Summer Camp Enlightens Youth about Engineering
Posted:
The Women in Engineering Program (WiE) at The Ohio State University will host “WiE GROW,” a summer camp to inspire rising 8th-grade girls to pursue careers in engineering, Aug. 8-12.
Thirty students between the ages of 12 and 13 from schools throughout Ohio will visit laboratories and participate in science-related activities to learn about various disciplines in engineering.
WiE GROW’s goal is to promote girls’ early engagement in engineering, said Glenda La Rue, director of Women in Engineering at Ohio State.
“We offer this camp to girls who are at an age where they often shun science and math, the foundations of engineering, due to peer pressures,” La Rue said. “Our activities allow participants to have fun while experiencing engineering hands-on.”
During the camp, which has been sponsored by ScottsMiracle-Gro since 2006, attendees will also complete a mini-project that will incorporate welding engineering, use a Scotts product line, and serve as a community service project.
For the mini-project, participants will use 3-D software to design a bird feeder that will not only attract local species of birds but also discourage other critters from eating the bird seed. Later in the week, camp attendees will use spot welding to manufacture four working bird feeders and visit ScottsMiracle-Gro operations in Marysville, Ohio, to learn about the company’s products and ways to properly mix bird seed to attract different species of birds.
The feeders will be donated to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on Friday, Aug. 12, at a dedication ceremony for the Conservatory’s new bird sanctuary area on the ScottsMiracle-Gro Community Garden Campus.
To help fulfill its mission of increasing the number of women engineers, Ohio State’s WiE program seeks out industry and community partners such Scotts and Franklin Park Conservatory.
“We’re proud to be working with committed partners to help nurture tomorrow’s leaders in science and engineering,” said Jeff Garascia, senior vice president, Global Research and Development, ScottsMiracle-Gro. “The WiE GROW program fosters discovery and imagination in young women, which benefits our communities and schools. ScottsMiracle-Gro is excited to be helping grow the next generation of engineering.”
Other activities during the camp week will teach participants about:
* aerospace engineering and alternative energy practices through a project of making wind turbines;
* different applications of materials engineering in cardiac tissue research;
* electrical engineering during a visit to the High Voltage Laboratory and a project to make speakers to download bird calls;
* civil and environmental engineering practices such as the ways birds affect our water resources;
* industrial and systems engineering by making ice cream scoopers;
* and much more.
WiE GROW 2011 has been made possible through the generous support of ScottsMiracle-Gro and the involvement of various Ohio State engineering departments. For more information about Ohio State’s Women in Engineering programs, visit http://wie.osu.edu/content/wie-pre-college-programs.
# # #
Editors: Reporters and photographers are welcome to cover various aspects of the camp. Please contact Shawna Fletcher at fletcher.234@osu.edu, 614-292-0003 (office) or 602-403-6169 (cell) for more details and to make arrangements.
Thirty students between the ages of 12 and 13 from schools throughout Ohio will visit laboratories and participate in science-related activities to learn about various disciplines in engineering.
WiE GROW’s goal is to promote girls’ early engagement in engineering, said Glenda La Rue, director of Women in Engineering at Ohio State.
“We offer this camp to girls who are at an age where they often shun science and math, the foundations of engineering, due to peer pressures,” La Rue said. “Our activities allow participants to have fun while experiencing engineering hands-on.”
During the camp, which has been sponsored by ScottsMiracle-Gro since 2006, attendees will also complete a mini-project that will incorporate welding engineering, use a Scotts product line, and serve as a community service project.
For the mini-project, participants will use 3-D software to design a bird feeder that will not only attract local species of birds but also discourage other critters from eating the bird seed. Later in the week, camp attendees will use spot welding to manufacture four working bird feeders and visit ScottsMiracle-Gro operations in Marysville, Ohio, to learn about the company’s products and ways to properly mix bird seed to attract different species of birds.
The feeders will be donated to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on Friday, Aug. 12, at a dedication ceremony for the Conservatory’s new bird sanctuary area on the ScottsMiracle-Gro Community Garden Campus.
To help fulfill its mission of increasing the number of women engineers, Ohio State’s WiE program seeks out industry and community partners such Scotts and Franklin Park Conservatory.
“We’re proud to be working with committed partners to help nurture tomorrow’s leaders in science and engineering,” said Jeff Garascia, senior vice president, Global Research and Development, ScottsMiracle-Gro. “The WiE GROW program fosters discovery and imagination in young women, which benefits our communities and schools. ScottsMiracle-Gro is excited to be helping grow the next generation of engineering.”
Other activities during the camp week will teach participants about:
* aerospace engineering and alternative energy practices through a project of making wind turbines;
* different applications of materials engineering in cardiac tissue research;
* electrical engineering during a visit to the High Voltage Laboratory and a project to make speakers to download bird calls;
* civil and environmental engineering practices such as the ways birds affect our water resources;
* industrial and systems engineering by making ice cream scoopers;
* and much more.
WiE GROW 2011 has been made possible through the generous support of ScottsMiracle-Gro and the involvement of various Ohio State engineering departments. For more information about Ohio State’s Women in Engineering programs, visit http://wie.osu.edu/content/wie-pre-college-programs.
# # #
Editors: Reporters and photographers are welcome to cover various aspects of the camp. Please contact Shawna Fletcher at fletcher.234@osu.edu, 614-292-0003 (office) or 602-403-6169 (cell) for more details and to make arrangements.
Category: College
