Marifer w/Reinvented Magazine Talks About Princesses With Power Tools on Outside of the Box

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Marifer from Reinvented magazine stops by to chat about the STEM programs they organized, such as Princesses with Power Tools. On this episode of Outside of the

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Box, little girls are at first nervous, and their parents maybe are like, oh, no, that's not for them. But then they give it a try, and they discover, I can use a power tool. And maybe they'll discover they can do way more than that.

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Outside of the Box. And we are talking more STEM focus. And I'm really excited, especially off of the last episode where I interviewed Zyla Foxlin. I'm happy to talk to somebody else that is also part of an organization that she is a part of, which is Reinvented magazine. And I have Marifer here to talk about what Reinvented is doing and some of the programs and just super excited to talk about it. So welcome to the show.

B

Thank you so much, Christine. Very excited to be here on behalf of Reinvented magazine. Like you mentioned, we are doing a lot of programs, so I want to share a little bit of our mission and why we are we're doing these programs like Princesses with Power Tools, like you mentioned. So Reinvented's mission is to help reinvent that perception of women in stem, so how women see themselves in the STEM fields and also role models for younger generations around the globe to see, you know, what it looks like to be in those career paths. And we do that through so many different activities. There's the digital and print magazine. We go to different events like maker fairs or STEM fairs to teach young girls and young kids how to use a power tool for the first time. And that's all to help break barriers, to show them that they belong in stem, too. So it's very cool to see how little girls are at first nervous and their parents maybe are like, oh, no, that's not for them. But then they give it a try and they discover, I can use a power tool, and maybe they'll discover they can do way more than that. So that's really what our mission is, to help break those barriers and be able to promote STEM all around the world. And we've had our programs even taking us to Costa Rica, even. So it's very cool to see the impact not only here in the US but also also outside of the US and, yeah, that's a little bit of what we do. And I am a princess with power tools, so I dress up as a princess and I teach young, young kids how to use their first power tool. And I also volunteer with different programs that Reinvented offers. And also I help with managing the office for Reinvented because we are located in the space coast of Florida, so we are have a physical location here.

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Well, that's awesome. Yeah, I definitely want to hit on a lot of those points that you did a little bit more in depth. First of all, like you said, you know, Reinvented, I think it kind of started with the, the idea of the magazine and has kind of built up on that and it is so much more than that now. But I think it's really amazing. I mean, it's something that, you know, Kaylee founded and kind of started and it's grown from there. How did you first become involved with Reinvented?

B

That's a great question. This was about six years ago. I was finishing my undergrad in engineering, biomedical engineering, and I was part of the Society of Women Engineers for my university and we attended a legaton event. So this event was organized by Reinvented magazine locally in Brevard county in Melbourne, Florida. So I attended the event as part of the Society Women Engineers boot or table. And that's how I learned about Reinvented. And since I realized they were local and I really aligned with their mission, I said I would love to be involved. So I joined as a member of the creative team. So the creative staff members will all working, all volunteers around the US Working on creating the design of the magazine of the digital print. So I will hop on online once or twice a month to meet with the creative team and we'll design the next issue of the magazine together. So it was really fun to meet a lot of other girls in STEM all around the US and yeah, since then I started to get involved in different roles in different ways. And one of my favorite events that Reinvented does is the space Gala. So I get to help with that because it's right here on the Space Coast. But we invite young girls in STEM from all around and we bring role models to come and talk about their experience and careers in stem. And also we recognize a lot of the women having that impact and recognize them that night. And it's also a fundraiser event, so it's just a great celebration overall. So I got involved with that also pretty, pretty fast as soon as I joined the Reinvented team. And because I was local, I could go to more of the in person events and then from there I've been doing Princesses with power tools 2 all around Florida and outside of Florida too. So it's Been very exciting. Five, well, six years now, almost.

A

Yeah, yeah. Talk about the impact part of it, because it's something that like, you know, looking back, I really recognize the need for these types of programs to, you know, show girls or, you know, people in marginalized communities or things like that that may not have exposure to these options. You know, that this is something that they can do. Because growing up, I mean, this was a long time ago for me, but I never considered a career in STEM because I didn't see other women doing that. You know, I saw them being teachers and nurses and, you know, things like that, which are great paths to take, but it was very limited. And now I think that there's more options out there that show, you know, there are these other career paths that you can take and that it's not just for a certain type of person.

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Exactly. I feel it's so important to have those role models. And also we try to go to as many programs as possible where we're invited to, to help bring that message and bring those role models to them so that they can access them.

A

Yeah, definitely. Now, talk about the princesses with power tools specifically, because this is what really drew my attention. And I think that it's because for me, I have a 10 year old daughter who is the princessiest princess, but also loves robots and loves STEM and loves doing things like that. And I think that it is a good message to show that you can be more than one thing and that stem. STEM doesn't have to look a certain way. So talk a little bit more about that program.

B

Right, that program. And this connects really well to who you interviewed before Saila, because actually reinvented Acquired Beauty and the Bold. And that was part of an educational YouTube channel, but also it included the program for the princesses with power tools. So reinvented as a nonprofit, was able to continue on that legacy and continue offering this program across different maker first and event. And that was the goal, to show that it is not intimidating. Although at first you might think, you know, it's scary. But if you see a princess, you'll definitely be a little more willing to get closer to the table where you're using a power tool. Right. So for a younger kid to relate with something that is common to them, it's very important. So to see a familiar face, maybe it's a character, a Disney character, in this case a princess, you can say, okay, this is familiar. Let me then see what they're doing. And then you might end up doing something that is unfamiliar to you. But still, it's a great opportunity for you to open up to a new world, new possibilities, and that's to learn how to create something yourself, build it yourself, and then from there, that message carries on to other things you do so you can get that confidence and know that there's people supporting you too. So that's how. How the whole program helps out. It. It's. It's very, like, simple right at the end. It's like you find something that you're familiar with, and then you. You don't realize you're ending up doing, you know, learning way more by, you know, getting closer and, and coming, you know, calling that the attention of someone that way. So that's how. That's how we do it. And we are always very friendly. We always have a lot of volunteers helping us dressing up as a different costume. They make it also their own. We, we love to showcase their own, you know, craft, because a lot of princesses, they build their own costumes, what they're wearing. And that also starts a conversation too, with a young kid like, hey, how do you, you know, why are you wearing that? Or do you make it? And then that can start another conversation. I've seen a lot of cases when our volunteer princesses, they. They actually create their own costumes. They do cosplay as well. So it's just really beautiful to see all the conversations that spark out of this initiative and how just something as simple as that, as seeing your favorite princess there and wanting to go close, get close, take a picture, can lead you to learn how to use a tool and build your own constellation projector, which is what they take away from the booth.

A

Yeah, that's really awesome. And I'm putting it out there. That's a whole topic for a whole other show. But cosplay is deaf.

B

Yeah. There's so much crap cover. There's actually an issue of the magazine about. About cosplay. One of the of the featured for the magazine was all about a role model, about talking about how they. They. They build their own costumes and cosplay. So it's really cool to see when that intersect, you know, how that intersects the arts and the stem. So we, we love steam. Really? So that's what we. We promote.

A

Yeah, for sure. And I mean, I think one of the things with this Princesses with Power Tools program is that I have found in my life that it's really important to acquire these skills and be comfortable with these things when you're at a younger age, because the younger you are, when you learn Something or you're exposed to something, the easier it is for you to do that later in life. I know this as someone who came to Stem later in life and had a lot more difficulty kind of trying to learn these things and go through these things. So, I mean, do you find that it does help for the kids to kind of get their hands on these things and they feel a lot more comfortable, you know, later down the line

B

at a crucial age, younger age, when they are starting to figure out what they like, the toys they like to play with, or, you know, they. They start showing a little hint of some interest. And the parents are always trying to like, you know, maybe buy them, you know, depending on what they like, if they want to be a doctor, they start buying them, you know, things play with but. Or if they like space or they, you know, start getting interest, they buy them a telescope, all of that. So that's a very. If they like Legos, you know, they start building. So that's a very crucial age. And I feel like our. The biggest group that we actually target is the pre K till fifth grade. So that's the biggest population that we see at these events. So. So of course we keep track of all the other people that stop at our table, but the biggest group that always comes in is between pre K and then fifth grade. And those are the groups of kids that we see the most and we have the most impact on. And also we measure if they have used a tool for the first time. So we also see how effective is this engagement is this activity? Because majority. Yes, usually is first time using a tool. So that really shows the importance of having having this program. And in that population that I mentioned is the one that we see the most at all the events that we go.

A

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Besides these initiatives, is there anything else that Reinvented has in the works right now as far as newer programs or newer initiatives that you're rolling out?

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Yes, we have a YouTube channel, is an educational series. So it's called what's Up Girl? And it's all under the Beauty and the bold YouTube channel since we acquired that. And now it's run by Reinvented. So we have a series of interviews with different role models in stem, different professionals in the STEM field. We did a whole series last year where we interview different women in stem. And then this year we're actually going out into like field trips and adventures, meeting the STEM experts where they're at. So this can be anything from marine biology to astrophotography. We're doing a lot of conservation, environmental conservation topics too. Going to the zoo to see what it takes to be a zookeeper. So we are learning a lot from these experts in stem. We're going to them this time. So that's what the show is all about. To see what they're doing and what it takes to do their job. So that way we can motivate the younger generations and they can see those role models and examples of potential career paths that they might want to take and what it really, you know, takes to do it.

A

Yeah, well, I think that that's super exciting. And of course, you know, for folks that don't already know about it, besides the YouTube channel, of course you have your website reinvented magazine.com and that talks a lot about different things that you have done or that you're doing and things like that so that folks, folks can learn more about it. And if you want to get involved or you want to support in any way, there's ways to do that as well.

B

Definitely. And then our. Every year we do the fundraiser, the space gala, and that's a great opportunity for meeting all of these role models in person. We invite all of them, all of the role models that have been part of our magazines, they have been part of the. Of the YouTube series, and just in general, we want them all to be in the same space with the younger generations and talk about, you know, what they went through, how was it to get there, and any advice that can help a younger person to get where they want to and also continue to chase their dreams. It is very focused on space because we are on the Space coast, but it's open to every other STEM field and it's just a great opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people and learn from them. So we're very excited because we're doing it again this year, November 7th. So there's just. Yeah, this is preparation month for us. We're also continuing to film YouTube videos and we're also doing a lot of Princesses with Power Tools events. So we have a couple coming up too. In, in Miami, for example, we did all the maker first throughout the year. So, yeah, it's very, very exciting, very busy time and we always need volunteers and extra help. So if we're coming locally to any state and we need volunteer princesses, we put out an announcement on our Instagram account and we actually recruit people that way. So if anyone wants to check out where we're at and if we're coming to the town, you know, near you, you can you can follow our account and see if you. If you can volunteer with us and be one of the princesses and help us with the events?

A

Yeah, for sure. So if there's any women in STEM out there that also want to be a princess for a day, if there's the availability, volunteer sign up, get out there, you know, and let these kids get a really cool experience that hopefully they won't forget.

B

Right? Yeah, we'll love it. And we always have any volunteers. We also have our website. I think there's a form to fill out in case you want to volunteer. Be part of our. We have a directory or we have a list of all princesses, so we can also call them depending where we're at. So. So you can also reach out to us that way through. Through the website?

A

Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, you know, anyone who's watching this, if you're not already, like, following all of the socials for Reinvented magazine or, you know, subscribe to the YouTube channel, definitely make sure that you do that and give them all of your support because we need all of these wonderful organizations to kind of spread the STEM message and get more. More STEM curious folks out there. So. Yes. Well, thank you, Marifer. It's been a pleasure chatting with you about this. And of course, if you're watching this, please make sure that you, like, subscribe, share, comment, engage. I love to see comments, you know, on videos because that helps me know that, you know, people have questions or know what people want to see. So definitely do that. Keep checking us out and we'll see everybody next time on the show. Sam.