Girls in seventh and eighth grades will spend April 2 at Pennsylvania College of Technology where they will learn through hands-on activities the importance of science and mathematics during the college's next session of Science and Math Applications in Real-World Technologies for Girls (SMART Girls).
Penn College developed the SMART Girls program to counter an alarming trend: Girls tend to shy away from math and science as they enter their high-school years, limiting their career options for the future.
According to the Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology, only 19 percent of the science, engineering and technology workforce is female.
SMART Girls attempts to show young women the career opportunities available in science and technology. The girls will attend three workshops, which feature activities that include computer animation, mock crime-scene investigations, welding, three-dimensional computer design, various forms of high-tech manufacturing, helping others to overcome disabilities, and hands-on practice in the paramedic and dental-hygiene labs.
Cost for the SMART Girls session is $15, which helps to cover the price of materials used in the workshops. Registration is limited to the first 50 applicants.
In addition to one-day SMART Girls sessions held for seventh- and eighth-graders in the fall and spring, a three-day residential summer program is held in July for girls in ninth and 10th grades.
For information about SMART Girls programs at Penn College, call (570) 327-4502, send e-mail to smartgirls@pct.edu or visit http://www.pct.edu/smartgirls/