Colorado State Kicks Off New Saturday Morning Engineering Club, a Free Eight-Week Program for Grade School Girls

Note to Editors: The media are invited to attend the Saturday Morning Engineering Club’s inaugural meeting from 9 a.m. – noon Sept. 28 in Room B103 in the Engineering Building on the main Colorado State University campus.

The Colorado State University Women and Minorities in Engineering Program, or WMEP, is sponsoring the Saturday Morning Engineering Club, a free eight-week educational program designed to encourage female children to become interested and involved in the fields of science and math. The course, which meets from 9 a.m.-noon on the university’s main campus for eight consecutive Saturdays, begins Sept. 28 at 9 a.m.

Saturday Morning Engineering Club is a new program funded by Xcel Energy Foundation and welcomes girls in grades four to six from Ft. Collins, Loveland and Greeley. Through the club, girls explore engineering principles using hands-on learning activities such as bridge building, water treatment, cosmetics development, Web page design, robotics and astronautics. Led by female engineering and science students at Colorado State, the club will run annually in both the spring and fall semesters.

"The ultimate goal of Women and Minorities in Engineering Program is to increase the number of underrepresented minority and women students who earn degrees in engineering fields," said WMEP director Benita Phillips. "Through fun activities, such as participating in games and playing with scientific toys, the Saturday Morning Engineering Club is striving to get girls interested in math and science at a young age."

The Women and Minorities in Engineering Program provides information and resources as well as academic and professional development programs for women and minority engineering students. Through a variety of activities, WMEP enhances students’ academic potential and professional growth while at Colorado State and strives to provide students with opportunities to explore the possibilities that engineering careers can offer.