It is a workshop for young girls in the surounding area. Anyone is allowed to come!
Encourage more women—who make up a small percent of U.S. scientists and engineers—to consider the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields when choosing a career.
The BGDS team is led by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) with participation from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA), Delta Sigma Theta Sororities Incorporated (DST), the College of Medicine Society (CMS), and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
Some 70 elementary school girls learned that using Vaseline and Kool Aid to make lip gloss can be educational and fun when they participated in “Black Girls Do Science,” a one-day camp for girls in grades 4-8 held April 12 at the University of Iowa College of Engineering.
The girls also used liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, and they did introductory computer coding. The event was planned and conducted by current UI engineering students who developed the idea last year and have made it into an annual event.
Here are some photos from previous years!
"Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going."
Nichelle NicholsWhat some of the volunteers think about the program:
“The world’s changing. We need different things. The more minds you have, the more innovative you can be. Different cultures bring different aspects of something, a different way of thinking.”
Eno Augustine-Akpan, NSBE
“I know we have girls saying they really want to come back next year!”
Siddig Siddig, NSBE
“Really, if we only affect one girl, I think that’s enough because it just took one teacher to get me involved in science.”
Bryne Berry, Founder
"You can never have too many engineers in the world. Diversity in engineering is huge, everyone has a different way of looking at things. This program is great at giving children an impression of what engineering is."
Landon Schreck, NSBE"We look at science as something very elite, which only a few people can learn. That's just not true. You just have to start early and give kids a foundation."
Mae C. Jemison, NASA
