PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sanding and drilling girls between 8 and 11 years old got a chance to play with power tools.
Io, 10, was pretty proud showing off the bee house she had just made.
“It's the first time I've built a bee house,” she said.
It wasn’t just bee houses the young girls were making.
“Right now we're building clocks and it's been really fun,” said 9-year-old Emily.
“We're making clocks and a covered sandbox and I think we're making concrete planters,” added Io.
“I never actually drilled or done hammering before and it was, yeah this is my first time and I like first times,” said 8-year-old Azi.
It's also the first time for many of the other girls. There are 40 in total participating in a week-long camp in North Portland called Girls Build. This is its second summer running.
“Our mission is to inspire curiosity and confidence in girls through the world of building,” said Katie Hughes, Girls Build executive director.
The goal is to give them enough confidence to take woodworking or metal classes in middle or high school if they want to, and give them tools to be independent problem solvers.
“We want them to, when something breaks at their house, to say how can I fix this and then to try and fix it on their own,” said Hughes.
With tool belts and helmets on, it looks like the little ladies are well on their way.
“It's so much fun,” said 10-year-old Sydney.
Aside from fun, Io said she feels strong when she’s handling power tools. The girls had a thing or two to say about the old school notion that power tools are just for boys.
“Well, you have no proof and without girls you wouldn't be here,” said Io.
“I mean girls can do it too,” Azi said.
The girls will also bend sheet metal, wire a light and switch with electricians, and they’ll even install solar panels.
All three one-week sessions are sold out this summer.
Visit the Girls Build website to get on a list to receive more information about the camps next summer.