Girlstart is receiving a $50,000 grant from 3Mgives, a division of manufacturing and technology company 3M,to expand its after-school program. Girlstart After School is a two-year curriculum that teaches girls in fourth and fifth grades about science, technology, engineering and math, commonly called the STEM fields. The program, founded in 2009,includes hands-on activities related to engineering, environmental challenges and science, said Girlstart Executive Director Tamara Hudgins.The program is available in about 12 Central Texas school districts, including Austin, Del Valle, Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock ISDs, she said. "Our goal is [for] girls to be more confident and more engaged in doing science activities," Hudgins said. "Also, so that they do better on their standardized tests." A Girlstart study from spring 2014 found that girls involved in the after-school program perform better in STEM classes and on standardized tests, she said. "We want girls to see that engineering is a fantastic way to be creative and curious," she said. "At the same time, they can solve some of the world's really important challenges." Those challenges, for example, include how to build wind turbines, clean water and channel different resources to make the world a better place, she said. "When STEM is fun, they are more likely to engage in it, and that is what we are able to provide," she said. Hudgins said she and many other Girlstart employees are participating in 3M's Half Marathon, Jan. 25. Russell Bridges, manager of 3Mgives, said Girlstart's mission mirrors 3M's philanthropic focus on education. 3Mgives provides grants to community, education and environmental causes. "When we were looking for a new beneficiary this year, it just made absolute sense for us in our philanthropic priorities to look at Girlstart," Bridges said.