Colorado State University Engineering Undergraduates to Show Girl Scouts Science is Fun May 5 in Denver

Note to Reporters: Photos of a previous Girl Scout event at Colorado State University are available with the news release at http://www.news.colostate.edu.

The NSF-funded Extreme Ultraviolet Engineering Research Center at Colorado State University will host a workshop on light and optics for the Girl Scouts of Colorado in Denver on Sunday, May 5 through a collaboration with the Optical Society of America.

Through fun, hands-on activities, such as making their own telescope, girls learn about the exciting world of optics, light and color and its importance in everyday life. The workshop also shows career profiles highlighting some of the many job opportunities in the field.

The event, for 4th-8th graders, will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the Girl Scouts office in Denver, 400 S. Broadway. Cost is $7 per student, with financial assistance available. The program is open to non-Girl Scouts as well and walk-up reservations are welcome. To register, go to http://col.st/17BturN.

“Providing an opportunity for these girls to explore ideas and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is fantastic! The Girl Scouts certainly helped me when I was younger, and have always been a great support system for girls of all ages to explore many different career paths,” said Kaarin Goncz, education director of the university’s Extreme Ultraviolet Engineering Research Center.

Goncz is leading a year-long program that will bring this workshop to Girl Scouts across Colorado. She has solicited assistance from graduate students associated with the Engineering Research Center and undergraduate students from the CSU chapter of the Society for Women Engineers. These students provide valuable role models for the girls and reinforce that science can be fun and a great career opportunity.

More women than ever before are enrolling in Colorado State’s College of Engineering, which last year was honored with the Women in Engineering Initiative Award from the Women in Engineering ProActive Network. The award recognizes an outstanding project or initiative that serves as a model for other organizations.

Twice every year, the College of Engineering hosts about 800 high school students, their parents and community members who learn about engineering majors and careers at Colorado State’s Engineering Exploration Day.

The mission of the Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programming is one of the organization’s areas of emphasis, showing girls they can help fuel the pipeline of women leaders needed in STEM fields. More than 30,000 girls statewide are members of Girl Scouts of Colorado.

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