New on today's
Bulletin Board

Found: pair of glasses

Thursday, March 14, 2002

Christine Crowder, left, a 10th grade student at McCurdy High School, Victoria Roybal, center, an 8th grade student at Española Middle School and Amber Lovato also an 8th grade student at Pojoaque Middle School have a hands on experience in the "Fun Properties of Fluids" workshop presented by Katherine Prestridge of Hydrodynamic Applications (DX-3).

Expanding Your Horizons program a big hit with local school girls

The Laboratory’s annual Expanding Your Horizons technical career workshops for young women reached out to surrounding communities Wednesday to educate and inspire girls in junior high and high school to get involved in math, science and technical fields.

About 100 students from two dozen local school districts participated in various workshops demonstrating the importance of math and science. Female scientists, engineers and professionals from the Laboratory and the area led the workshops at the Lab and the Los Alamos Research Park.

The girls were randomly placed in groups to interact and experience the workshops with new people. The groups were assigned to make a functioning boat out of foil and make an advertisement to market their product. Each group attended two workshops, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Workshops ranged from the biology of tuberculosis, to creating your presence on the web, crystal growth, designing the ultimate motion machine, dynamic material testing, fun properties of fluids, health and wellness in the workplace, making ooey gooey polymers, preserving the past, robotics, scanning electron microscopy, tails of a veterinarian, and toys and science.

Christine Crowder, a 10th grade student at McCurdy High School, is interested in engineering and graphic design. Crowder attended the fun properties of fluids workshop. Crowder said, “The learning process of the workshops introduced me to these disciplines and will be helpful to me in the future. It isn’t boring like people think; it’s actually really interesting and fun. More girls should get involved.”

Toni Marie Sprague, a freshman at Coronado High School said, “ I want to become a veterinarian because I love animals. My love for animals got me interested in math and science because I need to know these subjects to take better care of my future patients.”

Kyndra Garcia, an eighth grade student at Pojoaque Middle School, said she wants to be a crime scene investigator. “It is really interesting how math is involved with being a doctor,” Garcia said, adding that Wednesday’s workshops also taught her more about engineering.

The Los Alamos chapter of EYH is sponsored by the New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering and the Los Alamos Women in Science.

The NMNWSE is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 100 female scientists and engineers who volunteer their time and energy to ensure that young women have access to information on exciting and meaningful careers in the sciences and engineering, according to information provided by the EYH committee.

--Lecole Trujillo

Team eight “The Beautiful Boats,” tested their model boat with pennies in order to determine how well it would stay afloat. Left to right are Erika Velasquez, an 8th grade student from Coronado Middle School, Jessica Purdy, a 10th grade student from Espanola High School, Rosemary Montoya of Ecology (ESH-20), Heather Martinez, an 8th grade student from Rock Christian Academy, Lysetta Romero, a 10th grade student from Mesa Vista High School and Felicia Gallegos an 8th grade student from Saint Francis Cathedral School.Inset photo: “The Beautiful Boats” model boat held 100 pennies without sinking.

Presenter Stephanie Pendergrass, kneeling, of the Aspen Medical Clinic, Cecily Marroquin an 8th grade student of Los Alamos Middle School, Cassandra Gonzales an 8th grade student of Penasco Middle School, Amanda Romero a 9th grade student of Victory Christian Academy and Jessica Purdy a 10th grade student of Espanola High School time themselves pushing a 100-year- old bike to compare to the time it takes to walk the same distance in the workshop "Designing the Ultimate Motion Machine." Photos by LeRoy N. Sanchez, Public Affairs

This edition's other Stories