A group of girls in Hillsborough County are looking to break barriers in the fields of science, engineering, and math through a new innovative program. 

  • Young girls get chance to learn about science, engineering, technology
  • Students design, build small underwater drones
  • Girls Underwater Robot Camp opens doors for girls in science, tech fields

Twenty students got to design and build small underwater drones at Girls Underwater Robot Camp at the Museum of Science and Industry. 

National Geographic explorer Erika Bergman is on a mission to inspire more girls to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology, and math. 

"Girls don't usually focus on this, because most people stereotype it as a boys job. Ms. Erika has opened the door and said, 'women can do this!'" said 10th grader Alexia Hegedus. 

Erika Bergman knows first had that woman are outnumbered in those fields. 

"The ocean industry is still heavily male so it is rather unusual to be a submarine pilot. I'm only one of a couple in the world," Bergman said. 

The National Girls Collaborative Project said woman make up only 29 percent of the science and engineering workforce. The numbers are even lower for minority women, at just 10 percent. 

The girls say part of the problem is that they're just not exposed to this often. 

"Normally we might not get these opportunities and we might not get to actually know that there's a career out there for us," said 8th grader Jaylin Cole. 

That is what the camp is all about -- opportunity. 

Girls between 10 and 15 years old were chosen from six schools in underserved areas, based on the skills they've shown in school. 

"We're working with melted metals which is really cool. It's something you don't usually get to do in a classroom or at home," said 8th grader Shrisha Saravana. 

The students are soldering electronics, welding acrylic, and wiring and programming drones from scratch. 

For Erika Bergman, she said the girls' new found confidence is the most rewarding lesson. 

"I'm now more inspired by them than they could ever possibly be by me," she said. 

The girls get to spend the night Saturday at the Florida Aquarium. On Sunday they're deploying the robots in the Tampa Bay off the deck of the Aquarium's catamaran. 

The camp is part of Tampa Bay's mission, aimed at promoting education.