SciGirls I 2016 - Day One

SciGirls I 2016 present and accounted for! That's right, today was the first day of the 2016 SciGirls I experience. After a brief welcome, we captured the moment with the official SciGirls I photo. Safety training was the first presentation of the day where Mr. Alfie Brown stressed the importance of SAFETY FIRST before taking the girls back to get MagLab ID badges. (Sorry Ghostbusters but in the case of a safety violation/emergency - the SciGirls are going to call Mr. Brown!) The girls were then directed to the computer lab of the Center for Integrating Research and Learning(CIRL) to complete surveys about their views on science. Next on the schedule was an introduction to water testing. Yes, we offer a different but informative type of water experience for our campers. After collecting water samples from the pond behind the Maglab, the girls tested the water for clarity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nitrates. A brief discussion took place before the campers headed back in for the "Ladies of Science" Luncheon. We want to extend a special thank you to MK Haley (Disney Imagineer), Dr. Sonia McNelis (Physician), Katie Sack (Software Developer), Dr. Amy McKenna (Analytical Chemist) and Melissa Martin (Riversink Elementary Teacher) for sharing their journeys through and into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For a moment, we thought the rain might ruin our opportunity to visit WFSU and participate in the "Water Moves" activity; however, the brief shower brought a bit of relief to an otherwise warm day. Tasha Weinstein welcomed the girls before they began working in 4 teams to figure out a system to move water from a large water source to a much smaller receptacle. This proved to be a quite challenging task for these girls who set a new SciGirls I record with the amount of water collected after 45 minutes of collaborative learning. Kudos go out to the yellow team who made a comeback (similar to that of the Cavaliers in this year's NBA Finals) to claim the victory. The frozen lemonade treats provided by the WFSU team were a perfect way to end this mild day as we headed back to the Maglab for afternoon pick up. In the immortal words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, "Oh, the places you'll go...": SciGirls I 2016 is off to great places. We're off and away!!!!