Each year for the past 11 years, the
American Association of University Women (AAUW) has run a science and
math summer camp called Tech Trek
at
Stanford University for girls going into 8th grade. It is designed to
encourage them to continue their interest in science, math, technology,
exploration and learning. Studies have shown that girls' interests can
be sustained if they are exposed to the realities and possibilities
available to women today. A week's stay on an exciting campus helps
them to picture themselves on such a campus and to visualize college in
their future. This is especially important for girls whose family
members have not gone to college. Tech Trek provides exposure to the
possibilities available in science and the excitement of college, and
it is clearly working since a vast majority of the girls who attend
Tech Trek continue into AP science courses and attend college.
Tech Trek is held in back-to-back one-week
sessions. The 2009 camps were held in July. Eighty girls participated
in each session. The girls experienced a hands-on demonstration of
freezing point
depression by making ice cream in two ziplock baggies using half and
half, chocolate sauce, salt and ice. For a group of California girls,
some of whom have never seen salt used to de-ice sidewalks or roads,
this was an interesting concept. Of course, their favorite part
is the quality control test at the end of the experiment: eating the
ice cream!
SCV
Councilor
Ean Warren waiting
SCV
Past Chair Mark Kent discussing
for a spoonful of ice cream
Tech Trek with an AAUW chaperone
