Girls entering seventh or eighth grade from area middle schools are experiencing the many areas of science through captivating hands-on laboratories this summer at Wilkes University’s Women Empowered by Science Summer Camp. The program began July 21 and runs through July 27. The camp encourages girls to take interest in studying science and pursuing science careers.
New this year, WEBS 2.0 and 3.0 invites former campers back to campus to be counselors themselves and participate in new labs.
Attendees are given the opportunity to explore the world of animals, food, genetics, medicine and the building – and programming – of their own LEGO robots.
Camp was opened with keynote speaker and Wilkes alumna Megan Ruhmel ’09 who is a senior research technician at ExxonMobil. Girls have the chance to participate in more than a dozen labs. They include wizards of physics with associate professor of physics Del Lucent which investigates levitation and magnetism. They’ve learned ways to clean up oil spills using household objects with associate professor of environmental engineering and earth science Holly Frederick and had hands on experience of being a veterinarian with the help of four-legged friends Bo, Derby, Fish and Chips.
Girls had the opportunity to complete a bone hunt and put together a skeleton with Valerie Kalter, associate professor of biology as well as learn the physics of dance with Lynne Mariani, faculty of practice of dance. During lunch, campers were visited by obedience trained pups Zoki and Zava and their mom, Vivien Terzaghi, professor of biology William Terzaghi’s wife.
