Girls & Science Offers Hands-On STEAM Experiments
By Libby Smith
DENVER (CBS4) – Thousands of girls brought their families to the CBS4 Girls & Science event at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
"I hope they feel empowered and I hope they feel they can actually do something," said Molly Engleking, the membership business analyst for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
PHOTO GALLERY: Girls & Science
Museum staff estimated thousands of people would be at the event. They even did the math on it at the Science of Data Clubhouse.
"Know that the science of data is something fun and exciting, and that data nerds are someone kind of cool," Engleking explained.
"I love science," said 9-year-old Jasiah.
Girls & Science celebrates science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEAM jobs. There were about 25 clubhouses featuring a wide variety of interactive projects. At the Denver Zoo clubhouse, girls made friends with a shingleback skink, a lizard native to Australia.
"What I noticed about the skin is that it kind of looks like a pine cone," said one young lady who was touching the skink.
"They're actually making their own observations so they're being true scientists today," said Crystal Kobza, of the Denver Zoo.
Observation, experimentation, and hand-on experience is what Girls & Science is all about. At the clubhouse put on by the National Renewable Energy Lab, they used a solar connect circuit to show how renewable energy can be integrated into the grid.
"If you don't have light or a solar panel, it won't work, but if you turn off some of them, it will still work," explained Jasiah.
The Colorado State University clubhouse has precious puppies who sat so still while they were bandaged and had their hearts listened to, a hands-on lesson on how to be a vet.
"Veterinary medicine is a science just like human medicine and the biomedical sciences," said Caroline Cantner, a Denver-based vet who volunteered at the CSU clubhouse.
CBS4's Lauren Whitney also hosted a clubhouse called Whitney's Winter Wonderland. The kids got to learn the science of the water cycle as well as the technology of TV by playing weather caster in front of the green screen.
"We were doing the forecast," said 9-year-old, Mady.
"When the thing you want to point out is this way, you have to point that way," explained Ava, Mady's twin sister.
Girls & Science offers a lot to see and do, with the goal of opening girls up to new ways of thinking and career opportunities.
Libby Smith is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. If you have a story you'd like to tell CBS4 about, call 303-863-TIPS (8477) or visit the News Tips section.
