IMSA camp gets girls involved in science

It's been a busy week for the dozens of students participating in the the Science@IMSA for Girls camp sponsored by the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora.

By Wednesday the girls already had designed jewelry modeled after their DNA, solved a phony kidnapping plot using forensic evidence, discovered several of the thousands of microscopic creatures living in the campus pond and made ice cream with liquid nitrogen. And they still have two days left.

The weeklong camp, during which the 40 girls live in campus residence halls, is designed to give them a taste of several varieties of chemistry and biology during the week, including an introduction to genetics, forensics and zoology. The camp for students throughout Illinois entering eighth and ninth grades is taught by IMSA staff and students.

"All week we've been sampling the different areas of science because a lot of kids who like biology expect that they're going to become doctors," said IMSA science instructor Megan Schrementi. "That's great but we want them to know there are so many other choices."

Wednesday's ecology lesson was a hit as students spent the morning scouring the campus pond for hydras, algae and rotifers and then bringing their samples back to be studied under microscopes and identified.

"Seeing these microorganisms is my favorite activity in camp so far because we're actually working with live specimens," said 14-year-old Carly Willing of Bartlett. "The other days have been fun, too, but we're finding cool things in this water."

Just upstairs, other campers were getting their chemistry fix while investigating the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures, studying the periodic properties of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals and learning about the process of chemiluminescence, used to make glow sticks and emergency lights. Wednesday students made ice cream by boiling liquid nitrogen to -200 degrees Celsius and adding milk and flavorings.

"Everything we're doing is to show the students that science happens every day right in front of them," said science teacher Jeong Choe-Hwang. "Not all science just happens in a lab."

The school also offers an all-boys science camp, which runs from July 25 to 30, as well as coed camps, but leaders say there tends to be less distraction in the single-sex camps.

"Maturity levels are different among the ages and genders so it's best to keep them apart," Choe-Hwang said. "But next week the boys will do many of the same experiments, except for making jewelry."