Northern New Mexico girls learn about math, science through Expanding Your Horizons program

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (04-013)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 5, 2004 -- An estimated 150 teenage girls from around Northern and Central New Mexico will discover the wonderment of math and science as participants in the national Expanding Your Horizons program Thursday, March 11, at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Parish Hall in Los Alamos.

The program is cosponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory and is designed for young women in grades eight through 10 from throughout Northern New Mexico.

Each attendee will participate in two "hands-on" workshops conducted by women scientists. An estimated 150 teenage girls will participate in the conference, which includes up to 15 "hands-on" workshops on a variety of subjects. Each attendee will participate in two workshops conducted by local women scientists, exploring topics such as robotics, fractals, polymers, chemistry, radioactivity spectroscopy and cryptology , said Georgia Pedicini of Los Alamos' High Performance Computing Systems Group. Lunch is provided for the participants.

The conference will conclude with this year's keynote speaker, astrophysicist, Jill Tarter, director of Project Phoenix at the Center for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Research. Tartar will discuss the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Tarter also is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m., that evening in the Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum on Central Avenue and 15 th Street downtown.

"We hope many of this year's attendees also will choose to reach for the stars," Pedicini said.

According to Pedicini, Tarter's strong interest in educating the next generation of scientists helped her to develop an award winning series of supplementary teachers guides called "Life in the Universe." The guides are for middle and elementary school teachers. Tarter also is currently involved in a project to produce a ninth grade integrated science curriculum called " Voyages Through Time." The curriculum is based on the overarching theme of evolution. More details on both these educational resources are available at a teacher conference, which is part of Expanding Your Horizons, said Pedicini.

The teacher conference runs simultaneously with Expanding Your Horizons at a separate location, and is sponsored by the Laboratory's Education Programs Office. The teacher's keynote speaker is Graciela Perez of Los Alamos' Institutional Industrial Hygiene and Safety Group. Perez will discuss information regarding math and science as well as engineering and culture and how teachers can mentor students in these areas. Other speakers will discuss math and science careers and present options for including more math and science in the school curriculum. Teachers attending the workshops must have a student enrolled in the event; other adult sponsors also are eligible to attend. Space is limited.

For more information about the teacher conference, contact Sandra Landry of the Education Programs Office at 665-6346 or write to landry@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics is licensed by the national Math and Science Network, a non-profit membership organization of educators, scientists, mathematicians, parents, community leaders, and government and corporate representatives. The Los Alamos Expanding Your Horizons is sponsored by the Northern Chapter of the New Mexico Network for Women in Science, formerly known as Los Alamos Women in Science.

The Math and Science Network created the first Expanding Your Horizons conference at Mills College in 1976. This year marks the 30 th anniversary of the national Math and Science Network and the 26th year of EYH in Los Alamos. The Laboratory has been a cosponsor of EYH since its inception in Los Alamos. More information is available about the Math and Science Network at http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/aboutmsn.html online.

Early registration has closed, however, additional students are still being accepted on a space-available basis. Science teachers are asked to select the students they believe will benefit the most from attendance. Other students may contact their science teachers if they are interested in participating. In addition, parents also may submit applications for their students, said Pedicini.

For registration materials and information about the conference, go to http://lawis.lanl.gov/eyh/ online, or contact Pedicini at 667-8117 or write to gap@lanl by electronic mail.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

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