April 21, 2005

Girls explore high-tech careers at women in engineering camp

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Female students who have finished grades six through eight can apply for a week-long summer camp at Purdue University to explore careers in engineering and technology.

Love Engineering at Purdue, also known as LEAP, will be offered by the Purdue Women in Engineering Program, which is designed to encourage middle school girls to explore career paths in engineering. The first camp, on June 20-24, is open to students finishing the sixth and seventh grades this spring. The second camp, on June 27 through July 1, is for seventh-graders who have already attended a Love Engineering at Purdue camp and all eighth-graders.

Camp activities include reconstructing a computer from its components, building a flashlight that doesn't need batteries, designing and constructing a mechanical toy or robot, and making a personalized Web page. The campers also will be able to view several laboratories on campus and tour a local industrial manufacturing facility.

Campers can choose a commuter or residential option. The commuter option, which costs $150, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The residential option will permit the girls to stay at Cary Quadrangle from the Sunday before camp to the closing ceremonies on Friday, June 24 or July 1. The residential option cost is $375, which includes additional evening programming for campers.

A banquet for the girls and their parents is included in the camp fees. Scholarships are available for families in need.

Interested students need to submit an application, a recommendation letter from a math or science teacher, and a short essay from the student. Application forms are available by contacting the Women in Engineering Program Office at (765) 494-3889, puwie@ecn.purdue.edu. An application also can be downloaded online.

Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765)496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

Source: Carol Stwalley, assistant director of Women in Engineering, (765) 494-0758, cgss@purdue.edu.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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