Summary: The 22nd annual Expanding Your Horizons Conference will be held at The College of Wooster for 5th and 6th grade girls from Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland Counties on April 13, 2013.
Ever wonder how our brains differ from other animals? What makes rockets fly? Do you like to observe nature? Want to learn how to stay healthy? Well, if you are a 5th or 6th grade girl, you can explore some of these questions during the 22nd annual Expanding Your Horizons Conference held at The College of Wooster on April 13.
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is an award winning national program encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. The local EYH group has provided female role models and hands-on activities using scientific techniques for over two decades. The goal is to motivate girls to become innovative and creative thinkers, preparing them for the ever-changing future.
When Carol Reuger, a long-time EYH planning committee member, was asked why the conference started in Wooster she explained, Back in 1992, when EYH first started, women were seriously underrepresented in careers in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences and the average girl in the Wayne County area rarely had any contact with women who were working in those fields. Research at the time indicated that by eighth grade, most girls had already formed their conceptions of what career options were open to them. A number of professional women in the area were concerned about the limited career options their daughters and other girls were being offered in their schools and came together to organize the (areas) first EYH conference. The enthusiasm generated by participants that first year and every year since has been the force that keeps EYH going.
Wooster residents Beth and Michael Miller sent all three of their daughters to the program. Their oldest daughter Claire, who is now attending college, said her favorite memory from EYH is extracting DNA from an onion. I remember it was a very new concept and my first experience doing anything like that. attending EYH definitely sparked my interest in a variety of scientific fields. I remember thinking maybe this is what I want to do when I grow up. I think EYH was very empowering at the time. I was hesitant to attend originally but I remember feeling a sense of liberation and inspiration in all that I learned. I wanted to be something, do something after I left.
Merita Wiles, daughter of Greg Wiles and Theresa Ford, attended last years conference and exclaimed that The teachers were very inspiring. The activities were well planned and the fact that the EYH conference was all women was a nice change from school. Merita, who would like to be a doctor someday talked about her favorite activity: Melissa Shultz had a necklace activity that was fun and creative. It was interesting how the she used the beads and had them tie into the science lesson, making it a better way to teach. The lesson was about the sun and the ozone . The beads changed color as they sat under the UV ray light bulbs if they didnt have sunscreen on them. This taught us that UV rays could be harmful to your body if you dont use sunscreen.
This years conference allows girls to choose from a list of sixteen different workshops. Titles of some of the topics include Myths of the Caveman, The Humpty Dumpty Experiment, Solve the Plant Mystery, and Raining Cats and Dogs. Workshop presenters include veterinarians, a dentist, a pediatrician, and College of Wooster and Ohio State University scientists from the fields of geology, physics, chemistry, psychology, math, biology, and anthropology.
Although real progress has been made in the 22 years since EYH began in Wooster according to Reuger Women are now well represented in the biological sciences, and currently outnumber men in higher education. The fields of mathematics and physics however, are still predominantly male careers and there is still work to be done to encourage women to pursue those careers.
Brochures providing additional information and registration instructions will be distributed to schools in Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland counties mid-March and handed out in science class. If you would like to start planning early, you can check out the 2013 Expanding Your Horizons brochure at: www.tinyurl.com/EYH2013. Registration deadline is April 3.
