Current SouthCentral Awards
Acton Aztecs as Scientists, Technologists, Engineers and Mathematicians
Collaborators: Acton Elementary School and UNT- Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Contact Information:
Ilich Ramirez
972-708-2400
Grade level served: 3rd and 4th Grades
Project Description: Acton Elementary will work from August 2006 to May 2007 with the 3rd and 4th grade girls on the grade-appropriate TAKS-centered Math and Science curriculum. In the 5th grade all Texas students take the Science TAKS test and helping them to get a good grasp of the science concepts tested will definitely make them successful on the test and perhaps raise their awareness of careers in scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical fields of study. The girls will be guided in exploring different avenues of each subject through labs in Acton's Science lab. Technology assignments will be done in the computer lab with the Computer teacher. Math exploration will take place in the classroom in conjunction with our Math district curriculum. In May 2007, the 3rd and 4th grade girls that have participated in the year long activities will take a day field trip to the University of North Texas campus in Denton, Texas. The tour will be conducted by their Student Ambassadors and it will include touring the Research Park and the College of Engineering which houses the electron microscopes, game lab, and seeing demonstrations of all of the exciting projects that girls just like them work on all year long. Among activities that the girls will be able to see are the results of RoboCamp which is a week long camp for girls in which they construct fully functioning robots. Besides the College of Engineering, the girls will be shown the Willis Library and as much of the UNT campus as they are allowed in the day field trip that they will be taking. The girls will be accompanied by 5 teachers from their school which will help keep the tour moving along and have the children on task and making them realize different careers that they may be able to study which will have them using their Scientific, Technological, Engineering and Mathematical skills.
Celebrate Science
Collaborators: Rolling Plains Education Consortium and New Deal High School
Contact Information:
Kimberly Hendrix
806-746-5933
Grade level served: 9-12
Project Description: The Science Department at New Deal High School will plan and implement two Science Celebrations during the 2006-2007 school year: Mole Day on October 23, 2006 and DNA Day on April 25, 2007. Students and teachers from New Deal and districts in the Rolling Plains will participate in activities to learn more about the scientific measure of "mole" and the structure and importance of DNA in the agricultural environment in which they live. Events will be planned on the campus of Texas Tech University with participation from the science departments at the university. The theme for Mole Day 2006 is Mole Madness with an emphasis on sports. Activities will be centered around the science of sports with presentations by the sports medicine department and athletic department at TTU. DNA Day will focus on plant science with presentations by the College of Agricultural Science at TTU. On both days students will have the opportunity to interact informally with students and faculty at the university.
Engineering For Girls
Collaborators: Red River Valley Girl Scout Council and various school districts
Contact Information:
Connie Stauter
903-784-0803
Grade level served: Fourth & Fifth Grades (60 girls)
Project Description: Girl Scouts will be collaborating with school districts in Oklahoma and Texas in working with girls in the area of hands on science, math and engineering experiments. EFG (Engineering For Girls) is an engineering club designed to teach girls the various aspects of engineering as well as helping them prepare for their TAKS tests. We will hold one session each month during the school day. Girl Scout coordinator will supply the materials, handouts and staff to conduct each session. School districts will supply the facilities needed and allow us to work with the girls during the school day.
Expanding Your Horizons
Collaborators: American Association of University Women and Girlstart
Contact Information:
Jessica Cook
512-916-4775
Grades served: 6-8
Project Description: Girlstart will offer the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) workshop series in Austin, Texas. The program, scheduled for Saturday, March 24th, 2007 at the University of Texas at Austin, is an all-day series of hands-on workshops for middle-school girls led by professional women working in math, science, engineering and technology fields. Expanding Your Horizons programs are offered all over the nation and 2007 will mark Girlstarts second opportunity to organize and host the Austin EYH. Girlstart is thrilled to offer this unique workshop for up to 250 middle school girls from across Central Texas. The day-long program includes a series of 50-minute hands-on workshops designed to inspire girls in mathematics, science and technology. In the workshops, girls participate in fun, hands-on learning experiences led by women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. These role models share career awareness information and discuss job satisfaction, educational prerequisites, and descriptions of a typical day on the job. Each girl will pre-register for one of six Career Tracks and attend four interactive workshops in her chosen track. More than any other Girlstart program, EYH depends on the enthusiastic efforts of a large number of volunteers. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) will provide critical assistance to Girlstart during the planning and implementation of the EYH program. AAUW women will serve on a team of core volunteers that assist with program planning and work on the day of the event to assist with set-up, student registration, loading/unloading, lunch serving, hall monitoring during presentations, clean-up, and many other logistics.
Girl Props
Collaborators: Science in the Movies and Art & Soul, Inc.
Contact Information:
Amanda Beck
512-554-4791
Grades served: 1-5
Project Description: Science in the Movies (SIM) and Art & Soul encourage children to explore their world through creativity. SIM uses the excitement of movies and special effects to dazzle and pique children’s curiosity in science while Art & Soul uses traditional artistic media such as drawing, painting, and sculpture to inspire personal creativity. Through Girl Props, students create artistic pieces that will be used to demonstrate science concepts in the SIM presentation. The girls first work with Art & Soul to make the art pieces, and then they are able to participate in the SIM presentation that uses their props.
Girls at the Center
Collaborators: Girls Scouts of America - Tejas Girl Scout Council and The Discovery Science Place
Contact Information:
Kris Parks
903-533-8011, ext. 25
Grades served: Girls in Grades 3-5 with a parental or adult partner
Project Description: During the school year, The Discovery Science Place works in conjunction with Tejas Girl Scout Council and five elementary schools in the Tyler Independent School District to provide science activities and museum experiences to girls from underserved populations. This program (Girls at the Center) comes under the umbrella of an initiative begun by a national collaborative group including The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Funding for the program ended several years ago, and most of the partnerships dissolved. However, our experience with Girls at the Center has had such a positive impact on the served population that we have determined to keep the partnership intact as long as we are able to fund it. Tejas Girl Scout Council has secured funding to provide a light supper to each girl and her adult sponsor, usually her mother. They also manage to feed other family members who attend. The schools have the responsibility of distributing information to the girls via flyers provided by Tejas Council. The Discovery Science Place offers its facility four times per school year and provides instructors for the activities and explainers to assist visitors in the exhibit halls. We also supplies activity packets that allow girls to work with the sponsor to complete a science investigation.
Girls on the Move
Collaborators: Girl Scouts of Tejas Council and Texas Transportation Institute
Contact Information:
Carmen Pesina
972-349-2446
Grades served: 2-6
Project Description: The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council and Texas Transportation Institute collaborated to pilot the Girls on the Move program on May 6, 2006. Due to its overwhelming success and popularity, we would like to expand the program to a broader and more diverse audience. The collaboration will extend to two different targeted groups the Dallas metroplex and East Texas to obtain participants. The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council will advertise this program in their TIPS manual and online calendar as well as through the Service Units to target traditional Girl Scouts. Other outreach groups will also be included to introduce engineering and technology to at risk populations. The Texas Transportation Institute and DART will be responsible for planning the logistics of the program, coordinating speakers and modes of transportation, and program content. The Dallas event will include an underground train ride from DARTs North Park Station to Reunion Tower; the girls then will enjoy an elevator ride at Reunion Tower and view and discuss the interstate system from a birds eye view. Next, the girls will ride a DART bus from Reunion Tower to McKinney Avenue, and they will board a historic trolley. The day will end with the girls returned to DARTs North Park Station. The participants of the East Texas version of this program will enjoy a three-hour round trip ride (plus a 1 hour layover) aboard an historic Texas State Train from Rusk, Texas to Palestine, Texas. The park offers steam engine shop tours, tours of the 1927 Texas & Pacific 610 steam engine, and train seminars and workshops. During the trip, girls will learn about the history of the railroad system and how it helped shape our nation. They will also explore career opportunities in technology, engineering, and science in the field of transportation.
Girls Robofest
Collaborators: Learning Links, PCS Edventures, and Eanes ISD
Contact Information:
Kate Woodward Young
512-347-9658
Grades served: 5th-12th grade
Project Description: Learning Links will be working with Eanes ISD, Cooperative Learning Academic program and PCS Edventures to provide training and supply 3 girl Lego Robotics teams with Lego NXT sets. Learning Links will build the computer programming and leadership skills of girls in 5th-12th grade. PCS Edventures, Eanes Independent School District and Cooperative Learning Academic Program will provide support to the girls’ teams.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
Collaborators: Girlstart, Women in Engineering Program, The University of Texas at Austin, Lone Star Girl Scout Council
Contact Information:
Tricia Berry
512-471-5650
Grades served: 1-8
Project Description: Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (Girl Day) is celebrated internationally during Engineers Week each year. Families and educators are invited to join their students at UT for an afternoon of engineering fun provided by the Women in Engineering Program (WEP). Girl Day gives over 1,000 first through 8th grade students a chance to: have fun doing grade-specific, hands-on engineering activities, interact with over 200 students, professors and engineers from industry, explore discovery booths hosted by student organizations, corporate partners and community organizations such as Girlstart. Participating Girl Scouts are able to receive a Girl Day patch available through partnership with the Lone Star Girl Scout Council. Current engineering students are provided leadership and presentation skills development opportunities. Girl Day goals include increasing pre-college students interest in engineering, math and science and establishing a line of communication between the pre-college students and WEP.
Recognizing Our Role in Habitat Reconstruction
Collaborators: Growing Santa Rita and Elm Fork Education Center (University of North Texas)
Contact Information:
Robin Straley
806-748-5144
Grades served: 3rd-5th grade
Project Description: For this project, Brian Wheeler with the Elm Fork Education Center, Rae Riley with Growing Santa Rita, Greg Birkenfeld with Soil Mender, and the technical support staff from Davis Weather, along with myself will all work together as a resource network to encourage girls to re-establish habitats around Westwind Elementary. Westwind Elementary recently went through a renovation and addition phase. This has destroyed most of the ecosystem around the school leading to a need for intervention to save some of the habitats. In order to re-establish the habitats though, students at Westwind will need to make informed decisions based on the climate of the area and the basic elements needed to sustain the habitats successfully. Below is a basic description of what each group will be contributing to ensure the success of the project. The first part of the project will focus gathering data from the weather station from Davis Weather and Brain Wheeler with the Elm Fork Education Center will help develop lessons and activities which encourage the girls to make good environmental decisions. With the knowledge gained from the weather station and the water monitoring kits, the students at Westwind will share their observations and data with students from the Santa Rita Elementary school in Midland. Once the students have the background information about the climate, water, and possible plant options, Greg Birkenfeld with Soil Mender will talk with the class. He will also supply the school with the appropriate type of products needed to ensure quality growth of the plants chosen. When all of the research has been completed the students will plan and begin re-establishing some of the habitats around the school. Once the habitats are thriving again, the students will give a presentation on the schools news channel to share their project encouraging other classes to enjoy observing the habitats too. During the year, I will also introduce the students to science occupations that correspond to what the students are doing. This will provide a spring board for discussions on educational opportunities available for the students in the future.
Science Camp: Inquiry with Real-Time Data
Collaborators: Academy for Science & Health-CISD, Travis Intermediate School, Cryar Intermediate School
Contact Information:
Dr. Mary Jo Parker
936-525-2324
Grades served: 10-11
Project Description: High School campus will provide female mentors who act as "experts" in the use of real-time data acquisition probeware & sensors as well as senior scientists. Intermediate schools will provide 5-6 grade females who will learn TEKS based information through the use of real-time data equipment, scientific inquiry, and demonstration of their understanding through a mini-science fair exhibit. 1. Create an environment of scientific inquiry supported through the use of real-time data acquisition, mentoring for both younger and older girls, and provide a vehicle of support for intermediate school science teachers. 2. Create, through the use of mentors, skill sets involved in public demonstration of scientific inquiry, creative problem-solving, and increased interests in science, math & technology. 3. Create avenues of collaborative opportunities for intermediate science teachers/students in lab-based, inquiry-based TEKS/TAKS skill and knowledge acquisition.
Zoeys Room & ATW GREAT MINDS Partnership
Collaborators: Zoeys Room & ATW GREAT MINDS
Contact Information:
Jill Delaney
518-466-6139
Grades served: 5-9
Project Description: Girls who have registered for a Zoeys Room/GREAT MINDS membership will not only have full access to all of the online services of Zoeys Room, but will participate in a minimum of two live events hosted by ATW chapters. ATW will also provide access to computers with Internet connection for its members, whether they are individuals or part of a group (such as a girls club). Participants will also have access to ATWs network of business leaders in a non-threatening, fun learning environment. GREAT MINDS bridges the gap between industry and schools by establishing community programs and groups focused on facilitating exposure to opportunities in technology, thus making an impact on participants prior to college/post-secondary education. Zoeys Room (www.zoeysroom.com), the model program of Platform Shoes Forum, is a safe, online community for middle school girls (ages 10-14), which encourages creativity through science, technology, engineering and math. ATW and Zoeys Room have collaborated to provide an enhanced learning environment for girls currently already involved with ATW. With an ATW GREAT MINDS membership, girls will have access to all of the features of a Zoeys Room membership, plus the benefit of localized networks of science, engineering, math and technology practitioners committed to introducing and engaging young women in careers that utilize technology skills. We expect this mentoring relationship combined with involvement in the Zoeys Room community over the course of one year will result in a higher percentage of young women and girls who are interested in pursuing careers in these fields. By working together, ATW and Zoeys Room can engage girls in technical concepts both on the Internet and in person at chapter events. By participating in Zoeys Room through an ATW chapter, girls can create a sense of community not only online, but face-to-face with their peers.
