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Girls and science Math options builds the foundation By Loretta A. Brandon
Nittany Science Camp for Girls Forty-five sixth- and seventh-grade girls attended last summer’s Nittany Science Camp for Girls, held at Penn State’s Stone Valley Recreation Area. The camp is held each summer at University Park campus. The camp’s goals are to encourage young women to pursue careers in science and technology, to foster their curiosity about science and to increase their self-esteem and confidence, according to Margaret W. Peacock, camp director. Participants engage in hands-on projects that build their problem-solving skills and demonstrate that science is fun and relevant. Projects include design technology, lake studies, dam-building activities, rocketry, rock climbing and geology. In addition, Penn State scientists and engineers conduct demonstrations. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences sponsors the camp with the Penn State Equal Opportunity Planning Committee, Women in the Sciences and Engineering, the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium and Lockheed Martin. Marrion Durr (right), senior research technologist at International Paper, taught seventh- and eighth-grade girls how to make paper during a hands-on session of the Math Options program at Penn State Erie. The “Big and Small: I Treat Them All” workshop of the Math Options program at Penn State Erie gave young women an opportunity to learn about veterinary science. Participants checked animals’ pulses and heartbeats. Cliffstar Corp. food technologist Cherie Varassa (right) had students don hair nets and lab coats to make juice in the “Juice Do It!” workshop of the Math Options program at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Students measured, poured, weighed and mixed ingredients to create their own fruit juices.	Two hundred and thirty girls from schools in Erie, Crawford, Warren and Potter counties converged on Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, for Math Options ’99, a daylong opportunity to learn about careers that involve math and science. The girls, all seventh- and eighth-graders, took part in a variety of hands-on learning experiences, while their teachers and counselors attended workshops about encouraging girls toward careers in math and science. “It’s wonderful to see the girls get so excited about the day,” said Peggy McCarthy, coordinator of Math Options at Penn State Erie. “We do our best to find presenters that will really pique their interest and motivate them to explore a variety of math and science careers.” Among this year’s 32 presenters was Cherie Varassa, a food technologist from Cliffstar Corp., who presented “Juice Do It!” Girls in her workshops were handed white lab coats and hairnets to wear while they used chemical equipment to produce a variety of fruit-based juices. International Paper’s Erie mill sent senior research associates Marrion Durr and Nancy Nieder, who taught girls in their workshop to make paper. Students came away with their own handmade paper and a better understanding of the science involved in pulp and paper technology. One of the favorite workshops each year is “Big or Small: I Treat Them All,” presented by Dr. P.J. Polombo, a veterinarian at the Glenwood Pet Hospital in Erie. Polombo, who brings her dog Tiko and other animals with her, teaches the girls to weigh animals, listen to their heartbeat, read their x-rays and study their activity and habitat. This is the third year that Penn State Erie has presented Math Options. The concept for the program began at Penn State Abington in 1991 and has spread to six other Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth. Statewide, the program serves more than 1,500 girls annually. The need for a program like Math Options became clear early in the 1990s when National Science Foundation statistics showed that women comprise only 22 percent of the science and engineering labor force as a whole. Once women in social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, are removed from that statistic, women end up comprising 12 percent of all scientists and 8 percent of all engineers, a statistic that changes very little with time. At Math Options ’99, a distinguished panel of keynote speakers encouraged the girls who attended to consider math and science careers. Dr. Judi Wakhungu, director of the Women in Science and Engineering Institute at Penn State Behrend, spoke eloquently on the ways in which understanding math shaped her education. Mary Margaret Dreher, general manager of Business Sourcing and Support Operations at GE Transportation Systems, showed students the importance of math applications involved in the analytical decision-making required for her job. Polombo emphasized the ways in which math provides a necessary foundation for careers in medicine and allied health sciences. Each year McCarthy, an area representative for Continuing and Distance Education at Penn State Erie, convenes the Math Options Advisory Board, which is made up of area women with a commitment to math and science education for girls and young women. She enlists the board’s help in recruiting keynote speakers, workshop presenters and other volunteers. “In Erie, we are fortunate to have the cooperation of women from major corporations, such as GE Transportation Systems, Lord Corp., International Paper, Erie Plastics and Cliffstar Corp.,” McCarthy said, “as well as women from smaller organizations like the Glenwood Pet Hospital, the Hand and Arthritis Rehabilitation Center and the Erie County Technical School. Each presenter brings something special to the program.” She also emphasized the interest and involvement of math and science teachers from schools throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. McCarthy noted Math Options receives strong financial support from the corporate community. Aalborg Industries, American Meter, American Tinning and Galvanizing, Erie Plastics, Erie Ceramic Arts, GTE, Northwest Rural Electric, Plastek Group and many other local and regional companies provide funds so that girls who participate go home with T-shirts and other reminders of the day, including a calculator and math and science games. “Math Options also draws strong support from the faculty, staff and administration at Penn State Erie,” McCarthy said. “I am grateful for the effort my colleagues give to make the program succeed.” Evaluations from both students and teachers indicated that the best way to improve the day was to have more workshops and allow more girls to attend. This summer, the Math Options program took a new step. Encouraged by the success of the daylong event, McCarthy coordinated a three-day Math Option Summer Camp held in July for girls ages 11 to 15. During the camp, which was presented in cooperation with the Penn Lakes Girl Scout Council, girls stayed in the residence halls, experienced hands-on math and science workshops and had lots of time to explore the wooded Penn State Erie campus.