Imagining Their Futures... as Scientists, Engineers, More

From the Missourian: Imagining Their Futures... as Scientists, Engineers, More

Long after school had let out for the day, girls were gathered around lab stations in a biology room at Washington High School laughing and chatting as they delved into a hands-on science project — extracting DNA from a banana.

Following a step-by-step process, the girls had fun as they learned the concept behind this complex technique. A pair of guest speakers took the lesson a step further.

Food scientists Candice Schroepfer and Rebecca Guzy, who work in food safety and product development at Frick’s Quality Meats in Washington, shared details about their educational background, various employers and work projects with the teens to help them better understand and visualize the types of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — jobs that are available.

The girls were impressed and their interest was piqued, especially when they heard about some of the food products Guzy has helped put on store shelves over the years.

The food science lesson was one of several the teens have engaged in over the last three weeks as part of a special program offered by Girl Scouts of America through a $1 million grant from AT&T.

“The STEM program is a free, educational, lab-based, four-part series designed to engage girls in the scientific process and offer insight into science careers,” said Krista Williams, a biology teacher at WHS, who introduced the opportunity to her female students earlier this year.

The girls didn’t need to be members of the Girl Scouts to participate, and few, if any, were, Williams noted.

The girls have been meeting Wednesday afternoons in February from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Ginny Bretzke, who is the Girl Scouts neighborhood team chairperson for this area and who also holds a master’s in engineering, facilitated the meetings.

The program provides all of the supplies for each of the four meetings, including a snack and drink for each girl.

Girls Tend to Opt Out of Science

STEM is a new program being offered by Girl Scouts to help boost girls pursuit of science- and math-related careers, said Kate Engemann, a community development manager. It was rolled out last October and all of the details for it only came together in January.

“Educating girls about STEM fields and careers has never been more critical,” the STEM literature reads.

“Girls indicate interest in math and science in elementary school, but are less inclined to take advanced-level courses in high school . . . Research suggests that many girls experience a loss in confidence and direction with the onset of adolescence. Girls opt out of science and technology not because they lack ability, but because they lack confidence.”

Williams said she sees that reality in her classrooms every year. Girls are still interested in these subjects, she said. They just need a little encouragement and opportunity.

“The fact that I didn’t have to pull teeth to get them to sign up for this tells me that they’re interested,” said Williams. “I offered it to a couple of my classes and 20 girls signed up right away.”

The demand for STEM fields currently is high and is expecting to continue growing, the program literature points out.

“The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 15 of the 20 fastest growing occupations require significant science and math training,” it reads. “By 2015, the United States will need 400,000 graduates in STEM fields.”

STEM Projects

The day of the first meeting was one of those spring-like days with the sun shining and temperatures well above normal. Still 25 girls showed up at the biology lab room for the 1 1/2 hour lesson.

The first class, “Imagine Yourself on the Cutting Edge,” had the girls working in groups to think of ways to improve some item they had previously said they could not live without — most girls said their cellphones. They had to envision what the item could be like 10 years from now, listing the many new features it could have.

“The point is to get you thinking like scientists,” said Bretzke.

None of the girls cringed at the bookish assignment. Rather they laughed with each other as they stretched their creativity and bounced ideas off of each other.

The second meeting, “Imagine Yourself in a Lab,” was the banana DNA experiment, and the girls clearly had fun with it.

This week the focus was on engineering — “Imagine Yourself as an Engineer.”

“The girls worked in teams to build an electric circuit with a battery and other everyday office supplies to make a buzzer ring,” said Williams. “Once the girls completed their buzzers, they participated in a science game show, where they used the buzzers to get the first opportunity to answer the questions.”

Next Wednesday for the final lesson, “Imagine Saving the Planet,” the girls will do two different activities that explore the careers of environmental scientist and environmental architect.

“In the first activity, the girls will compete to find the best system to contain and clean up a ‘fake’ oil spill using vegetable oil and cocoa to simulate crude oil,” said Williams. “In the next activity the girls will build a fountain to see how different forces work together to lift a liquid.

“The idea is that the girls will get to design a fountain using ‘clean’ energy that might be used in a similar design for a park or garden fountain.”

The finale of the program is a free trip to the St. Louis Science Center.

Did Your School Miss It?

Schools that signed up to bring the STEM program to their students have until the end of June to implement it, said Engemann.

For more information on the program, people can contact Engemann at 573-486-2899 or kengemann@girlscoutsem.org.