Summer Technology And Engineering Preview At Stout For Girls (Steps For Girls): Introducing The World Of Manufacturing

The University of Wisconsin-Stout hosted a tuition-free summer engineering and technology camp for 163 girls entering 7th grade in four one-week sessions in July 1997. The purpose of the camp was to expose women to the opportunities for technical careers early enough to influence their choices of math, science, and technical courses in middle and high school. The camp was partially supported by grants from four industries and organizations, including the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Honeywell, the Ford Motor Company Fund, and the Stout Foundation. Hands-on technical activities focused on manufacturing and included the following: manufacture of radio-controlled model airplanes in a production system followed by powered flight by each girl of her own airplane, plastic processing in which each girl thermoformed her own sailboat, CADD, foundry, automation, robotics, packaging, and orientations on math, physics, and chemistry. Each camp published and printed a newsletter containing articles written and photographs taken by the campers. The 40 campers in each week were organized into four 10-girl teams, each led by a woman University student counselor. Three of the counselors were manufacturing engineering undergraduate majors. The campers stayed in a dormitory for the week and ate most meals in the Student center cafeteria. The camp received excellent regional press coverage by three TV stations, two local newspapers, AP distribution, and seven packaging journals. Initial feedback indicated an impressively positive change in attitude toward engineering and technical careers. The University plans to track the progress of the girls through college enrollment. P ge 323.