Senior Project Highlights

For her Senior Project, recent Tandem alumna Mattea Gaines ‘24 designed labs to foster interest and confidence in STEM among young girls. ‘Geeky Girls’ hosted labs ranging from marshmallow spaghetti towers to teach principles of physics to a hands-on exploration of forensic science. 

Mattea learned about leading science programming for kids from her technical advisor, former Middle School Science teacher Christine Hirsh Putnam, and through volunteering with Charlottesville Women in Tech (CWIT).

She also formed a STEM club at Tandem to carry on the work she began. The Geeky Girls club has already begun planning new labs for this year. Upperclassmen Mary, Maggie, and Esme describe how important it is to them to make sure that young girls have confidence in STEM and to create a space where learning is accessible to everyone.


Senior Projects can change perspectives and even career paths. Leave us a class note telling us how your Senior Project has stayed with you.