Purdue STEM leaders support Conner Prairie's Passport to Hi-Tech

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A lineup of inspirational Purdue University students, faculty and staff are participating in Conner Prairie's Passport to Hi-Tech, a hands-on event for girls ages 7 to 12. The Saturday (March 5) event focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

"Purdue University is honored to be a part of Conner Prairie's STEM education outreach, particularly at Passport to Hi-Tech. Showing girls the exciting opportunities in our state's great companies and universities is an important way to start them on a path to success. This event lets them meet and interact with women in STEM careers, helps them to dream big dreams and shows them that they can have unlimited opportunities," said Barbara J. Alder, director of Purdue's Office of Engagement for Indianapolis.

Passport to Hi-Tech will offer more than 30 booths and activities dedicated to exploring science, including activities sponsored by Purdue's Women in Engineering and the Office of Engagement for Indianapolis.

Jocelyn Dunn, a Purdue industrial engineering doctoral student, will be one of the highlighted speakers. Dunn's "Living on 'Mars' in Hawaii" presentation is at 12:45 p.m. 

In 2014, Dunn and a team of five researchers lived eight months in a simulated Martian habitat on the Big Island of Hawaii. The team was part of a NASA-funded study of human factors that affect team performance during long-term space travel, like a mission to Mars.

Passport to Hi-Tech is a partnership between Conner Prairie and Women & Hi Tech, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting female participation in technology fields. It is sponsored by Roche Diagnostics.

Passport to Hi-Tech is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside Conner Prairie's Welcome Center, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers, Indiana. Free for museum members, general admission is $8. Admission for area Girl Scouts in uniform and their family members is $6.

Purdue supports STEM education in Indiana through various workshops for teachers interested in offering more science and engineering curriculum in their classrooms, educational grants, technology camps and programs such as Science Express, which delivers science equipment to classes around the state. In May 2015, Purdue's M-STEM3 500 program hosted hundreds of Indiana teens at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to promote science and motor sports. 

Writer: John Hughey, 765-494-2432, hugheyj@purdue.edu

Source: Barbara Alder, 317-632-0714, balder@purdue.edu