, thus building their self-confidence and self-esteem. Eureka! provides a variety of volunteering opportunities throughout the school year. Girls who are already involved in volunteer work can count their hours towards this requirement.

Extern 1’s

During the summer, “Extern 1’s” are provided with the opportunity to explore careers at businesses and organizations within the Omaha area. The goal of this summer externship is to provide hands-on exposure to the many STEM careers that exist. For 16 hours per week, the Extern 1’s work under the direct supervision of a workplace mentor. On Fridays, girls return to the Girls Inc. campus for several hours of reflection and discussion. After completing four weeks of work, they are receive a $500 stipend.

The Girls Inc. Eureka! Summer Externship Program allows each girl opportunities to gain valuable life skills as she is interviewed for her externship, and then placed in a field where she shows interest. Prior to beginning their onsite externship, each Extern 1 is required to take Success Prep, a Girls Inc. professionalism teaches skills that prepare them for the workplace. Since Eureka! has a strong STEM focus, many in our program ask to extern in the fields of medicine, engineering, and technology. Girls are placed in areas they are considering for a future career. The majority of externs will be first-generation college students from single-parent or nontraditional homes. In addition to life skills, externships provide our girls with a competitive edge when they apply to colleges.

Extern 2’s

Year Four of Eureka! offers the “Extern 2” another chance to explore career interests via a 4-week paid externship. By the end of their second externship, Extern 2’s will have a better understanding of available careers in their areas of interest as well as the educational requirements of those careers. Some girls choose to repeat their extern placement and some girls discover that their real-world experience was not what they thought it would be and ask for a different field entirely. One veterinarian hopeful, for example, could not stomach the site of blood and spent the summer comforting dogs coming out of anesthesia. The second summer, she chose Lauritzen Gardens instead.

During the school year, Extern 2’s begin going on college campus tours – learning about the educational options that are available to them after high school. A variety of different schools are toured: four-year universities, two-year trade schools, certificate programs, and professional programs.

Senior Year

Year Five of Eureka! begins the summer before girls enter their senior year of high school. Seniors are encouraged to participate in the summer enrichment programs offered by colleges, both local and out-of-state, inviting them to live on campus for up to a month during the summer and take college classes for free. There are GPA requirements for these programs, so it is important that girls mind their grades throughout high school. Girls who do not meet the GPA requirement for the summer programs are offered the opportunity to work at Girls Inc. during the summer, through the Success Prep Program.

During the school year, each Senior is assigned a female mentor that will help them to search and apply for scholarships and colleges. A major goal of Eureka! is that each girl is able to fund her higher education through scholarships and grants, instead of through loans. Throughout the school year, Seniors have the opportunity to continue touring college campuses, including one overnight trip to an out-of-state college.

I learned about STEM and got to participate in various experiments and activities to further my understanding of all the different STEM fields and how they play into my everyday life.

Janii, Girls Inc. Member

During the School Year

As Eureka! continues throughout each school year, cohorts of up to 20 girls stay together through the course of the program, sharing hands-on, minds-on, opportunities for guided exploration, skills, and knowledge building.

Bi-monthly, girls are offered the opportunity to attend exciting field trips around the Omaha area that offer opportunities for additional STEM learning as well as fun and recreation to build strength in the friendships created over the summer months.

Past field trips have included:

Seeing a Broadway play & meeting the cast
Overnight sleepover in the Omaha Zoo Aquarium
Visiting a lamb farm (during lambing season)
Glass bead making at HotShops
Snowshoeing
Viewing the Sandhill Crane migration in Wood River, Nebraska
Visiting a goat farm & creamery
Visiting a lavender farm to learn about the farm and the business aspect of farming
Tagging monarch butterflies
A self-care PJ’s night in at Girls Inc.
University of Nebraska Omaha Biomedical Department
University of Nebraska Lincoln Materials and Nanoscience Department
El Museo Latino
Clarkson College of Nursing
Prairie STEM for a drone workshop

We encourage girls to be curious, advocate for themselves and become self-sufficient.

We provide accessible programs and opportunities that develop a new generation of leaders.

The Girls Inc. Experience works!  Our research shows it.

Get Involved

Eureka!

Hands-on, minds-on experiences that foster curiosity, knowledge, and confidence prepare girls for college and careers.

Preparing Girls for a Future in STEM

The Rookies

The Vets

Extern 1’s

Extern 2’s

Senior Year

I learned about STEM and got to participate in various experiments and activities to further my understanding of all the different STEM fields and how they play into my everyday life.

During the School Year

As Eureka! continues throughout each school year, cohorts of up to 20 girls stay together through the course of the program, sharing hands-on, minds-on, opportunities for guided exploration, skills, and knowledge building.

Join The Movement

We encourage girls to be curious, advocate for themselves and become self-sufficient.

We provide accessible programs and opportunities that develop a new generation of leaders.

The Girls Inc. Experience works! Our research shows it.

Get Involved

Eureka!

Hands-on, minds-on experiences that foster curiosity, knowledge, and confidence prepare girls for college and careers.

Preparing Girls for a Future in STEM

I learned about STEM and got to participate in various experiments and activities to further my understanding of all the different STEM fields and how they play into my everyday life.

During the School Year

As Eureka! continues throughout each school year, cohorts of up to 20 girls stay together through the course of the program, sharing hands-on, minds-on, opportunities for guided exploration, skills, and knowledge building.

Join The Movement

The Girls Inc. Experience works!  Our research shows it.