VIENNA, VA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / September 15, 2026 / Ten community-rooted projects across the North American region selected to receive 2026 Women and Girls in Astronomy Program mini-grants

The Women and Girls in Astronomy Program (WGAP), led by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), under the North American Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (NA-ROAD), is proud to announce the selection of ten regional projects to receive funding through the 2026 cycle.

WGAP inspires and empowers women, girls and underrepresented genders in astronomy by supporting innovative, community-rooted projects that foster participation and inclusion in the field. From a highly competitive pool of proposals submitted across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Greenland and the Caribbean, ten projects were selected to each receive a US$2,000 mini-grant.

The program year will conclude in January 2027 at the 249th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting, where WGAP fellows will present their project outcomes and highlight their contributions to advancing opportunities for women, girls and underrepresented genders in astronomy across North America. Following the meeting, NA-ROAD will produce a comprehensive report documenting the projects, their results and the overall impact of the cohort.

Funding for WGAP 2026 is made possible through the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation's Women in STEM Program.

The 2026 WGAP Cohort

This year’s fellows represent a rich cross-section of communities across North America, bringing astronomy to classrooms, cultural centers, and Indigenous and underserved communities. The 2026 projects are:

1. Masterman Stars

Led by Richard Jacob Zimny, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

This grant will fund WISH (Women in STEM Haven) at Julia R. Masterman School to build a sustained astronomy pipeline for young women, combining a girl-focused outreach day with hands-on demonstrations. The goal is to help girls see themselves in astronomy careers through site visits, direct instruction and competition preparation for events like Science Olympiad, ultimately building lasting representation in STEM fields.

2. Aerospace Baby Project: Stars Across Cultures

Led by Dedelolia Olungwe, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

The Aerospace Baby Project: Stars Across Cultures brings hands-on astronomy education to underserved youth, especially girls of color ages 8–16, in a Maryland community space, blending core astronomy concepts with African sky knowledge and storytelling to make science feel culturally relevant and personal. The program aims to reach 30–50 participants, boost STEM confidence and interest among girls, and culminate in a family stargazing showcase that strengthens community ties to science.

3. Sun in Our City: Girls Leading Solar Science in Paterson

Led by Carlos Miranda, Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Sun in Our City partners the P-Tech Planetarium with the Paterson Girl Goals Summer Camp to engage 50 girls ages 5–14 in a “dome to sky” program combining immersive planetarium learning with hands-on solar observation, environmental investigation and solar engineering challenges at local sites. The program builds STEM confidence and leadership through creative storytelling and culminates in a community “Solar Saturday” event where students present their findings as visible, confident science communicators.

4. Star Sowers: Inspiring STEM Careers

Led by Lizbeth Solís Gayosso, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico

Growing out of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo’s (Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo) itinerant astronomy group, “Sembradores de Estrellas,” the Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios (Center for Industrial and Services Technological Baccalaureate). Astronomy Club will train mostly female students in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, to lead their own outreach, delivering astronomical observations and STEM talks to underserved and rural schools while maintaining 75 percent women’s participation. The project aims to expand its model across the region, incorporate accessibility programming for people with disabilities, and eventually scale to other Dirección General de Educación Tecnológica Industrial y de Servicios (General Directorate of Industrial and Technological High School Education) campuses nationwide.

5. Training Future Women Scientists: Astronomy Pathways for Gifted Girls

Led by Rosa Martha Torres López, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

This project builds a structured astronomy program for gifted girls at the Centro Educativo Para Altas Capacidades (CEPAC) in Guadalajara, addressing the gap where high-potential students show early scientific interest but lack sustained programming and mentorship to maintain STEM trajectories. Through hands-on telescope observations, data analysis and biweekly virtual sessions with professional astronomers and University of Guadalajara physics students, the program will strengthen participants’ scientific identity and confidence while creating a replicable model for supporting gifted girls’ sustained engagement in science.

6. Sketches of the Cosmos

Led by Gabriela Garcia Arroyo, Cuernavaca/Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico

Cosmos Urbano seeks to democratize astronomical knowledge among youth in Chimalhuacán, especially girls and young women, using urban art, graphic storytelling and characters rooted in local Indigenous identity to connect astronomy with community problem-solving. The project will culminate in tangible, publicly accessible outputs, including a fanzine, collage workshops and a community graffiti mural, designed to strengthen both scientific critical thinking and local cultural identity.

7. Science in Space

Led by Alice Curtin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Science in Space is a 10-week informal astronomy program for underrepresented-gender students ages 10–12 in under-resourced Montreal-area schools, combining hands-on activities, Minecraft-based design projects and mentorship from underrepresented-gender astrophysics graduate students to build scientific thinking and a strong sense of belonging in STEM. Since 2022, the program has run 15 iterations, reaching over 300 students across six schools, with roughly 50 percent returning for a second year.

8. Black Girls in Physics and Astronomy Youth Leadership

Led by Thelma Akyea, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Black Girls in Physics and Astronomy (BGPA) Youth Leadership Program expands a Toronto-based initiative for BIPOC women ages 14–29, using astronomy outreach, peer mentorship and leadership training to build science communication skills and address the severe underrepresentation of Black women in physics and astronomy. Through a two-phase model of leadership development and applied co-facilitation, culminating in youth-led community events, the program strengthens belonging, mentorship pathways and generational continuity among BGPA cohorts.

9. Sky Wonders: Astronomy for Indigenous Youth

Led by Melissa Keats, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada

Women In Science and Engineering Newfoundland and Labrador (WISE NL) will bring an astronomy exhibit to the 2026 Indigenous Youth Gathering in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, adding curated, captioned astronomy image prints to a three-day program that already engages approximately 40 Indigenous high school students, primarily girls and gender-diverse youth, through hands-on STEM workshops and mentorship. The prints, selected by astronomy education expert Dr. Svetlana Barkanova, will be displayed during the gathering and then sent home with participants, extending the project’s reach into their schools and communities.

10. Her Sky, Our Story: Mapping Jamaica Through Space

Led by Shari Oliver, Kingston, Jamaica

Her Sky, Our Story brings 40 girls ages 13–18 from rural and underserved Jamaican schools to University of the West Indies (UWI Mona) for a one-day program combining Stellarium-based sky mapping of Jamaican historical moments, satellite-based climate science and a team-based astronomy escape room to make space science feel personally and culturally relevant. Participant’s “Sky Stories” will feed into two lasting outputs: a community textile installation and an interactive digital sky map extending the project’s impact beyond the event.

Reach Across the Region

The selected projects span four countries across North America and the Caribbean, including:

• United States (3 projects): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and Paterson, New Jersey
• Mexico (3 projects): Tulancingo, Hidalgo; Guadalajara, Jalisco; and Cuernavaca/Tepoztlán, Morelos
• Canada (3 projects): Montreal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador
• Jamaica (1 project): Kingston

About AUI

AUI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1946 that builds, manages and operates large research and development (R&D) facilities for the federal government including the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) facilities, the Center for American Supply Chain Resilience (CASCR) and the AUI Center for Advancing Therapeutics. AUI also develops and implements innovative approaches to education, outreach, and workforce development.

About the Office of Astronomy for Development

The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) is a joint initiative of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), supported by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The OAD leverages astronomy, its skills, practitioners, and infrastructure as a tool for global development by mobilizing resources to realize astronomy’s scientific, technological, and cultural benefits for society. The OAD coordinates with 11 Regional Offices and Language Centers worldwide, each advancing this vision within its own geographic, cultural, or language context.

View past WGAP reports.

For mor information about WGAP and their 2026 cohort, please visit: https://naroad.astro4dev.org/na-road-projects/women-and-girls-astronomy-program/