Girls Explore Careers at Annual “Women in Science” Conference
City event gives girls plenty of reasons to study science
MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Hesshaus
Communications Manager
shesshaus@ecotarium.org
(508)929-2738
March 7, 2007
(WORCESTER, MA) - From zoo keepers and astronomers to doctors and forensic engineers, science plays a major role in many cutting-edge career fields. Yet, even though women constitute 45% of the workforce in the U.S., they hold just 12% of science and engineering jobs in business and industry, according to the National Council for Research on Women.
This year, more than 100 seventh and eighth grade girls from Worcester's middle schools will spend the day exploring careers with a scientific base at the 2007 Women in Science Conference on Saturday, March 24 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The conference, a joint project between the EcoTarium and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is designed to offer girls real-life role models and inspiration for pursuing their interests in the sciences.
Upon arrival at the EcoTarium at 9 a.m., the girls will participate in three science-based workshops hosted by women in a specific science field. Each workshop includes hands-on activities and the opportunity to meet dynamic women who have turned their love of science into successful careers. At 11:30 a.m. the girls will take a bus over to the University of Massachusetts Medical School for a luncheon and a keynote address by Sheila Ewing Browne, the Bertha Phillips Rodger Professor of Chemistry at Mount Holyoke College, an accomplished physical organic chemist who is distinguished for her mentoring work to increase opportunities for ethnic groups underrepresented in the sciences. The day will come to a close with a group activity in which the girls will showcase what they learned at the conference to take back and present at their respective middle schools.
Presenters for this year's event include women from the State Police Crime Laboratory, Intel, University of Massachusetts Medical School, MSPCA, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Catch the Science Bug, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the EcoTarium and middle school teachers as well as college professors. The rain/snow date for the conference is Saturday, March 31 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
This event is not open to the general public. Media interested in attending the conference should contact Sally Anne Giedrys on or before 5 p.m. on Friday, March 23.