Girls take interest in science to another level
Fostering a love of math and science in girls by showing them the variety of careers those fields offer was the aim of a new summer camp held this week at the Schaumburg campus of Roosevelt University.
The RU Glamorous CSI camp found 22 middle school girls from Chicago to Elgin to Lake in the Hills.
Because many girls have pets or are fond of animals -- and because of the recent tainted pet food scare -- pet care became the linking theme of the program's projects and experiments.
The girls toured both a PetSmart store and Golf Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, and performed experiments to determine the Ph levels of dog food.
On Friday, the camp's final day, they heard a female forensic investigator from the Schaumburg Police Department explain her job and how it involves various aspects of science.
Program coordinator Jocelyn Yarborough said she was inspired by the enthusiasm among the girls from Keller Junior High in Schaumburg in the Girls Excited about Math and Science, or GEMS, program hosted at Roosevelt.
She also had some funding left over from a similar AT&T program aimed at high school girls in 2003.
The girls paid $100 as well for the week's activities.
"I think this is the most effective $100 parents can spend on their kids," said chemistry Professor Lidia Calcaterra, who was brought in to help teach the girls.
Calcaterra said she was surprised by the girls' knowledge and sophistication, having originally prepared herself for a lower level of understanding.
She also was impressed by Yarborough's personal efforts in the last-minute marketing of the program.
Only weeks before the program began, Yarborough was driving all around the area passing out fliers at churches, parks, pools and stores.
"I knew there was an interest. I just needed to get it into the hands of the girls," Yarborough said.
She feels that middle schoolers are the right age to reach with such a program for a variety of reasons. For one thing, their summers aren't as programmed as high schoolers. Secondly, many older students have already reached a preliminary decision on what kind of career they'd like.
Yarborough said many young girls have the mistaken impression that being a doctor is the only job to aim for if you enjoy science. But there are many others, like pharmacists, that require the same knowledge of chemistry.
Though thinking academically isn't the way many middle school students choose to spend any part of their summer vacations, the girls in the Roosevelt camp felt very positive about the experience.
"It's cool to learn about chemistry because I really didn't know anything about it," said 13-year-old Tinajah Smith of Elgin. "We're not all in high school yet, but it gets us prepared. It maybe puts us a step ahead."
Caroline Gilley, 11, of Roselle, said she definitely preferred the program to a week of sitting around. She particularly liked the focus on animals, but still sees science as something fun, as opposed to a career to consider.
But Ruchi Aggarwal, 14, of Algonquin, has begun to think about a career in either biology or chemistry. Her interest in science and math was what attracted her attention to the program in the first place.
Yarborough hopes to run the program again next year, by which time she may be able to double the capacity.