2nd Annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day Kicks off Feb 22
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville again is offering young girls exposure to the field of engineering.
Girls from grades 5-8 are invited to attend “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day 2014.” The daylong event will take place from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, in the SIUE School of Engineering Building.
This year’s activities will reflect an amusement park theme. Attendees will build simple circuits and construct parachutes. Small groups will use teamwork to design and create miniature roller coasters, and much more. Each activity is expected to last about 45 minutes.
“This is to give them an idea of civil and structural engineering,” said Alexis Brown, a senior at SIUE majoring in mechanical engineering.
Again this year professional women engineers and SIUE students will be on site providing support and guidance to program participants as they take part in each of the activities. Following the completion of each activity, the professional engineers and the SIUE engineering students will offer engineering analysis and ask the participants probing questions about the project.
During the event, the creative problem solving aspects of engineering will be discussed and explored. The participants will work collaboratively on projects, and be encouraged to ask questions and use their imagination.
The program will be led by volunteers through SWE. The group is anticipating double the crowd of last year’s event, said Sofia Chkautovich, a junior civil engineering major. Last year’s activities drew 115 girls to campus.
“Participants will complete a total of five activities, covering the fields of civil, mechanical, electrical, industrial and computer science engineering,” said Chkautovich, the chair of the SWE committee hosting the event. “During its first year, we had such an overwhelming, positive response to our event, from both the school and the community. For this year, we hope to accomplish the same excitement and hope to have even more positive feedback from the participants, SIUE, the community and even the engineering students.”
There is a $15 registration fee, which includes all activities, lunch and a T-shirt for each girl. Those interested can register at https://sites.google.com/site/swesiue/igeday. Registration is limited to the first 250 participants. For more information, contact the SIUE SWE at swesiue@gmail.com or by visiting www.facebook.com/swesiue.
