Registration now open for 10th annual Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day

Registration is open for the first 40 middle school girls from Hawai‘i Island to sign up for the 10th annual Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day.

This free full-day program — scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 31, 2026, at Waiākea High School in Hilo — was established in 2012 and is underwritten by the Zonta Club of Hilo, whose mission is to build a better world for women and girls.

Funding support is also provided by Hawai‘i County.

“The Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day supports fourth- to eighth-graders to continue [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] curriculum throughout middle school and high school,” said Zonta Club of Hilo Event Chairperson Deb Lewis in an announcement about the event, adding it also encourages the girls to pursue college degrees in those fields.

Organizers Dale Olive and Eric Hagiwara — dedicated retired science educators from Waiākea High School — are instrumental in the program’s success. The day features a science theme and attendees participate in hands-on activities.

Each girl must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or trusted adult for the entire event. Registration closes at 8:30 a.m. that morning.

“We want to empower girls to design, build and believe in your own engineering superpowers!” said Olive in the event announcement, adding students this year will build a walking “brushbot,” which is a toothbrush robot, to race and do sumo, among other activities. “They will also explore robotics via a kit robot that they create and keep.”

Women professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics spend Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day encouraging middle school girls to continue their own pathway into the fields.

This year’s adult speaker is biogeochemist and planetary scientist Emily Cardarelli, who seeks to detect signs of life and habitability on Mars and beyond. The 2026 youth speaker is Gabriella Tuson, a high school senior planning to major in engineering at college.

Click here or email to koolrainhotrocks@gmail.com to register online.

Tax deductible donations also can be made to Zonta Club of Hilo’s foundation to support future science, technology, engineering and mathematics events and celebrate the legacy of Zontian Amelia Earhart.