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Conference Advances Girls' Interest in Science and Math

Expand Your Horizons, an annual conference encouraging middle school-age girls to pursue careers in science and mathematics was held on campus on January 14.

More than 200 girls from throughout northeast California attended the conference. Each girl attended three one-hour sessions, in which woman professionals guided the girls in activities that provided a glimpse of the kind of work done in their jobs. A veterinarian, an accountant, a criminologist, biologists, and naturalists were among the professionals who entertained and educated the participants.

Workshops included Bugs and Crime; Bugs, Bugs, Bugs; Health and Balance; and Is There a Planetarium in your Future? In one workshop, quality control experts from Sierra Nevada Brewery helped girls experiment with the nature of yeast, the conditions under which it grows, and what it looks like.

In Bugs, Bugs, Bugs, girls were informed that invertebrates are animals, too. They examined various insects with microscopes and had the opportunity to hold and watch up close Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which can be two or more inches long.

The conference, sponsored by CSU, Chico's Center for Math and Science Education, is an effort to overcome a history of limited participation by women in careers involving the sciences and mathematics. Other conference goals are to increase the interest of young women in mathematics and science through positive hands-on experiences, and to provide young women with opportunities to meet and interact with positive role models who are active in mathematics and science. -- KM