Girls Meet Tech, in plain words.
Girls Meet Tech is a free, one-day event for girls in grades 3 through 11, built by You Go Girl, an Omaha nonprofit that helps girls build the confidence to know their worth, use their voice, and lead their own future. On Saturday, November 21, fifty-five girls and their grown-ups fill the Kiewit Luminarium for a day that is equal parts science museum, tech lab, and family reunion.
Here’s the shape of it. Eight hands-on tech stations, run by real tech teams from Omaha and across Nebraska, where she builds her own AI study buddy, drives robots, draws with 3D pens, steps inside virtual reality, and takes a computer apart and puts it back together. Twelve women who build and lead with technology, telling the true version of how they got there. And an open forum where we hand the girls the mic and ask what they think about AI and the future they plan to run. Breakfast, lunch, her shirt, and museum admission are all on us, because nobody dreams big on an empty stomach.
- She touches it. Plenty of girls have watched technology. We want every girl to leave having built, driven, printed, or taken apart something real, with her own two hands.
- She sees herself in it. Research shows girls’ confidence drops 30 percent between ages 8 and 14. Those are exactly the years we show up. A day of women talking straight about their own path gives her a picture she can grow into.
- She gets heard. Girls’ opinions about AI rarely make it into the rooms where decisions get made. The open forum and the Forum Wall put her words on the record, and what the girls say shapes what You Go Girl builds next.
- It’s a beginning, not a field trip. We ask the girls what they think about technology before the day and again after, so we can see honestly what one day changes. Girls Meet Tech is the front door to You Go Girl’s bigger plan: one connected confidence and technology pathway for girls, grades 3 through 11.
Confidence figure: The Confidence Code for Girls x Ypulse national survey, 2018.
The Forum Wall.
🎫 Registration and the waitlist are closed; all 55 seats are claimed. Every registered girl and her grown-up get museum admission included all day at the Kiewit Luminarium, 345 Riverfront Drive.
But the mic is bigger than the room. The Forum Wall is open to every girl, whether she has a seat on November 21 or not. Pick a question, answer it exactly how she’d say it out loud, and her voice helps shape the open forum and what You Go Girl builds next.
Goes straight to the You Go Girl team. Nothing sends until you tap the button, and every voice gets read.
Prefer some company? Answer with Roxie, our virtual emcee · same wall, more sparkle.
Questions? contact@yougogirlomaha.com
Already registered? Check that her spot is saved
55 girls are officially in. First names only, on purpose. If you spot your girl and her grown-up below, her seat is held and we can’t wait to see you. List updated October 26; if you registered after that, give us a day or two to appear. Don’t see your names? Email contact@yougogirlomaha.com and a real human will sort it fast.
Your day guide, grown-up edition.
Everything you need to get her there, know where she is all day, and enjoy the day yourself. Breakfast, lunch, and museum admission for both of you are covered.
This is not a drop-off event. Every girl comes in with her grown-up, leaves with her grown-up, and her grown-up is in the building all day.
Getting here and getting in
- Maps
- Type “Kiewit Luminarium” into any maps app. It lands you at the front door. It’s the science museum on the river, at Lewis and Clark Landing, right by the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.
- Drive
- Take Riverfront Drive from Abbott Drive (coming from the north or the airport) or from Dodge and Douglas (coming from downtown or the interstate). Coming from the west on Dodge or Douglas, keep going until you reach the river, then turn north on Riverfront Drive.
- Park
- Free. The public lots are directly across Riverfront Drive from the main entrance, first come, first served, with accessible stalls in the same lots.
- Unload
- If someone in your car needs to unload at the door before you park, there’s a loading zone on the west side of the building.
- Bus
- Metro Route 19 stops right out front on Riverfront Drive.
- Come in
- Use the main entrance, facing the lots. The museum isn’t open to the public yet at 8:30, so look for our greeter in a You Go Girl shirt at the door. That’s your person. She’ll check you in and point you upstairs to the River Room, where breakfast is waiting.
- Late?
- Come anyway. The greeter will get you caught up, and we will never make a girl feel late.
Her day, hour by hour
Two rooms, two floors. The River Room is upstairs on Level 2. The Field Room is downstairs on Level 1. The stairs and elevator are right outside the Field Room.
- 8:30Doors open. Check in, then breakfast. River RoomYou: with her, eating. Find your table and exhale.
- 9:00The welcome. Our emcee opens the day, and Rachel Fox sets the tone and thanks everyone who made it free. River RoomYou: right beside her. Nobody rushes breakfast.
- 9 to 12Photo booth by Elegant Expressions, open all morning. Drop in whenever she’s between things. Drop inYou: get in the picture with her.
- 9:25Grace Cyiza’s story, from Zambia to Omaha to a life in tech. River RoomYou: same seat. This one is worth hearing.
- 9:45Tech stations, round one. Eight tables, four on each floor: AI study buddies, robots and 3D printing, 3D pens, VR, air propulsion rockets, an app you can play with, a break-it-and-fix-it table, and a vision board studio. She carries a Station Passport and earns a secret word at every table she tries. Both floorsYou: anywhere. Walk the tables with her, or let her go and catch up at lunch.
- 11:00The panel. Four women who build and lead with technology, moderated by Avil Jackson, and a few of them brought their own daughters. Field RoomYou: the one to catch. The edges fill fast, so come early.
- 11:30Mrethi Magesh, a founder who is still in high school. Field RoomYou: along the edges, or out exploring the museum.
- 11:45Lunch, together. From here on the girls stay upstairs. Every afternoon talk happens in the River Room. River RoomYou: with her. Ask what she’d build.
- 12:30Shake it out with Coach Meghan. Movement break. River RoomYou: edges of the room. Fair warning, you may be asked to move too.
- 12:50Bisi Adele, an engineer and founder with a story for the girls. River RoomYou: edges of the room, or roam and stretch.
- 1:05Tech stations, round two. Hit what she missed, or go deeper on her favorite. Both floorsYou: anywhere.
- 1:45The open forum, led by Jordan Watkins. The girls take the mic and tell us what they think about AI and the future. This is the heart of the day. River RoomYou: listen from the edges if there’s room, and let her be brave.
- 2:20What’s next, how she keeps going after the 21st, and the passport prize drawing. River RoomYou: edges of the room, or exploring. Back upstairs by 2:40.
- 2:30Tell HQ, our ten-minute survey, done right on her phone. Her words shape next year. River RoomYou: head to the River Room. No phone? She’ll borrow yours.
- 2:45Closing words from LaShonna Dorsey, then the group photo. River RoomYou: in the picture. Everyone.
- 3:00Program ends. The museum is open to our families until 5:00. She leaves when you leave, together. MuseumYou: together. Go touch everything.
Public museum hours start at 10:00. Before then, the two rooms, Fig café, and the lobby are home. After 10, the whole museum is yours between blocks.
Where you can be all day
You’re in the building with her all day, but you don’t have to shadow her. Both rooms are staffed by our crew and the station hosts all day, the front door has a greeter the whole time, and no girl leaves the building without her grown-up. So move around as you like. Try a station yourself. Get a coffee. Sit by the river window.
During the station rounds (9:45 and 1:05), the girls spread across both floors with their passports. Walk the tables with her, or let her go and catch up at lunch.
During the talks, the welcome and Grace’s story happen in the River Room while you’re all still at breakfast, so you’re in the room for both. For the panel and Mrethi (the Field Room downstairs, starting at 11:00) and for the afternoon talks and the forum (the River Room upstairs), the girls fill the seats. Each room fits about 25 grown-ups standing along the edges at a time. Come in, listen a while, then hand your spot to someone else. If the edges are full, or you’d just like to stretch your legs, go roam. There is plenty to explore, the whole museum is open to you from 10:00, and she is in good hands while you do.
Meals are together. Breakfast and lunch are both upstairs in the River Room, girls and grown-ups at the same tables. That’s your guaranteed time with her: 8:30 and 11:45. There’s no food on the main floor, so please keep snacks and drinks upstairs.
If you only catch two things in the room, make it the panel at 11:00 in the Field Room and the closing and group photo at 2:45 in the River Room. Everyone’s in that picture, grown-ups included, so be upstairs by 2:40.
If she’s not where you think
Girls move between floors with the group, so “not here” usually means “the other room.” Before you worry, three steps, in order:
- Check the other room. The stairs and elevator are right outside the Field Room.
- Ask anyone in a You Go Girl shirt.
- Go to home base, the check-in table by the front doors.
Every crew member knows the rule: a girl found outside either room is walked straight to home base, and we call the cell you gave us at registration. The greeter never lets a girl out the front doors without her grown-up. Tell your girl the same three steps in the car on the way in.
One small favor before the 21st
We want to know what this day does for a girl, not guess at it. Roxie, our virtual emcee, has a short “Before the big day” card. Sit with your girl for two minutes and answer it together before the 21st. The same questions come back at the end of the day, and the difference is the story. No names required.
Meet Roxie and answer together
While you’re there, say hi. She knows the schedule, the stations, and where the bathrooms are, and she’ll be on the screens all day.
The small stuff
- Wear
- Comfy clothes and shoes. She’ll be on her feet and moving. Layers are smart, museums run cool.
- Bring
- Her phone if she has one, charged. The Station Passport, the Forum Wall, and the end-of-day survey all live on Roxie. No phone? No problem. She can use yours, and we have paper passports.
- Lockers
- Free lockers sit just past the Welcome Desk for coats and bags.
- Lunch
- Catered by Hy-Vee. If you told us about an allergy or dietary need at registration, we have it. If something changed, tell us by Wednesday, November 18. The museum is not a nut-free building.
- Photos
- Our photographer, Monica Sempek, will be capturing the day, and you’ll get the pictures afterward. Photo permission was part of registration, so there’s nothing more to sign.
How to make the day land
Girls take their cue from you. On the drive there, ask her which station she wants to try first, and walk through the three steps if she can’t find you: other room, shirt, home base. On the drive home, ask her what she’d build if she could build anything. That second conversation is where the magic shows up.
And while she’s in the room, put your own answer on the Forum Wall. The girls love knowing you played.
Questions before the 21st? Reply to the text or email Rachel sent you, or write to contact@yougogirlomaha.com. We can’t wait to meet her.
What's happening that day
Coding, robotics, AI tools, and builds you can actually touch and try, run by real tech teams.
STEM leaders share how they got there and what they wish someone had told them at your age.
An open forum on tech and AI where the girls do the talking, in their own words.
A first look at where we're headed, and how Omaha can help build it.
Rachel Fox
The heart and engine behind You Go Girl, and the one steering this whole day. Rachel is building Girls Meet Tech the way she builds everything: with community, honest numbers, and a stubborn belief that Omaha girls deserve a real seat at the tech table.
LaShonna Dorsey
Co-founder of Interface Web School, leader of the Nebraska Tech Collaborative, North Omaha native, and a longtime champion of getting real people into real tech careers. She makes sure we do this thing right, and she tells us the absolute truth.
Krystal Fox
Founder of the Youth Civic Engagement Academy and the reason this day will feel effortless. Krystal builds systems that quietly hold big things up, and she believes young voices belong in every room where the future gets decided. Every table, timeline, and moving piece answers to her.
Marshaila Carter
Our people person. Marshaila's whole heart is helping women feel beautiful again, and on November 21 she's the reason every speaker walks in feeling like family and every guest feels expected. If comfort is a craft, she's a master of it.
Faith Buffington
Our gatherer. Faith turns good ideas into action and strangers into a crew, with a small business background, a Life Coach's ear, and a maker's hands. Baking, karaoke, creative projects: that bring-people-together energy now runs our volunteer team. Raise your hand and she'll find your spot.
Steph Kidd, PhD
Our professional troublemaker, and we mean that as the highest compliment. Steph packs a lot of purpose into a very small package: strategist, educator, ecosystem builder, and the person making sure the coolest tech in Omaha lands in our girls' hands. Got gadgets worth sharing? She's your first call.
Terah Speigner
The day runs on Terah. Two floors, eight stations, fifty-five girls on the move, and a schedule that has to land to the minute: she holds all of it, plus the two hundred small decisions nobody in the room will ever see. When November 21 feels effortless, that’s not luck. That’s Terah, who had the room ready before the first family walked in.
The voices
Real stories, real questions, and a microphone that belongs to the girls. In the order she’ll meet them on November 21.
Angel Starks
Strategist, educator, and convener. Angel carries the mic from doors to send-off and makes every girl in the room feel like the main event.
Grace Cyiza
Grace tells the real version of how she got here, including the parts that didn’t go to plan. Her story opens the day so every girl knows the mic is safe.
Shana Sanders
Building spaces where Omaha kids make technology their own.
Keyosha Atwater
Educator, researcher, and keynote speaker who brings her voice to the panel and runs her own hands-on AI station.
Bri Mendoza
Showing girls that a path is something you build yourself.
Briar Harvey
Strategic thinker and systems builder who puts humans first in AI.
Avil Jackson
Keeps the questions honest and the mic moving. The girls’ questions run that room.
Mrethi Magesh
Still in high school and already teaching girls financial literacy in Omaha. Proof you don’t have to wait to be grown to build something real.
Coach Meg
After lunch she gets the whole room up and moving, because strong minds ride around in bodies.
Bisi Adele
Doctoral student in engineering with nineteen-plus years on stages from NBCUniversal to NSBE. She dreams of a data center of her own, and she’s handing our girls that dream out loud.
Jordan Watkins
Leadership trainer, M.Ed. Jordan hands the girls the microphone to say what they think about technology, AI, and the future they plan to run.
LaShonna Dorsey
A leader who invests in what Nebraska’s future can be. She sends every girl home knowing exactly what she’s capable of.
The tech stations
Every station is run by people who build this stuff for a living. Every girl gets a Station Passport, every host guards a secret word, and all eight stamps earn a prize entry at the check-in table.
ReflectED
ReflectED, led by founder Keyosha Atwater, is bringing an AI station where girls do not just watch artificial intelligence, they build their own AI study buddy and take the know-how home. The buzzword of the decade, in a girl's own hands. Thank you, Keyosha.
Creighton University
Creighton University is bringing a robot and 3D printing to the day, with their own team running the station. That is real campus energy in the room, and 55 girls are about to see it up close. Thank you for showing them what is possible.
Nebraska Center for 3D Innovation
UNO's Nebraska Center for 3D Innovation is putting 3D pens in girls' hands and showing them real 3D-printed prosthetics. The moment a girl realizes the same technology behind her doodle can help someone walk, something clicks. Thank you for bringing that moment to Omaha's girls.
UNeTech Institute + Omaha Virtual Reality Pipeline + Holick Lab
The UNeTech Institute is teaming up with the Omaha Virtual Reality Pipeline and the Holick Lab to bring virtual reality to the day. Girls will step inside worlds that Omaha builders made, and maybe start sketching their own. Thank you for opening that door.
Pierre’s TechHeads
A real take-apart challenge. Pierre’s TechHeads, an Omaha, veteran-owned computer repair and IT shop, hands girls a laptop, a screwdriver, and permission to open it up, then shows them how it goes back together. Nothing demystifies a machine like seeing its insides. Thank you for the bench.
RefHer
RefHer is running a hands-on station on top of sponsoring the shirts. What’s at the table stays a surprise until the girls get there, and we’re told it’s worth the line. Thank you for showing up twice.
UNL
Team UNL is driving in from Lincoln with air propulsion rockets: girls build, aim, and launch, and find out what pressure and angle do to a flight path. Physics you can hear. Thank you for making the trip.
Vision Board Studio
Our own table, led by Therese Marzouk. Girls build a vision board for the future they plan to run, on screen or on paper, and sharing is invited, never required. It’s the exhale corner of a loud, wonderful day.
Sponsor the day
No mystery buckets. Pick the piece of the day you want your name on. You Go Girl is a 501(c)(3), so it's tax-deductible too.
John Veal Jr. & Family
Every girl, leader, and volunteer eats free on event day because this generous family said so. When we say it takes a village, this is what the village looks like. Thank you for feeding the future.
Stevens Capital Partners
The day starts with full plates for every girl, leader, and volunteer, courtesy of an Omaha firm that believes fuel comes first. Thank you for feeding the future from the very first bite.
RefHer
RefHer is putting their name behind the official Girls Meet Tech shirt AND bringing a hands-on tech station to the day. That is a double yes for the girls, and we are so grateful. Thank you for showing up twice.
Hayes Cares
The other half of every Girls Meet Tech shirt belongs to Hayes Cares, an Omaha nonprofit that saw girls building their future and wanted its name right there with them. On every front, in every photo, for years. Thank you!
Open Range
Open Range strengthens Nebraska's startup ecosystem, connecting founders, funders, creatives, and community builders across Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs. Their Startup Week closes on the very Saturday our girls meet technology, and we love that the two share a day. Learn more at openrange.org. Thank you for investing in the youngest builders in the ecosystem.
Lunch for every girl, leader, and volunteer is generously covered by John Veal Jr. & Family. Thank you!
Both halves claimed! RefHer and Hayes Cares share the front of every Girls Meet Tech shirt, in every photo, for years. Thank you both!
Breakfast for every girl, leader, and volunteer is generously covered by Stevens Capital Partners. Thank you!
Individuals and small businesses who just want in. Every name gets thanked.
Prefer to give stuff instead of dollars? Tech stations, swag, video, and printing are welcome in-kind. Spots are first come, first served.
Help us make the magic.
It takes a village to put real tech in girls' hands for a day. We need swag, tech teams with cool stuff to share, one really good video person, and village members who just want in. Want in? Email us and a real human will write you right back.
Email us · contact@yougogirlomaha.com