Inspiring Girls* Expeditions empowers youth* to lead and succeed through science, art, and outdoor exploration.
Our Approach
Each summer, we lead tuition-free multi-day expeditions for high school youth* that interweave science, art, and backcountry travel. Our expeditions are led by professional scientists, artists, and wilderness guides. Throughout each expedition, the team engages in scientific and artistic inquiry about the environment around them. In small groups, participants design and conduct scientific projects, which they present to the public on the last full day of their expeditions.
Our Philosophy
We believe youth* deserve opportunities to be curious about the world around them. By encouraging their natural curiosities, inspiring them to connect their interests in science and art, and cultivating trust in their own physical capabilities, we motivate more people to pursue their passions in science and outdoor activities. We believe in making science and outdoor spaces open and welcoming and this takes much more than our expeditions; this takes changing the culture of science and outdoor exploration from the inside.
Inspiring Girls* Expeditions seeks to…
Increase the participation by individuals with varied identities, experiences, and backgrounds in field sciences, art, and outdoor recreation. We encourage attitudes which foster supportive and inclusive science and outdoor communities.
Foster our participants’ sense of self-confidence in their physical, intellectual, and leadership abilities.
Create lifelong advocates for Earth science and environmental stewardship.
Support a network for current early-career scientists, artists, and guides through continuing development opportunities and collaboration.
Diversity & Inclusion
Inspiring Girls* Expeditions is dedicated to providing an inclusive experience where participants of different races, ethnicities, heritages, sexual orientations, gender identities, faiths, ability levels, economic statuses, and geographic settings are learning together and from each other. Our history began as an organization seeking to create space for girls and women to grow and thrive in historically male-dominated fields. While we acknowledge our name is imperfect, we want to clarify that Inspiring Girls* Expeditions welcomes youth with various identities and backgrounds. Eligibility varies by branch; please see each branch webpage for specific information.
To achieve our mission of promoting diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics (STEAM) education, field sciences, and outdoor professions, we must take an intersectional approach and leave behind the gender binary lens that is most often used to discuss, study, and provide solutions to gender inequities. We must simultaneously address the underrepresentation of people of color, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and other historically non-dominant groups in these fields. The systemic barriers that actively marginalize certain groups at the expense of others are intertwined. We seek both to welcome new people into these fields and to transform the practices of scientific exploration, outdoor recreation, and artistic expression in ways that actively honor everyone.
We are proud of the impact our programs have made since 1999, while also acknowledging the need for improvement in our language, programming, and policies. We are examining where we can do better in our programming and in our organization as a whole. This work requires complex and vulnerable conversations and reflection among our instructors, participants, and volunteers. This is an exciting next step in the evolution of Inspiring Girls* Expeditions, and we look forward to sharing our progress with our wider community.
