STEAM Workshop Inspires Jacksonville Middle School Girls
First Coast American Heart Association's annual event gave about 150 girls hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering, arts and math careers.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Secondary Education
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About 150 middle school girls took part in the First Coast American Heart Association's annual STEAM workshop at FSCJ's Deerwood campus on Jacksonville's southside. The daylong event offered hands-on activities across construction, health care, transportation and other fields.
Why it matters
Men make up the majority of STEAM-related careers, and the workshop aims to show girls early that these paths are open to them. The event also brings the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women message to a younger audience.
The workshop drew about 150 middle school girls and is now in its sixth year. Community partners included the construction industry, a bank, CSX, UNF MedNexus and HCA Healthcare, though the extraction does not report any follow-up measures of participant career interest.
The players
First Coast American Heart Association
The local chapter of the American Heart Association, a national nonprofit focused on cardiovascular health, which hosts the annual STEAM workshop as part of its Go Red for Women movement.
FSCJ Deerwood Campus
The Deerwood campus of Florida State College at Jacksonville, located on the city's southside, which hosted the workshop.
HCA Healthcare
A large for-profit hospital operator that served as a community partner for the workshop's health care activities.
The details
Girls rotated through activities including a hospital simulator, a train simulator and controlling a robot dog with an iPad. Sessions also covered teamwork and financial literacy, and participants were connected with women leaders working in STEAM fields.
Timeline
November 6, 2026: Daylong STEAM workshop held at the FSCJ Deerwood campus.
Seasonal Patterns
The workshop extends the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement, which has long focused on women's health and leadership, into middle school STEAM education. Its sixth year suggests a sustained effort to widen female participation in fields where men remain the majority.
Parents of middle school girls in Jacksonville can look to programs like this one for hands-on STEAM exposure at no cost to students. The workshop shows that career paths in construction, health care and transportation are open to girls at an early age.
The takeaway
Early hands-on exposure to STEAM fields can help middle school girls see career options that are often dominated by men. Parents and educators interested in similar opportunities can look for local programs that offer activities across multiple fields.
Further reading
For more on youth science programs, see Secondary Education coverage in Jacksonville.
Source note: This article includes information reported by News 4 Jax.
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