Girls Explore Field Of Engineering, Hands-on Camp Made Fun!

The Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC) connected the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania with Philadelphia University’s Engineering department last year when they ran a successful engineering camp for a troop of girl scouts from West Philadelphia. The program was so well received by the Girl Scouts that they contacted DVIRC again this year to put together another Engineering summer camp at Philadelphia University. This year the Girl Scouts targeted middle-school students from the Norristown school district who expressed interest in joining the Girl Scouts, and an interest in the Math and Science summer camp model.

Most kids in lower income communities do not have opportunities for these types of experiences. In support of STEM based careers within all sectors of manufacturing DVIRC does as much as possible to expose kids to new environments and sets of relationships that these programs offer. And it shows them that learning can be fun.

“This experience for a middle-school girl can be life changing,” said Anthony Girifalco, executive vice president, DVIRC. “You have to be there to see the faces of these kids when they are engaged in the summer camp activities. There is nothing like seeing young minds learning and having fun at the same time.”

This year campers will be divided into five groups and expected to give a ten-minute debate / presentation on one alternative energy topic and the pros and cons of their assigned source of energy, including Solar, Thermal, Hydro, Wind, and Nuclear. The middle-school age girls will have the opportunity to formulate well-organized and insightful arguments based on the information they have learned throughout the program. They will be guided and taught by leaders of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math industries as well as Philadelphia University professors and current undergraduates. This year’s judges are from The Naval Surface Warfare Center and will use three main criterion, including quality of presentation, content quality, and answers to closing questions. The presentations take place Thursday, July 21 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am at Philadelphia University, 3300 Schoolhouse Lane and Henry Ave, parking lot is off Schoolhouse Lane and Henry Ave, enter from Henry Ave and make left. Hayward Hall 2nd Floor make a left to the end of the hall on the second floor.

These camps are so important right now because the data indicate that the vast majority of jobs will be STEM based. As a result of the direct mentoring and hands-on involvement of the Girl Scouts, University faculty and students and inspiring guest speakers from the U.S. Navy, these young girls experience what it means to have so many other people caring about them and their future. This summer camp was made possible with support provided by the Lenfest and Ametek Foundations through the DVIRC.